Player Piano Revival Episode 1: Removing Everything 

Once in a while the RU-vid algorithm suggests some absolute gems, and your channel is one of them! Going to really enjoy this restoration series. The description of how your Grandfather modified his piano with a vacuum cleaner motor is such a classic Grampa thing to do - a classic bit of make do and mend!

i ve only just become aware of these machines when a couple of urban explorers came across one rotting way in an abandoned house i knew what it did but they had no idea what it did iam so pleased that some one like you loves them as much as i do they are magical

what a lovely arts & craft model this is, truly a rarity amongst its peers!

My brother just sent me this link and I'm ecstatic ! I knew a piano technician in Milwaukee who had one of these special players that he had just finished restoring in 1976 so I not only learned a lot but got to sit at the keyboard and pump to some wonderful old AND new rolls. Thank you for taking the time to YT and share!

In a few weeks I will receive an Aeolian player piano directly from the anti-woodworm treatment. It comes from my wife's family and they hasn't played it or done any maintenance to it for possibly close to 40 years. After watching your videos I decided to completely restore it. I have manual skills and tools, although not as professional as yours, but I have worked with modeling, models and DIY all my life, so I have been encouraged. I will need help regarding materials, specific glues and so on. I hope you can guide me a little on these topics when I need it, since I will go step by step. Delighted to have found this tutorial and I hope to get to the end by completely restoring our Aeolian. Thank you very much, congratulations for the quality of your videos and warm greetings from Spain.

Great video, Nate! Thanks for opening a window into your world of restoration of these beauties. I'm fascinated by the details of how every piece depends on the rest to create the magic in the end. And your commitment to "sympathetic restoration" is admirable. Adding just the right amount of musical context and unexpected humor stokes the appetite for more. It will be fun to watch your progress. On to the next...

No way, a player piano youtube channel! I wish we had someone over here in Chicago to repair these guys. I get so many clients that want theirs working but all I can do is work on the piano part... I tried learning from the big book but it was too much for me haha. Edit: Amazing video, I love your commentary and I applaud your editing time and effort into all the shots; it's hard to get me to do that when I'm in the middle of a big project too! Can't wait to view the rest

Very nice Nate! Beautiful veneer. I hope viewers can appreciate just how much work that disassembly really is.......and that's just the beginning. It's great to see someone taking the time and effort to bring to bring that instrument back to life.

Fabulous

I just bought a 90's Story and Clark player and I'm diving head first into learning stuff. Your channel looks great. Love your presenting style.

Fantastic video Nate! I loved the comedic moments. Keep ‘em coming!

Awesome video Nate! Keep up the good work interesting to see the tear down!

The Reblitz books are great. But as Art says, a perfect player is no good if the piano inst working right.

I have a Cunningham player. I think it was built in Philadelphia around 1929. About 20 years ago, I stripped off the green antique paint and refinished it. The player guts have long since gone, but the sound quality is quite nice, if only it was in tune! None of the local tuners will touch it since it has original strings. Beautiful looking. All solid Honduran mahogany. At this point it is destined for the dump. Sad. 😢

What a fantastic video! I picking up an Aeolian player for free on Monday and I figure it may need some light restoration. So I took to RU-vid and had the pleasure of discovering your channel. I love your story of finding this your way to this very cool career and I look forward to seeing the rest of the series!

The old vintage look of such a piano emulates character 🙏🏽💥🙏🏽💥👍🏽

I have 4 P-Ps and now I am getting the inspiration to restore them. Thanks. I am glad to see you did not try to remove the harp while it was loaded. Ive seen bad things happen when that mistake is made.

The fact that you are doing this yourself is unbelievable to me. It is going to be a great accomplishment and fascinating to keep track of. Have always been entranced by the Player Piano...have always wanted a player Grand!! From Philadelphia

Absolutely amazing how much wòrk gò into these machines it will be good to have music centres i know the pieces of music played near the end cannot put a name to them i always liked these machines class

This has been a cool video! I think you should post more content like this.

Your philosophy on restoring player pianos is similar to that of the guy who runs the Wristwatch Revival channel. He cleans and restores old mechanical wristwatches. He doesn't try to make them look brand new, however, since they aren't brand new.

I clicked on the video because that thumbnail is the funniest thing I've seen today xD

Nate, Great meeting you today! Dan Hunt

My feeling is similar to yours, I prefer to preserve the patina of age. I have an old HMV phonograph I’ve been tinkering with, and I have no desire for it to look new. Its age is part of its beauty.

I love player piano's. I have an old Gulbransen upright that i restored. I would love an Ampico player.

you are grate i would not know what to do

I’m from Massachusetts, could you recommend awsome to take a look at my player piano. The keys are hitting soft.

i wonder you could place a player piano like this by a river and use a waterwheel to drive it?