Hello Listers: This thing about abominable repair work could go on forever, and I guess, if there is no objection to it, it will grow larger and larger. All of the foregoing kept reminding me of a retired railroad worker who was "rebuilding?" player pianos in the late sixties and early seventies. The cases were fairly decent; mostly just cleaned up. The players were done with rubber cement, plastic tubing, electrical tape and bubble gum. The piano actions were in terrible shape; flat and brassy hammers, back checks not adjusted at all, let off all over the place, ETC. Pitch was anywhere from a tone to two tones low. However, the amazing thing to me was his total ignorance of available replacement parts. As well as gluing split hammer shanks together with thread or MacDonalds straws, he used to cut squares of felt to put on the front rail pins. He meticulously cut shoe strings to use as bridle straps and glued them to the top of the hammer butts. I only saw four of these "instruments?" and four were four too many. Dick&Donna Wamser Meadow (VOICE ACTIVATED GUIDE DOG AND SCENTED SENTINEL) Ginger (SEMI-DEPROGRAMED ALARM CAT)
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