A BIG-THANK-YOU to the members who responded to my request.  It's been
established that my player was built in 1929 and uses 'pot metal'
material (copper and lead?) for the valve covers.  I've looked at these
covers and none appear to be cracked; this was a relief to me as one
member indicated it could be a real 'nightmare' if some of the covers
are cracked.  Another member pointed to the hose condition as a major
source of problems, and indeed the hoses on my player are very dry and
brittle.  Is Tygon (plastic) tubing suitable as a replacement?  I'm
itching to open one of the valve covers and peek inside; what cautions
should I observe?  Right now I'm leaning toward doing the restoration
myself and would like to get some literature.  I've done a search for
'player pianos' at the Amazon book site and obtained the list below.
Which of these are suitable for a novice?  Note that most are
hard-to-find.

Welte-Mignon : Its Music and Musicians;
Charles Davis Smith, Richard J. Howe; Hardcover; $89.00

The Classical Reproducing Piano Roll a Catalogue
Index (Musical Reference Collection) Vol 1; Larry Sitsky
(Translator); Hardcover;  $47.00 (Special Order)

Player Piano Servicing and Rebuilding; A Treatise on How Player
Pianos Function, and How to Get Them; Arthur A. Reblitz;
Paperback; $24.95 (Special Order)

The Player-Piano Music of Conlon Nancarrow : An Analysis of
Selected Studies (I.S.A.M. Monographs, Number 26); PhilipCarlsen;
Paperback; $12.00 (Special Order)

Reproducing Pianos Past and Present (Studies in the History and
Interpretation of Music, Vol 13); Kent A. Holliday;
Hardcover;  $49.95 (Special Order)

Catalog of the reproducing piano roll collection, International Piano
Archives at Maryland; Unknown Binding (Hard to Find)

Catalogue of artists record music rolls for the Ampico, Artigraphic,
and Stoddard-Ampico player pianos July 16, 1916;Unknown
Binding (Hard to Find)

Catalogue of artists record music rolls for the Ampico, Artigraphic,
and Stoddard-Ampico player pianos July 16, 1916;Unknown
Binding (Hard to Find)

The complete catalog of Ampico Reproducing Piano rolls; Elaine
Obenchain; Unknown Binding (Hard to Find)

Pianola : The History of the Self-Playing Piano; Arthur W. J. G.
Ord-Hume; Hardcover (Hard to Find)

Player Piano Treasury : The Scrapbook History of the Mechanical
Piano in America As Told in Story, Pictures, Trade Journal Articles
and Advertising,; Harvey N. Roehl; Paperback (Hard to Find)

Player piano: the history of the mechanical piano and how to repair
it; Arthur W. J. G. Ord-Hume; Unknown Binding (Hard to Find)

Player Piano; The History of the Mechanical Piano and How to
Repair It; Arthur W. J. G. Ord-Hume; Hardcover (Hard to Find)

Restoring Pianolas and Other Self Playing Pianos;
Arthur W. J. G. Ord-Hume; Hardcover (Hard to Find)

As one member suggested, I plan to proceed as follows:

    1) get the piano itself in tip-top working order--tuning, etc.

    2) rebuild the player mechanism

It seems that item 1) would best be done with the player mechanism
removed; removal doesn't look like too big a deal.  Are there any
'gotcha's' I should be aware of?

A BIG_THANK YOU to Jody and Robbie for their hard work in maintaining
this forum; did I miss the MMD that was to address how members could
provide them with some compensation ($) for all their work??

                        Vince

 [ Editor's Note:
 [
 [ The Amazon "Online" Bookstore can be accessed via:
 [
 [     http://www.amazon.com
 [
 [ It uses AltaVista search technology.  I've tried a couple of
 [ searches of my own and I'm very impressed.
 [
 [  - - -
 [
 [ Vince,
 [    Thanks for the positive feedback on MMD.  I'll put a note
 [ at the end of the Digest about how to provide support for the MMD.
 [
 [ Jody