Hello, MMD.  I have begun to rebuild my 1919 New York Steck Duo-Art
upright and decided to start with the steamboat pump.  I was glad to
have a friend around to help me lift the pump out of the piano; it is
heavy!  It is beautifully made, and I let it sit in my work shop for
several days just admiring it (with some trepidation).

I have begun to disassemble it, and it is reduced to the main wooden
block to which the six large exhauster pneumatics are attached.  But
how are they attached?  Are they simply glued to the central block, or
are there wood screws hiding inside each of the exhausters?  That would
make each exhauster easy to get off the central block, but impossible
to get the recovered exhauster back on.

Is it necessary to recover the exhausters in situ?  I did that with
my Aeolian 65-note pushup years ago, and I recall that it was rather
a struggle.  The pushup is still working well.  My pump does not
display signs of glue having been splashed around, which surely would
have happened if all six big pneumatics were covered while attached
to the central block.

I'll be grateful for advice, here.

John Phillips - in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia