As a person who has been rebuilding players full time for over 20 years
I feel compelled to add some input here.   Most of the  the work I get
comes other piano/player technicians and dealers.  Having several clients
that send me work on regular basis helps keep the boat afloat.  Private
collectors and local trade makes up a small percentage of my work load,
though that changes as time goes on and I get better known.  One of the
advantages to this is that they send the project to my shop or I install
it at their shop, which makes easier to do a thorough job of testing and
regulation, (and it comes in very handy if you driven 400 miles and found
you left one tool at home).  I find it very cumbersome to install a player
action in someone's home, and I don't even consider it an option for
reproducers.   Many have already recommended that knowledge of  piano
restoration is a must, and I can't agree more.  When I apprenticed for
Tom Sprague, over 24 yrs ago, though I was hot to do players, he started
me out regulating  hammer actions and leveling keys.  In wanting to my
skills centered on player actions and organs, the coarse of my business
gone a different direction, a direction which those who are intending to
go into players full time may want to consider.   As some of you may have
read in my web page, I dropped out of player rebulding in the mid 1980s
to work with German and Amish Cabinet makers with the idea of being able
to some day make Orchestrion cases that  look authentic.  While I haven't
had the resources to carry out my dream yet, the experience proved
invaluable for me as a rebuilder.    More and more I see player actions
badly damaged by the elements and worse, by previous rebuilding
(attempts).  A good exsample just came in last week:   A Simplex action...
Some one tightened the unit blocks down so hard that they split them apart
at the screw holes.  These cannot be repaired, they have to be remade.
I also have found it economically feasible to copy and/or redesign some
glued together stacks so they are more serviceable.  The Woodshop also
adds a great deal of versatility to the business which enables me to
branch off into other areas, such as making pipes, xylophones and other
fun stuff.

Brian Thornton
Short Mtn. Music Works
109 N. Cannon St.
Woodbury, TN 37190
615-563-5814
http://www.mindspring.com/~goatboy/smmw.htm