MAKING AN ORCHESTRION                                                     PART 8

 As we told you in Part 7, we put the top shelf back in the piano and after getting the test roll in place, discovered a time consuming result of POOR PLANNING.   

We connected the tracker bar, but without considering that the roll drive works from the back side of the paper.   Thus we have the whole tracker bar tubing reversed side to side.   This means that we have to take the shelf out and retube the whole tracker bar.   Not a technically difficult job, but time consuming and very embarrassing.  

                                     TOM THUMB REPAIR                                                       PART 8

As 2017 progressed, the Tom Thumb Player Piano lost it's enthusiasm and by the time we closed for the season, it was ready to be worked on.

Some jobs just hate to be finished.   After the unglued action was fixed, tuning was the next step.  While tuning, we broke a treble string.   While replacing it, we undid the wrong mating string, so we ended up replacing 2 strings.    Then at the bottom end of the scale, we broke a wound bass string, so we had to order a new one, made as a duplicate from Schaff.

In order to install it, we had to take the pump out to get at the bottom anchor point.   Then it turned out that the tuning pin would not hold, so it had to be removed and the hole shimmed.

Well, it is back together now, ready for final tuning.   Of course, we might break another string doing that.

                                              MAKING AN ORCHESTRION                                         PART 7


The piano we chose for this project is a 1909 Weber.   We have put the top shelf back in the piano and are about to test the piano playing part.

I got the test roll and discovered that the tube it is mounted on is undersized.   I unrolled it, made a correct sized tube and remounted the test roll.

Then I found that we have an interference between the moveable mount and the spring loaded plunger will not retract far enough to put the test roll into the roll drive.

I took the tambourine off, ground the necessary clearance and remounted it.   Now we are ready to try the test roll.

                                         TOM THUMB REPAIR                           PART 7


As 2017 progressed, the Tom Thumb Player Piano lost it's enthusiasm and by the time we closed for the season, it was ready to be worked on.

There has been a small leak in the shutoff valve which I could not find.    The back cover which holds the pouch has been modified and has motor cloth patches on the back, so I decided to make a new section.   The center of the photo shows the old pouch holder.    The right side shows the new part before cutting it to size.

There will be no unexplained leaks through the wood after we seal it.

                                                 Making an Orchestrion                                  Part 6

                            The piano we chose for this project is a 1909 Weber.    We have the upper

                            section  placement worked out.   We think we have everything properly

                            arranged, so we tubed the parts.   This is what it looks like from the rear.   

                           We fully expect that when we put this back in the piano, there will have to be

                            a few adjustments made, but we are pretty sure this is basically correct.