If information is to be paid for, then it's got to be worth paying for.
It's hard to tell up-front whether you are asking an expert or an
opinionated idiot!

My first recommendation to anyone interested in rebuilding player
pianos is to buy Art Reblitz's book, "Player Piano servicing and
Re-building", available from Amazon for an amazingly cheap $23.  From
a British point of view, it's a bit weak on UK specials, but that's
hardly surprising.  The basic advice is superb.  Assuming that Art gets
some royalties on it, it meets John Tuttle's requirements of paying for
professional advice as well.

The MMD archives are simply not structured in a manner that starts you
at the beginning, takes you through the concepts, the materials and
tools, how the instruments work, how to identify what needs to be done,
all that sort of stuff.  For that you either need a properly structured
FAQ section, or a nicely printed book that you can have on the work-
bench to refer to when the going gets tough!  While Reblitz is in
print, that should always be the first call.  The MMD archives meet
quite a different need, an erudite trawl through the esoteric and
arcane parts of the hobby that a book won't touch.

Inevitably an on-line debate will be repetitious.  It's the same as real
life!  Some hot topics will always get people worked up.  Am I the only
one who found the recent cross-valve stuff hilarious?  How to get a
group of enthusiasts arguing: whisper "cross-valves" to one, stand back
and watch.

Julian Dyer

 [ Or say "hot hide glue" three times while you twirl about --
 [ gets a crowd ev'ry time!  ;)  -- Robbie