Al Menashe inquired of the servicing required to maintain a
Mills Violano.

Probably the best guide available is Reblitz' book about the Violano
which is now out of print.  According to the author, however, it will
be reprinted and revised soon.  He examines each part of the machine
and its servicing requirements.

The Violano's violin unit provides its own rosin dust to gum up anything
that is oiled.  So take it easy with the oil.  Cleanliness and a lack of
sticky gunk is as important to good operation as is oil in the right
places.

Never, never let any oil get near the bow wheels.  It will ruin them.
Those little metal disks on the bow axles are to keep oil from working
its way up to the bows.  Likewise, if oil gets on the strings from the
fingers it will travel to the bow.  Oiled fingers soon become a gummy
mess that must be taken apart to clean.  The fingers shouldn't require
oil where they pass through the slotted comb.  Oil will gum up and start
the process of sticking fingers.

Generally, oil the rotating parts -- modestly.  The bow motor has a felt
pad in the rear that provides oil to the rear bearing.  Keep this clean
and oiled.  Most bearings in the machine are bronze and require only a
small bit of oil.  A small dab of light oil where each bow axle passes
under its spring-backed arm is a good idea.

I find, in playing my machine daily, that only the feeder motor, bow
motor, converter bearings and bow pinion gears and bearings require
frequent attention.  The feeder gears have an oil "sump" below them and
a wick to provide oil to the bearings.  I don't use the sump; it becomes
a rosin quagmire.   Instead, I lightly oil those bearings and gears
perhaps semi-monthly.  A very light coat of grease on the feeder gears
can suffice for probably years.

Certainly pass on the original instruction manual's advise to pour
"gasoline or kerosene" through the gears while the unit is operating.
They guy who wrote that was probably a Mills service manager looking
for work.

Ed Gloeggler
Long Beach, NY