I got my 1921 Hamilton Player piano up and running and do not think I would have been successful without Shawns video and his personal help. I must admit for something built that long ago a player piano is complicated with a lot of parts and many things that need to be replaced. As I understand it there were hundreds of companies that produced players and they seem to have a lot of differences based on all the other videos that I saw. Shawn's is the best video if you have a piano in the Baldwin family. I also got a lot of guidance from John Tuttle with Player-care. I would be happy to share what I learned thru the process if anyone would like my thoughts. I'm sure that Shawn would forward my contact info if you asked him through UA-cam.
Great explanation video, Shawn. I myself have been doing player piano restoration and I hope this reaches out to people who haven't yet fully learned about player pianos, it encompasses some great pointers and shows how it all works. Some things I recommend are to experiment a lot. Even if it means making a "dummy" valve so you can experiment with valve travel, it always helps. Some of the stack pneumatics look to be moving a bit sluggishly, though this could just be from camera perspective. Some things to focus on with the pneumatics are to make sure to sand the edges around half way through the thickness of the board where the hinge is so the cloth doesn't pinch causing the pneumatic to open by itself. The pneumatic should be able to sit closed by itself without anything on it or attached to it. If the pneumatic is resisting being fully closed when no vacuum is applied, you might need thinner cloth. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but you want the pneumatics to be able to rest closed when there is no vacuum and have the spring be the thing that keeps it open. This way, the vacuum is only pushing against the spring which as a set amount of resistance as the original manufacturer intended. Thankfully you know about ticking cloth, that is essential in having any working bellow. If you find that once you put the piano back together, the keys are sluggish/don't move fully or some are very quiet, it is most likely not a problem with the vacuum, it would be the pneumatics. I heard you say your dad has a shop in Oregon, does he happen to know Bruce Newman? Bruce is a wonderful person to watch for guidance in player piano restoration. Great job with everything, I have high hopes for this piano!
Thank you for your insights AspenPianola. The Baldwin stack has many unique aspects compared to other more common players and the pneumatics are one of them. I’ve tested each one after total assembly and they appear to be operating as designed but I’ll know in couple weeks when I get it in the piano. What type of player are you restoring?
@@shawnmalone3803 I am currently restoring an 1888 prototype player piano made by the brand Pease. It’s player system is quite rudimentary, but it is very intricate and every little detail must be perfect. It has 2 stacks one on top of the other and is a single valve compact system. It has continuous pouches made from kangaroo leather which made it difficult to re-pouch but it should work great when it is finished. Baldwin stacks are very reliable, you’ve got yourself a great piano there! It should play well when it is complete, Baldwin often left some extra room for the pneumatics to move so even if they had stiffened up over time, they would still hit the key the same they would have out of the factory.
Wish there was no delay on the piano playing. Very headache inducing especially at like 8:37. Could also be lowered compared to the voice. Thanks for the info though.
This has got to be one of the best restoration process explanations on the net. Fantastic video, content and process. I would have loved to have been a part of this project. Thanks so much.
Thank you Alan. Sometimes I wish I took more video of the process but I was learning as I was restoring and ultimately the pictures were for me to ensure I put it back together right!
Fantastic to see this old girl being revived. How i would love to get my hands on a player piano, such amazing machines. Thanks for sharing your journey.
Really appreciated your video series. I am about to restore a Hamilton player piano and since Ellington and Hamilton are in the Baldwin family the piano you restored is very similar to the construction of mine. You mentioned in your video that you bought all of your supplies from the Howard Piano Industries but when I visited the website I did not see that they offered bellows cloth or the leather pouch membranes. Was also very interested in your 3D printed pouch setting tool and if you sold them. Not sure if you can reply through UA-cam but would really like to get more information from you.
Hi James. I bought my piano action parts from Howard piano but most of my bellows cloth and other supplies came from www.player-care.com/ ….John Tuttle is good to work with and also sells pouch setters and he made one for the Baldwin players after seeing my design . I bought my pouch leather and leather for gaskets from Columbia Organ Leathers and my leather valve from Steves Piano Service.
I restored a Western Electric nickelodeon around 1970, spending several years on it. (I no longer have it since I sold it.) it occurred to me that it as been about 50 years. So the restoration is now almost as old as the instrument was before i restored it. So is it possibly in need of another restoration? That would be sad. I wonder if my materials were better quality than the original. I also restored a reproducing piano but that was only 30 years ago. It should still be good. How many people are still interested in player pianos. I knew a man who was in the business at its revival peak, in the 70s. The last time i talked to him, he had 5 or 10 pianos he couldn't sell because the novelty had worn off. I enjoyed doing it, but couldn't get excited about doing another one.
The market has definitely changed and most players now that are passing hands from grandparents are needing repair and generally are not wanted by their children because they are large, heavy and cost over $500 just to move. Many are going in the dump or being salvaged for parts. The music from the rolls is what I find fascinating and somehow preserving the music from that era and playing it on a 100 year old piano gives me satisfaction.
@@shawnmalone3803 Until about 3 years ago I was following a group called "roll scanners" who had devised several devices to scan player piano rolls, converting them to midi files. Some even had punching machines to punch new rolls from the midi files. Somewhere there is at least one website were you can download thousands of these midi files. Then I stopped hearing from that group. I don't know f they still exist. I can sympathize with the people who can no longer deal with the nuisance of moving these old pianos or even have room for them. I did have fun with the piano i had while it was still working (unrestored). A previous owner had kept going by removing the pedals and installing vacuum cleaner motor. It finally stopped completely. Before I could restore it, I got involved in restoring the nickelodeon and a reproducing grand. By then I was done, and sold it. I still have some bellows cloth; I wonder if it's still good. I also have the spoolbox and pneumatic motor from a Gulbransen piano. It had to be scrapped many years ago because it had been in a flooded basement. There is a family near me who has a fantastic collection of perfectly restored orchestrions and other automatic instruments, plus the world's second largest theater organ and a 100 year old carousel. - Sanfilippo's in Barrington , IL
Nice and clear level of detail, and thank you for this video and saving this piece of history. Hazy how you made the folds so nice on the small bellows. Also, very hard to hear this part of the work with the piano music. Nice music, but in many places, I have to fight to hear your words. Music should simply be removed, if not easy to re-mix. It really, really hurts the value and pleasure of this well done project.
I got my 1921 Hamilton Player piano up and running and do not think I would have been successful without Shawns video and his personal help. I must admit for something built that long ago a player piano is complicated with a lot of parts and many things that need to be replaced. As I understand it there were hundreds of companies that produced players and they seem to have a lot of differences based on all the other videos that I saw. Shawn's is the best video if you have a piano in the Baldwin family. I also got a lot of guidance from John Tuttle with Player-care. I would be happy to share what I learned thru the process if anyone would like my thoughts. I'm sure that Shawn would forward my contact info if you asked him through UA-cam.
Great explanation video, Shawn. I myself have been doing player piano restoration and I hope this reaches out to people who haven't yet fully learned about player pianos, it encompasses some great pointers and shows how it all works. Some things I recommend are to experiment a lot. Even if it means making a "dummy" valve so you can experiment with valve travel, it always helps. Some of the stack pneumatics look to be moving a bit sluggishly, though this could just be from camera perspective. Some things to focus on with the pneumatics are to make sure to sand the edges around half way through the thickness of the board where the hinge is so the cloth doesn't pinch causing the pneumatic to open by itself. The pneumatic should be able to sit closed by itself without anything on it or attached to it. If the pneumatic is resisting being fully closed when no vacuum is applied, you might need thinner cloth. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but you want the pneumatics to be able to rest closed when there is no vacuum and have the spring be the thing that keeps it open. This way, the vacuum is only pushing against the spring which as a set amount of resistance as the original manufacturer intended. Thankfully you know about ticking cloth, that is essential in having any working bellow. If you find that once you put the piano back together, the keys are sluggish/don't move fully or some are very quiet, it is most likely not a problem with the vacuum, it would be the pneumatics. I heard you say your dad has a shop in Oregon, does he happen to know Bruce Newman? Bruce is a wonderful person to watch for guidance in player piano restoration. Great job with everything, I have high hopes for this piano!
Thank you for your insights AspenPianola. The Baldwin stack has many unique aspects compared to other more common players and the pneumatics are one of them. I’ve tested each one after total assembly and they appear to be operating as designed but I’ll know in couple weeks when I get it in the piano. What type of player are you restoring?
@@shawnmalone3803 I am currently restoring an 1888 prototype player piano made by the brand Pease. It’s player system is quite rudimentary, but it is very intricate and every little detail must be perfect. It has 2 stacks one on top of the other and is a single valve compact system. It has continuous pouches made from kangaroo leather which made it difficult to re-pouch but it should work great when it is finished. Baldwin stacks are very reliable, you’ve got yourself a great piano there! It should play well when it is complete, Baldwin often left some extra room for the pneumatics to move so even if they had stiffened up over time, they would still hit the key the same they would have out of the factory.
Be sure to check out my restored player in action.
ua-cam.com/video/T-7mgxDMd64/v-deo.html
Wish there was no delay on the piano playing. Very headache inducing especially at like 8:37. Could also be lowered compared to the voice. Thanks for the info though.
I realized after publishing these that the background music was not ideal.
This has got to be one of the best restoration process explanations on the net. Fantastic video, content and process. I would have loved to have been a part of this project. Thanks so much.
Thank you Alan. Sometimes I wish I took more video of the process but I was learning as I was restoring and ultimately the pictures were for me to ensure I put it back together right!
Fantastic to see this old girl being revived. How i would love to get my hands on a player piano, such amazing machines. Thanks for sharing your journey.
Thanks. I’m currently advising another guy that just got a Baldwin action player on restoring. My videos were timely for him
This is fascinating. Thank you for sharing.
Your’re welcome!
Really appreciated your video series. I am about to restore a Hamilton player piano and since Ellington and Hamilton are in the Baldwin family the piano you restored is very similar to the construction of mine. You mentioned in your video that you bought all of your supplies from the Howard Piano Industries but when I visited the website I did not see that they offered bellows cloth or the leather pouch membranes. Was also very interested in your 3D printed pouch setting tool and if you sold them. Not sure if you can reply through UA-cam but would really like to get more information from you.
Hi James. I bought my piano action parts from Howard piano but most of my bellows cloth and other supplies came from www.player-care.com/ ….John Tuttle is good to work with and also sells pouch setters and he made one for the Baldwin players after seeing my design . I bought my pouch leather and leather for gaskets from Columbia Organ Leathers and my leather valve from Steves Piano Service.
Good luck and if you have any questions just send an email to maloneshawnp@gmail.com
I restored a Western Electric nickelodeon around 1970, spending several years on it. (I no longer have it since I sold it.) it occurred to me that it as been about 50 years. So the restoration is now almost as old as the instrument was before i restored it. So is it possibly in need of another restoration? That would be sad. I wonder if my materials were better quality than the original.
I also restored a reproducing piano but that was only 30 years ago. It should still be good.
How many people are still interested in player pianos. I knew a man who was in the business at its revival peak, in the 70s. The last time i talked to him, he had 5 or 10 pianos he couldn't sell because the novelty had worn off. I enjoyed doing it, but couldn't get excited about doing another one.
The market has definitely changed and most players now that are passing hands from grandparents are needing repair and generally are not wanted by their children because they are large, heavy and cost over $500 just to move. Many are going in the dump or being salvaged for parts. The music from the rolls is what I find fascinating and somehow preserving the music from that era and playing it on a 100 year old piano gives me satisfaction.
@@shawnmalone3803 Until about 3 years ago I was following a group called "roll scanners" who had devised several devices to scan player piano rolls, converting them to midi files. Some even had punching machines to punch new rolls from the midi files. Somewhere there is at least one website were you can download thousands of these midi files. Then I stopped hearing from that group. I don't know f they still exist.
I can sympathize with the people who can no longer deal with the nuisance of moving these old pianos or even have room for them. I did have fun with the piano i had while it was still working (unrestored). A previous owner had kept going by removing the pedals and installing vacuum cleaner motor. It finally stopped completely. Before I could restore it, I got involved in restoring the nickelodeon and a reproducing grand. By then I was done, and sold it. I still have some bellows cloth; I wonder if it's still good.
I also have the spoolbox and pneumatic motor from a Gulbransen piano. It had to be scrapped many years ago because it had been in a flooded basement.
There is a family near me who has a fantastic collection of perfectly restored orchestrions and other automatic instruments, plus the world's second largest theater organ and a 100 year old carousel. - Sanfilippo's in Barrington , IL
Nice and clear level of detail, and thank you for this video and saving this piece of history. Hazy how you made the folds so nice on the small bellows. Also, very hard to hear this part of the work with the piano music. Nice music, but in many places, I have to fight to hear your words. Music should simply be removed, if not easy to re-mix. It really, really hurts the value and pleasure of this well done project.
Glad you enjoyed and Thank you for your feedback. I realize after I posted it that the background music was a bit loud compared to the original file.
I have one that needs restoring too !
Do you plan to restore it yourself? It’s worth the effort !