Hi all, I was interested to read Philip Carli's recent post
[240625 MMD] requesting information on restoring an early 58/65-note
Aeolian push-up player. I restored one of these very early push-ups
(branded "Orchestrelle Co." for the British market), finishing around
ten or eleven years ago.

I wrote up this restoration for the Christmas 2021 edition of the
Journal of the (UK) North West Player Piano Association, pages 44-49.
This article includes the cross-sectional views of the whole player
and of the valve chest which I think Philip is seeking. With the
permission of the Journal's current Editor, I am attaching the original
PDF of the article:

Article on restoration of a very early Aeolian (branded as
Orchestrelle Co.) 58/65 note push-up piano player -- NWPPA Journal
Christmas 2021 pages 44-49 ISSN No 1950 2904
https://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/24/07/02/240702_104540_Arthur%20Jones%20Push-up%20article%20-%20NWPPA%20Journal%20Christmas%202021%20pages%2044-49%20ISSN%20No%201950%202904.pdf 

The article includes some hints on how I tackled the tricky issues of
gaining access to the valves (within the glued-together valve chest)
and re-facing their seats. I do not claim that these are the only ways
to tackle one of these players, and I found it to be a baptism of fire
in terms of being my first full rebuild project.

It is worth saying that I encountered the same lack of information which
Philip has reported; this gap was plugged by discussing with a number of
enthusiasts. I posted on MMD on this topic in 2009 but I don't think any
public reply was posted though I believe I had a small number of private
replies:

https://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/200906/2009.06.14.04.html 

After much effort, the restoration was completed, and the resulting
player is very effective despite its lack of advanced features. Two
examples of it in use ("Miracle Melodies" and "Roll Away, Clouds", along
with other player videos) are linked from the following webpage:

https://www.pianola.org.uk/what-is-a-player-piano/video-and-audio-clips#h.s50g5rqfw2yj 
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z34cFZZuZA 
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSNK0Fhbbo4 

To give some context to the article, the North West Player Piano
Association [NWPPA], in whose Journal this article was published,
is based in the north and midlands of England in the UK, and has
around 75 members who are enthusiasts of player pianos and reproducing
pianos. As well as holding regular social meetings, its excellent
twice-yearly Journal (ISSN 09502904) includes a balance of reports
and articles on a variety of technical and historical matters relating
to player pianos and their music.

I hope that the article is found to be useful.

Kind regards,

Arthur Jones
Nottingham, East Midlands, UK (where we are enjoying a typical British
summer of drizzle, chilly breezes and occasional sweltering heat!)
arthur.jones.mmd@gmail.com.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]

[ This is the same PDF but with a shorter filename:
[ Push-up_Player
[ https://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/24/07/02/240702_171911_Push-up_Player.pdf 
[
[ Cross section drawing (copied from PDF article)
[ https://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/24/07/02/240702_171911_Figure_1_cross_section.png 
[
[ Thank you, Arthur and NWPPA, for sharing your story!
[
[ -- Robbie