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
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