Norris,  These things are so simple and basic that most people just
replace or repair what's there.

The difficulty arises when something isn't there, and that's when you
need individual advice.  Often the sustaining pedal "boot" is missing
and has to be made from new.  Also the "phonograph handle" which cranks
the legs up and down.

Always missing are the special notched bars screwed to piano keybeds
which swung out from under to mate with the metal plates that are such
a mystery on the front of the pushup.  I have a drawing somewhere of
these.  A pair turned up hidden on a grand piano in London some years
back and I did a tracing of one; I think I did do an ASCII-art drawing
of it for MMD.

The theory with these bars is that you can run the pushup at the
piano and it'll always mate without damage, but I don't know about the
practice!  Usually rolled-up dusters are used in lieu.

The bronze worm drives used with the leg cranks _must_ be checked for
lubricant, elsewise you'll strip 'em.  Peter Davis in London has a
pattern for new ones should they already be stripped.

The usual model is the 65-note one copied shamelessly from the
Hupfeld Phonola of 1898, nothing like Votey's prototype donated to the
Smithsonian Institution in 1922.  This had a single bass subduing lever
(to bring the treble out) from 1899 to 1901 and then bass and treble
subduing levers like all the later Pianola pianos.

In 1906 Metrostyle (the tempo-lever-connected pointer) came in.  Then
Themodist was fitted from 1907 -- 67 holes in the tracker-bar, extra
valve block to the left of the spoolbox, sometimes but not always a
Themodist on/off switch to the left of the roll.

In 1909 the highly complex 65/88-note Themodist model came in, with
double tracker-bar, hand lever tracking, monster sliding pneumatic
switch behind the tracker-bar -- which was basically a stretch 65.
From 1912 this had single-finger tracking added and (specials apart)
the 65-only model was discontinued.  These all had a strong family
resemblance, but from 1913 there was an 88-note-only model and a
low-cost version of this without the Themodist facility was also made
under the name Farrand.

Pushup manufacture was discontinued in 1916 as not being profitable
enough, but an attempt was made in France in 1919 to make a modernized
one, the Model U.  Two of these are alleged to exist.

The 65-note ones are fairly common in UK and very common in Australia,
where they have a larger roll drive motor like the ones in Steck
uprights -- something to do with humidity problems.  The dual-standard
65/88s are rare everywhere but about 15 are known for sure in England.
In 1989 four of them were used to give a concert of Gershwin's music
at the Barbican hall in London -- a memorable evening.

Eric Bergstrom in America did a superb restoration of one of the 1912
65/88-note pushups for Jim Edwards in 1997, using photos of the missing
parts sent by Rex Lawson from London.  Try him first for advice at
<mailto:epb@critical-test.com>

Dan Wilson, London