Has anyone else come across this type of Autopiano in the UK?
Instead of having the usual hinged playing pneumatics, these have
no hinge, but cloth all the way 'round so the moving board remains
parallel to the fixed board. There is a parallel-hinged finger for
each pneumatic which holds the moving board so it remains parallel
whilst moving up and down. This finger also carries the arm which
connects to the piano action.
The rest of the stack is typical Autopiano with single, horizontal
valves, and lead tubes from tracker to stack (still in good condition).
The stack is split to serve the "Triumphodist" expression mechanism.
If anyone has restored one of these I would be interested to hear of
any "tricks" to the job. Otherwise I will carry on and make a simple
jig to hold the boards for covering. There are a few missing pipes
and other odd things with this instrument, so I would still like to
contact anyone who still has one.
My customer wants it fully restored since it is a family heirloom.
The owner is 93 and remembers it from when he was about 5 years old.
John Farmer
UK
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