Player Piano Pneumatic Rewind

[Tony Caught]

Hi Rob,

Don't know the brand of player piano, what is the brand of player mechanism
?

Not sure that I can help as I haven't done pianolas for years but check this
out.

On the LHS at the top of the bottom bellows there may be a box with a
pneumatic attached, the pneumatic has a wire or bar attached doing to the
top RHS and into the motor control box.

If this is your pianola type then the box on the LHS is key. This box has a
tube coming out of it, attach  this tube via tubing to the slider valve and
all should work.

When the air is either cut off or opened it causes the pneumatic to close
which closes the air intake to the upper stack and at the same time allows
more air to go to the motor for faster rewind. Sometimes the pneumatic can
be not wide enough which can also cause problems.

If this helps, great if not in the spool box there should be the name of the
maker of the pianola mechanism. Find it ,let me know the type and I will
have a look in a book.

The best other option is the mechanical digest list. That is where all the
Player guys hang out.

Regards

Tony Caught ICPTG
Australia
caute@optusnet.com.au
----- Original Message -----
From: <atonal@telusplanet.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2001 11:10 PM
Subject: Player Piano Pneumatic Rewind


> Greetings techs,
>
> I need some advice on a D.W. Karn player piano, Woodstock,
> Canada. I have repaired bellows & tubing, and as the tubing was
> ossified, I have completely redone it. The tracker bar works fine,
> the auto-sustain and expression switches are fine, the pneumatic
> tracking centering device works well: the only problem is getting
> the upper stack pneumatic cutoff to engage when rewinding. The
> transmission is working well ( I carefully disassembled it and
> cleaned all parts, re-assembling them in the same spots, and
> mechnically it works fine).
>
> There is a valve mounted to the back of the spool box that dis-
> engages when the rewind switch is engaged. This has to be the
> source of the pneumatic cutoff to the upper stack, as there is no
> mechanical linkage in the lower bellows, as I have seen on other
> player pianos, and the rewind lever is in the spool box. The valve in
> question has four small nipples on the bottom, two large nipples on
> the right hand side (which should be logically tubed to the two large
> nipples which are case mounted on that side) a small nipple on the
> top and a small nipple on the left side: total : 8 tubes run into this
> modest slider valve. The bottom four are open (allow air through)
> when the slider is in rewind position, the large ones on the side are
> closed in that position, and the two top and left are open. There are
> two rewind holes at the end of the note holes in the tracker bar.
>
> I have tried all conceivable combinations of tubing arrangement with
> this valve, some using lead tubing splicers (which I found in the
> bottom of the piano) and running to the only tubing nipples that are
> left once the other automatics are connected & working.
>
> The player will rewind, but the upper stack pressure doesn't cut off.
>
> This has become a serious head-scratcher, as I haven't worked
> with a completely pneumatic cutoff system before...
>
> Any suggestions, clarifications, and tubing diagrams would be
> cheerfully accepted.
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> Rob Kiddell RPT
> Atonal Piano Service
> http://www.atonal.ca