Piano Actions
in Seeburg Coin Pianos

(Photograph courtesy of Art Reblitz)

A section of the pneumatic stack and piano action in Seeburg H #95,025, made in 1921 without a stop rail. An action cloth bumper inside each pneumatic stops its travel, to keep from pushing the piano action too far and jamming the hammer against the strings. Maximum efficiency and power depends on the pneumatics having exactly the right amount of span, or opening at rest. Most Seeburgs made through about 1921 were made without a stop rail.

(Photograph courtesy of Art Reblitz)

A section of the stack and piano action with a stop rail for the automatically-played notes in unrestored Seeburg E #54,090, made in 1922. The stop rail is the long thin strip of wood mounted above the wippens that have pushrods, in the left of the picture. For each note there is a regulating screw, regulating button, and punching, just like the usual letoff rail. Turning the regulating screws up or down causes the hammer to check closer to, or farther away from the strings, respectively. From 1922 on, Seeburg used stop rails on all their actions, enabling regulation of the pneumatic travel from above the action.