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Age of a pianola please

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Age of a pianola please

Postby Marymint » Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:25 pm

Good afternoon,

Can anybody date my Pianola for me please. On the inside of the piano key lid (perhaps not the technical term) it states Steck Gotha Pianola Piano. When sitting at the piano on the top of the LHS panel is the number S6955, on the top of the RHS panel is the number 41176. The Piano metal plate (with the strings etc) is STECK The Pianola mechanism is Aeonian Company New York with the number 29132. It was purchased by my parents in Liverpool in 1948. Many thanks, I hope I have put this question in the right place on the forum.
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby djkprojects » Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:38 pm

Hello Marymint and welcome to the forum.

Are you able to provide a picture of the piano ?
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby Marymint » Tue Nov 27, 2012 5:33 pm

Thank you for your welcome. I think this forum has come just in time to accompany me and my pianola through the next phase of its life!

I will try now to attach the photos!! I have more photos of the mechanism but will start with an overall view plus the inscription on the "lid". We do have the front panels but have taken them off to better discover the workings.

I think they are attached now. A bit pixelly because of decreasing the size.
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby djkprojects » Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:44 pm

It looks like very early 1900s (first decade).

There is an interesting comment that might help: http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digest ... 12.12.html
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby Peter » Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:13 am

The Steck Pianola looks to be an early model as it only has a 65note stack fitted. There looks to be some modern ie QRS rolls on the shelves which may suggest that the tracker bar/rollbox has been changed to a later 88n one. Counting the holes in the bar would give an indication. Whichever is fitted, only 65notes of the piano will play. If all the rolls on the shelves have recessed ends, as opposed to metal spikes, it would prove that it has been converted to play the later 88n rolls.
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby aeolian » Thu Nov 29, 2012 12:28 pm

It appears to have been professionally converted to play full-scale 88-note rolls, as there is a tracking bellows and valve box to the left of the spool box. This may well have been done prior to your parents' purchase of it, perhaps by APPA Ltd. These are good-quality pianos, which were very expensive when new. Regarding age, it was probably made in about 1908-10. The German-made Stecks are notoriously difficult to date, but if you find a paper label on the pianola mechanism which lists a large number of Patents, you can be sure that it wasn't made before the last date shown there and was probably made very shortly after that last date; Aeolian lodged Patents every month in those days.
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby Marymint » Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:52 pm

My goodness me aren't you all observant - re the rolls, tracker bar, etc.

I've checked out the Patent dates. The main date on the top rhs of the patent sheet says January 1, 1908, however the patent dates are as follows, Feb 20 1906 for France, January 19, 1907 for Germany, February 1, 1909 for Great Britain and Re-issue January 11, 1910 for the US. It also has a Themodist Patent label. So suppose 1910.

For the conversion to 88 notes, on the attached picture you can see the "twinning" of some notes. I am sure this had already been done in 1946 when my parents bought it.

We have recently changed the smaller old rubber piping over to silicone.

Thank you all for the interest you have shown. I'm sure I will be back with some more information requests.
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby Peter » Sun Dec 02, 2012 1:40 pm

Well done with having a go at retubing but if possible try to shorten all the tubing to its minimum possible length, otherwise you may find that it will interfere with the piano action. Start in the middle and work outwards, avoiding any kinking or flattening of the individual tubing.
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby Marymint » Sun Dec 02, 2012 5:00 pm

Shortening re-tubing. Thank you again for your advice. Next time the weatherman forecasts some "staying in" weather we will attend to that. Next phase of DIY may be to re-do the big bellows and the bellows on the wind motor as I fear they are no longer air tight. I'm loath to dismantle really as I enjoy playing on it and since re-doing the small pipes its playing is much improved.

Incidentally is it wind as in "when the wind blows" or wind as in "to wind a clock"?
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Re: Age of a pianola please

Postby Peter » Sun Dec 02, 2012 5:17 pm

It's " when the wind blows" Strickly speaking it should be "air motor"
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