Hubert Kennedy wrote:

> I recently purchased a Sterling reproducing baby grand with an Auto
> Del Luxe expression action.  I've rebuilt uprights with standard
> action, etc.  I have the A. Reblitz book on how to rebuild player
> pianos and it has been most helpful, although I cannot find out who
> made this player action.

It sounds to me like you have a Simplex Recordo grand player.
This is evidenced by five equally-elongated holes at each end of
the tracker bar.

I know of no other grand player that had all the action in the drawer.
In these Recordo/Simplex systems the only items outside the drawer are
the pump and the sustaining pedal.  There is a set of aluminum rails
connecting the drawer to the felted poppets under the keys.  When the
drawer is removed they stay attached to the bottom of the keybed.

You can be certain that you have what I describe if you look in the
back of the drawer and find a complete stack with the Simplex valve
pneumatics in it.  These are rebuilt just like the upright stack
pneumatics.

If you have an early system I would suggest that you enlarge the supply
hole in each pneumatic so you can get better soft expression. This is
done by using a forstner bit to lower the floor of the supply opening
in the pouch board next to the pouch hole when you have it open to
replace the pouch.  The later systems had this already done.

D. L. Bullock    Piano World    St. Louis