Bell Pianos

[Arlie D. Rauch]

>Although the name became merely a stencil in its latter days, Many original
>Bell uprights had some wonderful features. Besides being quite solid and
>generally well built as far as the structure and tonal elements go, many
>featured the "Illimitable Repeating Action". This "innovation" (remember
>this was back at the turn of the century until the earlie thirties)
>consisted of a tiny extra spring connected via a silk loop which ensured the
>jack would return to its position under the butt immediately. When properly
>(or even reasonably) regulated, releasing the key slightly brought the jack
>home and ready to fire again just like a grand (sound familiar?). Many of
>the old (75 yrs) Bells I look after still have the springs and loops intact
>and they still play like a dream! Servicing them is a bit more difficult
>because of the loops and if they or the springs break it's a pain, but the
>results are well worth it.

Thanks for the exposition!  I hope to see one some day.

Arlie D. Rauch
Glendive, MT