[ Gregory Gast asked in 160126 MMDigest:

> Last question: The sustain pneumatic bellows will not close all the
> way, but gets stopped by something solid that can't be seen.  It's not
> the lever, as I've had the pneumatic out of the piano for inspection.
> There are no adjustment screws visible to change range of motion on
> the bellows.

I've seen hardened original loose chunks of hide glue wedged or caught
in the hinge cause this.  With the pneumatic removed from piano, you
could hold the pneumatic face-span downward and the hinge facing upward
and tap it briskly against a floor or bench to dislodge a glue chunk
from the hinge canvas, freeing it so it can close completely.

If that isn't the case, then  slice a short access cut (~1 to 2 inches
long, as inconspicuous as possible, and on the side of pneumatic away
from an observer looking into the piano) through the side cloth, near
the middle, then shine a flashlight inside the pneumatic to find the
cause.  After making the repair, glue thin player cloth or Bilon or
Polylon, to seal over the cut.

I've had a few pedal pneumatics do this, where it was a hard,
loose chunk of hide glue that had wedged into the hinge canvas strip.
I carefully dislodged it using a long spatula or knife blade, then
removed the chunk with tweezers, then sealed over access slice in cloth
I had made.  Some pedal and small equalizer pneumatics may have small
leaf return springs inside which may get dislodged, causing this also.

Fred Scoles
Oswego, New York