Regarding Julian Brook's request for information on rebuilding
Standard Player Action air motors, I'd like to relate how I do them.

I have never used leather gaskets on the pneumatics of Standard
motors.  If you have a Standard motor with these gaskets, it must be
a very early action, as I have never seen them used, or I am just not
remembering them.  I know early Standards used leather gaskets on the
deck pneumatics though.

After removing the pneumatics from the main trunk board, sand the
pneumatics mating surface (the back side of the trunk) perfectly flat
on a belt sander.  These trunks are made up of a solid piece of lumber
veneered on both sides.

Now check the entire piece for cracks or warpage.  Often the veneer is
separating and need to be reglued either entirely or partially, or most
commonly there are large cracks around the supply nipple.  Sometimes if
the separation is only in spots, thinned down hot glue shot in with a
hypodermic needle will do the job, and then clamp it securely in a
large vise between two boards until it's dry.

The next step is to seal it.  Cover all the holes on the front of the
board (the slider side) with masking tape.  Clamp the unit up on its
end so that the vacuum supply hole is up.  Fill the board with shellac
and let it sit for 15 minutes or so.  Now pour it out and let it drain
for a few minutes until it no longer drips out.  This will seal the
main wind passage.

Wipe the inside of the supply hole with your finger after a while to
get the shellac out of the part where the nipple fits in or you'll have
trouble getting it back in later with the hole being slightly smaller
due to the shellac building up around the edge.

Now place the trunk face down, and fill the five pneumatic supply
holes leading from the front to the pneumatics until they are level.
Let these sit, then drain them off the same way.  Wipe off any excess
shellac.  Remove the masking tape after the shellac starts to set up.

After the shellac is completely dry, fine sand both sides.  It is
critical that the side with the slide valves remains _absolutely flat._
Be careful here, as you can ruin the front surface of the wind motor
trunk very easily.  Make sure you remove as little wood as possible at
all times.  The idea is to make sure it's flat only.

Turning the attention to the pneumatics, you need to make sure they
are all the same size.  If they were previously repaired by a sloppy
rebuilder, they may be all different sizes and it may be easier just
to make new ones, especially if white glue was used.  Carefully cut and
glue in new hinges out of the proper material and glue them in with hot
glue.  As far as the cloth goes, use medium weight cloth, such as
Player Piano Company stock number 52.

I think the span on a Standard Player Action pneumatic is 2 3/4.
For this motor, if you need to calculate the cloth span, just take
the width of a pneumatic board, add the thickness of both boards, then
subtract about 1/8 inch (to give the folds room enough to come together
in the center without touching) and that's your span dimension.  Use
hot glue or their number 320 glue to apply the cloth.  Do this slowly
and carefully.  The pneumatics must be completely airtight, and the
hinges cannot bind.

When replacing the pneumatics back on the trunk, use hot glue only.
After they set up a little, close all of the pneumatics by carefully
laying the motor on its back on the bench, and seal the front holes
with tape.  You should not be able to easily open the pneumatics.
If you can, it is leaking and must be corrected or the motor will
most certainly limp.

Make sure that the crankshaft offsets line up very closely with the
flanges on the backs of the pneumatics.  Again, if you make new moveable
boards you can place them where they need to go exactly.  Don't forget
to replace the crankshaft bushings using action cloth available from
piano supply houses.  Don't use regular craft store felt.

After this, wet a piece of felt with alcohol and dip it in dry graphite
to re-face the front of the board where the sliders travel.  This face
must be perfectly smooth and flat.  Re-cover the sliders with new cloth,
and check them for flatness on a piece of glass.  If they need to be
surfaced, do it by hand on a piece of Extra Fine sandpaper against a
slab of glass.

Re-install all of the hardware and test the motor on the bench.  I use
an electric turbine pump with an electronic control set on very low
vacuum and with a sealed hose.  Don't use a vacuum cleaner with a hose
leak to bleed off the excess.  This method will not test the motor
accurately.  The hose must be tight, and the vacuum should barely need
to be on to get the motor to turn smoothly.

Get a fluorescent desk lamp and watch the sprocket as it turns.  You
should be able to watch the sprocket teeth become stationary under the
light, like a strobe disc on a phonograph turntable.  Also don't forget
that the crankshaft must not be bent.  The sliders on a Standard should
lift above the supply holes about 1/16" to 3/32" on the upstroke.

Hope this information is helpful.

John D. Rutoskey