HI Doug,

For a technician in St. Louis, check out William Singleton at:

http://www.player-care.com/central.html#singleton

According to the Pierce Piano Atlas, your Lauter was made 
in late 1906. However, I'm definitely inclined to believe the 
date on the keys and/or the plate over what's written in the 
reference book. It seems that the numbers in the reference 
book are consistently off by 8-10 years (too early).

The original finish on the Lauter was varnish. It can take on a
waxy feel as it ages but that's usually the result of years of 
polishing with hard furniture wax or polish. Varnish cracks (or 
'alligators') as it ages if exposed to sunlight. That's why the 
'hidden' areas of the cabinet are usually still fairly clear. They 
are still able reflect the light rather than refracting it.

While Lauter did make players with a deep, rich red cherry finish, 
the veneer under that finish is most often red (or pink) mahogany. 
I've yet to encounter a Lauter with cherry veneer, and I live here 
in New Jersey where the vast majority of Lauter-Humana players 
were sold (having been made in Newark, NJ).

The brass flanges used in the piano action are available from at 
least two different piano supply houses. The "tab" part of the hinge 
is usually the part that bends, then cracks and eventually breaks. 
This happens most often when excessive force is used to tighten 
the flange. The force required is just enough to hold onto the 
flange pin so that the pin rotates inside of the felt bushings, no tighter.

Considering where the instrument has traveled in the years since 
you've owned it, I would suspect that a substantial amount of the 
leakage is occurring inside of the wooden block valves or that the 
pouches (which are also inside of the block valves) have become 
very porous. Another 'trouble spot' I've recently encountered is the 
valve chest itself. Being made from pieces that are sandwiched 
together, the chest will leak pretty badly if the glue is deteriorating.

The best way to determine where the majority of the leakage is 
occurring is to test each component in the system separately. I've 
put together some simple tests at:

http://www.player-care.com/test_me.html

Hope this helps.

Musically,

John A. Tuttle
====================================

At 11:36 PM 12/24/01 -0600, you wrote:
>John,
>
>I acquired my Lauter-Humana player piano (built in 1914) from my aunt and uncle
>in St. Louis in 1967.  The piano followed me to Tallahassee for my senior year
>at Florida State, then to Boca Raton, Fla in 1968 and back to St. Louis in
>1987.  Although the wood is covered with what I believe is wax that has
>checked, you can see the beauty of the cherry finish on the underside of the
>lid which has never weathered and in which you can see your face.
>
>The sound has always been excellent.  The player worked for a while, but then
>became weak.  I had the bellows rebuilt in the 70's and that somewhat resolved 
>the problem.  This is the heaviest upright I have ever moved.  I removed the
>player action from the top and built a custom plywood case to protect it.  This
>made it lighter to move and easier to work on the action when a hammer would
>break.  Over the years I have also had to replace some of the little brass
>blocks that are screwed under the hammer pivot rod to hold the hammers in
>place.  Trying to find the correct ones and matching screws so that the hammers
>don't bind can be a problem.
>
>Thanks for your info on finding the dates.  The serial number on the sound
>board up top is 29342.  The bass key has a penciled date of 5-5-14.  The harp
>has a date of 11-7-13 as part of the harp mold.  Maybe this info will help in
>determining the truth of the other info you have found.
>
>Do you know of a good rebuilder in the St. Louis, Missouri area?  Any thoughts
>on worth?  I noticed someone wanting to buy one on Todd Augsberger's mechanical
>music buy/sell/trade website. (Google found by just searching for
>lauter-humana.
>
>Thanks,
>
>and have a Happy Holiday
>
>Doug Traxler
>
>traxler@lcms.org
>314-843-8688

407 19th Ave, Brick, NJ, 08724 Phone Number 732-840-8787