The Universal plastic pneumatics, cloth, and glue they used on
this particular unit have lots of problems.  Somewhere during their
manufacturing process, they thought that they would change from
standard wood to plastic.  It is very common to see 10-20 of the push
rods on the bottom of the piano because the plastic flange broken
loose from the plastic pneumatic.

If the flanges are the only problem, I drill small holes in the plastic
and insert screws on each flange.  I have used epoxy or CA glue to keep
them from turning.  To get the glue to stick well, you will have to
clean them with a strong solvent to remove any signs of the old glue.
I have even used a razor blade and scrapped them down after using the
solvent.  You need the screws to hold them on since it is difficult to
get them complete free of the old glue so the new glue will hold
properly.

The yellow cloth that they used on this type of pneumatic is another
problem.  It is usually breaking down and oozing oils that make
regluing with any known glue impossible.  I must say that I have never
changed all the pneumatics on one of these players but I have replaced
a few because of damage to some of them during the stack removal
process.  This is what I would do.

Take measurements of how far the pneumatics hang over the tier boards.
For the 3 guide brackets that holds the push rods, mark the holes that
are not used.  Also take note that there is always one pneumatic on
the top and bottom tier that has problems clearing the iron plate that
supports the strings.

These flanges are not glued on straight.  This may not be obvious until
you try to put the stack back into the piano and they hit the plate.
Measure the span of the pneumatics.  They should be no more that
1-inch.  Any more and the top tier pneumatics will hit the top of the
bottom tier.

Take a knife and start cutting and prying them off.  Don't try to save
any of the plastic because you will just make new ones from wood.  This
includes the flanges that hold the push rods.  In some cases you will
be able to pry the pneumatics up whole.  Clean the old glue off the
aluminum.  I've scrapped it off using a chisel but there may be a better
way to do this since it is fairly sticky.

You must also remove any remaining plastic that is stuck to the inside
of the exhaust holes on each valve opening.  I have not found glue that
I want to use or trust to reglue new cloth to the old plastic.  That is
why I suggest rebuilding new ones from wood.

Make new pneumatics and flanges using poplar wood using your standard
hide glues and cloth.  The span must be very accurate from pneumatic
to pneumatic unless you want to do a lot more adjustments to the push
rods later.

To be able to center the exhaust hole on the pneumatic with the hole
on the valve, remove the top valve plate on the valves and place some
short pieces of rubber hose into the exhaust holes.  Make sure they
sticks out about 1/8 inch at the bottom of the hole and use the lip of
the hose as a guide for mounting the pneumatic.  After gluing them on,
you can remove the tubing using long nose pliers when the glue of
choice has partially dried.

I have used clear 100% silicone rubber bathroom caulk (RTV) to glue on
the pneumatics without any problems.  It holds to both the wood and
aluminum very well and it can be removed for servicing when a rebuild
is needed in another 30-60 years.  I do not know what type of glue they
used originally.  I will say that if I had this glue in hand, I would
use it rather than the RTV.

Pete Knobloch
Tempe, Arizona