I am restoring an Eavestaff upright with a fairly standard player
action, but whilst disassembling the lower pneumatic deck I have
come across what looks like a very thin gasket, possibly paper or
cheesecloth.  Whatever it was, it sanded down to a very fine white
dust.  It made the removal of the small pneumatics very easy, with
no resultant damage to the mounting board.  Almost too easy in fact.

Whilst marking their position on the board, the sideways pressure of
the knife was frequently sufficient to dislodge the glued half of a
number of the pneumatics.  The upper deck was glued to the edge of the
mounting board in a different manner and had no gasket.

My question is this:  Do I replace the gasket or glue direct?
I am concerned that the looseness that I found may have originated
some years ago with subsequently reduced efficiency.

What is the opinion of the experienced restorers?  Was it a good
innovation?  Should it be perpetuated?

Regards to all from wet Warwickshire

Roger Waring, The Pianola Workshop
Solihull
England

 [ I thought that a gasket, by its compressibility, provides a seal
 [ between uneven surfaces.  It's hard to imagine how cheesecloth
 [ could do this.  Is it, rather, an aid for the gluing?  -- Robbie