Hello everyone,  After doing some thinking and research in Art
Reblitz's book, and by firsthand experience, I believe that I now know
basically why the early "Steger Natural Player" action was designated
as being "of poor design from a technical or performance standpoint."

The reason is that the pneumatics on the early model have completely
unnecessary openings in the back, that should have never been there in
the first place!  These silly openings let atmosphere into the pneumatic
from the back.  This is not in any way desirable.  With 88 pneumatics
all having a 1/8 by 1 inch (approximate length) rectangular opening at
the back, that leads, through another hole, into the valve chamber
itself, all this adds up to a tremendous amount of unneeded and
ridiculous leakage.

There is _no_ way that the stack is going play, or be airtight enough,
what with the suction from the pump trying vainly to suck air not only
through the tracker bar and primary pouch board, but also through the
opening in the striker pneumatic, trying to seal that opening with the
outside air valve, _and_ pull the pneumatic down all the way to play
the note, all at the same time -- that's just insane!

I had tried to make my player piano run on Christmas Eve.  The notes
barely played.  I know now why they did not.  No pneumatic should have
a questionable opening of any kind, especially when that opening lets
air in, or out of, the pneumatic, by any other way besides the tracker
bar or foot pump.

Two pictures, one of the completely unnecessary opening, and one of the
corresponding, smaller hole in the pneumatic, are attached.

Luke Myers
ldmyers95@gmail.com

P.S.: Just to clarify things and not to mislead anyone, I meant to
say that the pneumatic should not have any other openings into itself,
besides the ones that are typically encountered in a double valve
action, like mine is, or in a single valve action.

 [ Opening-1
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/16/02/03/160203_153326_IMG_1140.JPG 

 [ Additional smaller hole-2
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/16/02/03/160203_153326_IMG_1145.JPG