I should have been more explicit in my advice.  Let me explain my
reservations in the form of a story -- the only real failure that
I have had.

I took on the restoration of a small Triumph Autopiano.  The owner had
started to restore it himself but quickly gave up having butchered most
of the valve chest in the process.  He also tried to cheat me out of
=L=100 on the first payment at collection time.

It quickly became apparent that the valve chest was a problem.  When
I unscrewed the pouch board half, the edges of the both portions took
on the geography of a rainbow.  Subsequent regulating was almost
impossible.  I also believe that the chest itself was probably porous.
So the whole assembly leaked, and no amount of work by myself could
resolve it, despite repeated attempts.

The lower action needed considerable work and problems also arose here.
The end result was that I agreed, reluctantly, to a deadline for
completion.  I say reluctantly not through cussedness but pride --
I did not want it to beat me.

A condition of the continuance was that I carried out all work on
the client's premises.  Workshop facilities of a sort were available,
but with the owner looking on, even the slightest hiccup was seen as
a disaster.  Intense scrutiny is not the ideal motivator for good
workmanship.

I hardly need add that the result was unsatisfactory.  The client was
unhappy, and I had spent some three months working on the instrument,
plus four weeks travelling backwards and forwards in a vain attempt to
get it working properly.  I was considerably out of pocket.  But it was
my problem and I do not excuse myself.  In the end I refunded his money
and called it a day.

One to write off to experience.

Roger Waring - The Pianola Workshop
Solihull, United Kingdom
www.pianola.co.uk