[ Ref. David Krall in 230425 MMDigest ]

My first player piano was a Farrand upright which played nicely
when 35 years old. It had vertical mounted valves. Each valve was
suspended on a short wood arm which was held in place by 2 sharp
pins. The pins made a low friction contact as held between by
a springy metal (u-shaped) clip.

The clip had tiny dents where the needle points rested. That way the
valve was free to swing to and fro in closing against traditional
valve seats.

The seat was similar to the metal ring in early Ampico upside-down
valves. The top valve seat's metal ring was force-fitted in wood.
I don't recall any reference to those vertical mounts when the
actual weight of the valve was the topic.

It seems that Farrand's workable variation didn't catch on; a patent
rights problem, perhaps?

The upright piano had lead tubing and a woefully slow sustain pneumatic.

Bill Chapman - 80 degrees F. and 23% relative humidity today in
La Quinta, California