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MMD > Archives > December 2011 > 2011.12.09 > 05Prev  Next


Seek Felt for Dampers on Warfield Player Piano
By Clinton Gray

Holiday Greetings to all,  I got my Christmas wish this year, and
I am getting a player piano!  It is a project piano, but it does
play under some circumstances.

There is one problem with it, however, that is above all else.  The
felt on the dampers is completely gone, and I have not found a place
to purchase a new set.  Would anyone know where to find a new set
of dampers?  It is a Warfield upright player piano, of about 1926 if
I'm correct.

The current owner has not even opened the case for 12 years, so
I was delighted to find that it still played at all, but it would not
play using the treadles.  Upon further inspection, there was a loose
vacuum hose, but that too, once reconnected did nothing.  We found
that all the air was leaking back in through a suction box installed
before!  How do you fix that?  Is it possible to put a one-way valve
so that the treadles remain operational?

Also, the player action maker was a little confusing.  The label
inside the spoolbox says "King" with a bunch of patent numbers, but
it is a Standard action.  Is this common?

The last thing I would like to touch on is that the piano's airmotor
was a little hesitant to move the roll.  When set at Tempo 130, the
roll played at about Tempo 70-90, and would slow and then go quicker,
etc.  How is that fixed?

I do plan on taking it apart when I get it home to look at all the
parts and to clean it thoroughly (I'm positive there is a lot of dust),
but I don't know what to look for or how to regulate an air motor.
Any help on this project piano would be greatly appreciated!

Clinton Gray
Hereford, Arizona


(Message sent Fri 9 Dec 2011, 15:04:47 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.)

Key Words in Subject:  Dampers, Felt, Piano, Player, Seek, Warfield

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