Hello -- I am ready to begin restoring the player piano stack portion
of my Reproduco piano-organ and I have some questions about the best
practices to deal with some of the hang-ups I have encountered thus far.
I have included some pictures to illustrate some of the questions.

1) The push-rods that engage the striking pneumatics to the piano
action are crimped on the end where they connect to the "fork" in the
striking pneumatic in such a way that the washers that the washers are
held securely in place.  This means that the push-rods cannot easily
be removed, which will be necessary to re-cover the pneumatic cloth.
(See photo of crimped push-rod.)

Grinding off the crimp with a Dremel tool seems the easiest way to remove
these push-rods, but then I am left with no way to re-crimp them during
re-assembly.  What is the best way to remove/replace these push-rods?
If I grind off the crimps, is it possible to recreate their function by
using what are called "speed nuts" that push on in one direction only?

2) Every pneumatic is held in place with machine screws that bolt them
to a common panel.  Unscrewing and removing the pneumatic destroys this
cork gasket, which is compressed and brittle after 90-ish years.  Does
anyone sell reproduction gaskets?  They were undoubtedly originally all
stamped out, but making each one individually would be an arduous task.
Is cork still the best choice of materials if I need to find a way to
make these myself?  (See photos of damaged gaskets.)

3) The pouch and valve are built into the striking pneumatic as a
single, self-contained unit.  How do I non-destructively separate these
components so as to be able to replace the pouch material, which is now
crispy-crunchy with age?  They need to come apart where there is a slot
on each side of the pneumatic (see photo).

4) The valve seats are brass and are held in place with a rust-colored
fibrous disc.  These fibrous discs have warped with age, which will
likely adversely affect their air-tightness.  Are these being reproduced
by anyone?  Is this warping even a real problem?  How will I know if
they really need to be replaced or not?

Thank you and best regards,

Troy Taylor
Edmonds, Washington

 [ Reproduco striking pneumatic push rod crimp.
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/16/10/29/161029_152716_IMG_6824.JPG 
 [ Reproduco striking pneumatic gasket damage.
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/16/10/29/161029_152716_IMG_6828.JPG 
 [ Reproduco striking pneumatic, pouch/valve combination seam.
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/16/10/29/161029_152716_IMG_6820.JPG 
 [ Reproduco striking pneumatics, valve seat disc, valve.
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/16/10/29/161029_152716_IMG_6829.JPG