I have collected and repaired reproducing piano rolls since 1951.
In the early days I discovered that 3M "Scotch" clear adhesive tape
always ruined rolls eventually.  Now I am sure that "Magic Mending
Tape" will ruin a roll, whether it is too stiff for the old paper
or if it oozes out the side to stick when unrolling.

I now use librarian's archival tape for repairs to the sides of rolls,
and always remember "less is more."  I split the archival roll into
four strips while the backing is on and then use the 1/8-inch-wide
strips to fix each tear, one by one, or sometimes I run a whole strip
down a side if the paper is "soft".  I only do this as a last recourse.
Archival tape is "new" and we are not sure what will happen in years
to come.

Now to the splits.  Archival tape is not easily handled in very narrow
strips to bridge a perforation, and it is probably not strong enough]
to overcome the shear forces during play.  Since 1951 I have used very
narrow and short pieces of hand cut brown paper tape, about 3/8" long
and only the width of a bridge, previously licked and glued by hand on
the underside of the roll.  These are spaced about every 1/2 to 3/4
inch, all along the split.  I have rolls I repaired this way about 50
years ago that still play without ciphering.

One must line up the split _exactly_, with all the broken bridges
just touching in a parallel fashion, and one must make sure the split
perforation is still the same width as original.  I fix the rolls
upside-down, rolled out on a table, with an extra spool winding up the
start end, and I work on a section about two feet long.  If a roll was
badly twisted sometimes this fix will not work, but on the hundreds of
rolls I have fixed, it works about 98% of the time.

I have over 4000 reproducing rolls and have used the paper tape method
from the start.  Years ago I fixed the side splits with brown paper
tape, but it is really too stiff for this application.  I repair rolls
upside-down for aesthetic reasons and find no note ciphering if a roll
has its splits repaired underneath.  The proof is you hear no false
notes.

If the paper is warped or buckled or crinkled, one can iron it with a
medium-temperature iron on a flat surface, but iron the smallest amount
possible as the iron will cause wrinkles itself if you do a large area.
I wet my finger, lick it, and go over the crease and immediately iron
it with the tip of the iron only just covering the crease by about 3/8
inch.  Sometimes I repeat, but "less is more" here too.

The worst rolls for splits are Ampico A.  The very long splits will
often come together well if the roll has not been twisted too tight
or wet.  If the roll was twisted tightly, and possibly split crosswise,
then the repair may leave buckled spots which cause ciphers.

_Sometimes_ if you roll the repaired roll semi-tight and drop it over
and over on its right side to get it perfectly even and tighten and
repeat and tighten and leave it for a year or two, it will straighten
enough not to cipher.  You must always tighten perfectly and put a band
around it in the future to keep it well.  It does not always work.

Early Ampico rolls from the Rythmodik period are sometimes on such
acidic paper that they disintegrate.  These are not fixable.

I also fixed my Ampico B and Duo-Art Steinway pianos to reroll with
the top spool moved to the right about 1/32 inch, and I spread the left
spool end about 1/16" to 1/8" so the roll does not touch the flange
during rewind.  It works about 99.9% of the time so no old rotten paper
rolls tear.  I have done this since 1956 so I know it works.

On recuts on the Duo-Art you do not need the spread.  I only did the
Duo-Art last week.  The Ampico I did in 1956 and have always spread
all the rolls, since the B take-up spool is heavy and pulls back due to
inertia.  Recuts on the "B" repeat with no problem.  How I make the top
spool shift sideways for rerolling is another article.  Each different
spool frame requires a different technique.

Rolls on the Welte rarely tear.  Only occasionally will the roll tear
on the right, immediately as it begins to reroll.  On these rolls, if
you cut about 1/64-inch off the right side of the roll for eight inches
before the reroll hole, it will cause the tracker to shift full right,
exactly when it shifts to reroll, and save the right side of the roll,
and then it shifts back to center for the remainder of reroll.  This
works on my "original" Welte Vorsetzer which has a lightweight take-up
spool.

I don't know about Licensee players, but I see mostly Duo-Art and
Ampico rolls torn on their sides.  Most old fragile rolls are playable
over and over with this sideways shift and most are repairable with my
technique, but "Scotch" tape in its many manifestations is the enemy.
I have some Powell "master" rolls fixed with tiny pieces of Magic
Mending Tape which are still playable, but these are the exception and
the paper tape is much easier to handle for split perforations.

Dean Howe
St. Joseph, Missouri