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Tom Zook operates Mechanical . \ >
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RESTORING
PLAYER PIANOS
Tom Zook, 54, pumps the twin foot
pedals ot a 1915 Brinkerhoff player piano in his workshop in
downtown Casper, Wyo. (pop. 49,644), resting the inner work
ings of a musical instrument that once resounded with ragtime
classics, religious hymns, Tin Pan Alley tunes and other popu
lar songs of the era.
“If it’s functioning properly, it will play music,” says Zook,
who has restored 100 of the melodious machines since 1992.
“Otherwise, I listen for air leaks.”
Zook, a former wallpaper contractor, began rinkering with
player pianos in 1988 after he bought one of the upright mod
els at a garage sale. He replaced a few hoses and tubes, repaired
a small set of bellows and, voila, it played a 1939 waltz titled
“The Last Letter” as he pumped the pedals.
"I did what I could to make it play, which wasn’t much,
luckily,” recalls Zook, one of a few dozen people in the United
States who repair player pianos.
From the outset, Zook was fascinated with the automated in
struments and their internal mechanisms. Whether foot-pumped
or motor-driven, all player pianos operate on a vacuum system that
unwinds a paper roll punched with holes. The perforated paper
triggers piano key movements and produces music.
Zook began researching the antique instruments, reading
books about their repair, and before long was fixing player pia
nos for other people. In 1992, he opened Mechanical Music and
turned his hobby into a profession.
During a restoration, Zook repairs or replaces worn or broken
parts, rescrings the instruments and occasionally refurbishes
the exterior woodwork. Each job typically takes a month or
two and can cost from $2,000 to SIO,OOO, depending on the
extent of repairs.
Problems in a player piano usually stem from aging, dete
riorating components. Cloth bellows rupture, rubber air hoses
harden and crack, and leather gaskets can disintegrate. Some
times Zook finds original replacement parts, but more often he
patches old components with new materials.
“I try to use the same materials as when the pianos were
Zook repairs a vintage
Baldwin player piano.
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