Regarding John Mc Clelland's note about the Universal -- I believe
that QRS acquired rights to the designs and inventories of parts
which once were Universal when it bought Story & Clark.  Parts and
electronics should be available from QRS in Florida.

The original Universal stack deserves a place in history as one of
the finest stack designs ever; all solid machined aluminum, it was
designed by Don Barr's machinist; and the valve system was designed
by Luther Joy, who was employed by Dick Carty, Don's partner in the
venture.  For compactness, the smallest number of parts, perfect
repetition and airtightness, no stack of which I know comes even
close.  The valve was of two pieces; a 1/16" thick disc of silicone
rubber (later neoprene) punched with a hole, impaled on an aluminum
stem.  The stem was machined with a fluted groove which precisely
fit the cross section a punch produces in the rubber disc, to prevent
twists and stresses.  The juncture was self-sealing and totally airtight.

The only serious flaw was the use of Perflex, and later, Tuftane
pouches, which disintegrated after about ten years in many cases.
With sealed leather replacements and a bleed adjustment, these stacks
work like new again.  The system could have been more service-tech
friendly, but it rarely needs servicing.  There were many other unique
features --

Luther never made money from this invention, as I understand, for
various reasons.  Yet, he succeeded where the giant player companies
of the early 20th century, with all of their millions in investments,
failed!

I don't know how QRS's current product compares to the original
Universal stack.

Larry Broadmoore