In 011218 MMDigest Matthew Walworth asked about how to approach the
repair of a Gem roller organ.

The best plan is to read up on how these organs are made and how
they work.  Then seek the help of someone in your area who has some
experience restoring organettes.  Check the MBSI and AMICA publications.
I'll be glad to help you if you can't find anyone nearby.  Just send me
an e-mail.  At the very least, I can describe a simple test to
determine if it's just the exterior bellows valves that are causing
your problem.

I'll give you an example of what NOT to do.  I once fixed an organ that
wouldn't supply enough air to blow the pipes.  The owner decided that
the leather was leaking.  So he replaced the leather covering and the
two valves.  As you might guess, it still didn't work.  But he had
glued the thing back together with too much of the wrong type of glue
and I had to just about rip the thing apart to find the actual leak.
The fact that he got glue on both sides of the gaskets didn't help
either.  Caused more trouble that the original problem.

Patience is a virtue!

Best wishes,
Craig Smith