Keith Reedman asked in 050224 MMDigest:


>> The player is mounted on castors which work very well and the
>> adjustment to put the actuators to the key height is quite obvious.
>> But what stops the instrument moving about on its castors when in
>> position?  Obviously something is missing.  Can anyone please supply
>> details of what this is?


It's a long time since I last examined a Simplex player but the
situation with all the other players I've seen, except very heavy
modern reproducing players which don't need to be anchored, is that
there are plungers or bars which lock up underneath the keybed which
are set before the exact finger height is established by cranking the
legs up or down.

With 65- or 88-note Pianolas, the procedure goes:-

1. Set finger height so that a significant number of hammers lift
towards the strings say half an inch.  This is usually twenty turns of
the "gramophone handle" worm adjusters at each end beyond the point
where the fingers just touch the keys.

2. Lock the two plungers into place under the keybed.  These are plated
metal rods sticking upwards from the extension box under the fingers,
with small rubber pad caps on their tops, which are pulled up into
position as hard as possible and locked in place using butterfly nuts
on captive clasps.  They are sometimes missing on pushups for sale.

3. Raise the finger height (by cranking the legs down) so that all
but a few hammers sink back to their usual resting place.  Doing this
causes a lot of the piano weight to be taken by the pushup.  The
combination of pushup and piano should then behave as a single unit.
It is desirable to play some test rolls before use to ensure none of
the fingers are playing, or jamming against, neighbouring keys.
Sometimes you can rectify this without undoing everything, by thumping
the pushup sideways with a fist.

4. (Not part of this discussion.) Set the sustaining pedal "boot" so
that full actuation of the "loud pedal" lever just lifts all the
dampers.

Both the Simplex and the Pianola were originally supplied with special
keybed locking bars which were fastened to the piano under the keybed
and when swung out into position, ensured accurate location with every
application of the pushup.  There are invariably missing nowadays,
since they walked away on one of the early pianos the pushup was used
on, but a pair for the Pianola were discovered 15 years ago on a small
grand in London by Michael Broadway and I published drawings of them in
the Player Piano Group Bulletin in around 1991 which I think I summarised
in an early MMD Digest.

Dan Wilson, London

 [ 970228 MMDigest, Pianolists at Chicago AMICA Fest:

There's a funny thing about these pushups: they all have hard plated bars
where they fetch up against the keyboard lip.  Were Aeolian trying to
damage every piano they were used on ?  The answer is not at all --
Aeolian were trying to _protect_ every piano they were used on.  The kit
of parts when new included two notched steel bars looking a bit like this
(view with fixed-pitch font)

 _______________________     which were screwed loosely, facing each
/                       |__  other, to the underside of the keybed,
| O  hole                 /  such that when swung out against two
\________________________/   stop screws, they received the pushup
          stop screw O |     snugly and located the fingers exactly
underside of keybed    |     without any need for jockeying or
    looking up         |     adjustments.

For hand playing, the bars were simply swung inboard, out of sight --
where, alas, they always were when the pushup was sold on, so that none
have survived except, recently in London, on two old grands.  I have
exact dimensions for anyone interested -- but anything like this will
work.  (We use foam pads.)

Dan Wilson