A negative player-piano story

Hello,  I've had and loved player-pianos since I was 3 years old
(1949).  I've had several and have rebuilt quite a few, so I know how
they should work: air-tightness, note repetition, etc.

About a year ago, I purchased a rebuilt single-valve Standard player
piano from a man who says he's been rebuilding them for more than 30
years.  While the piano looks beautiful and has new hammers and keys,
the player works poorly.  With all the holes closed on the bottom
bellows, the reservoir only remains closed for only 10 to 15 seconds.

I know that's not how it's supposed to be.  There are many staples
in the cloth going into the edges of the wood to keep the cloth from
coming off in case the glue didn't hold.  I know that's not how it's
supposed to be either.  That's a sloppy job.

I remember my dear friend, Fred Streicher who, when he rebuilt a bottom
bellows, the reservoir would take several _minutes_ to open, not 15
seconds.  Airtight should be airtight, but this one was a very sloppy,
unprofessional job.

The man who rebuilt the bellows sold it to me and told me that someone
else rebuilt the stack.  I called him and when I told him that the
reservoir took only 15 seconds to open he said that was okay -- no
problem.  He knows the first guy and didn't want to admit the problem.
That person, I'm told, is known by many and is said to do beautiful
work, but the repetition on the pneumatics is also poor.  I've used the
tracker pump several times, but it doesn't help and one or two notes in
the treble don't work at all.

I'm not telling you the names of these two people though I'd love to
blurt it out.  They should be taken to task.  People should know not to
hire them.

So what do I do about this problem?  I need a tight player but I should
not have to pay twice for getting it rebuilt.

Regards,
Ben Roth