Pneumatic Player Piano Roll Mechanism Restoration

We are seeking an experienced restorer to overhaul the pneumatic roll-playing mechanism of an antique player piano built in the early twentieth century. The instrument uses a vacuum-driven system: a foot-pumped bellows pair generates suction that pulls a perforated paper roll across a tracker bar, and the resulting air signals trigger the striker pneumatics for each note. Over decades the leather diaphragms in the main pump bellows and the smaller pouch pneumatics have hardened, cracked, and lost their seal, so the mechanism barely holds vacuum and the roll stutters instead of advancing smoothly.

The project requires disassembling the pump and reservoir bellows, stripping the old leather and rubberized cloth, and re-covering every joint with fresh materials cut to the original patterns. The tracker bar must be removed, its dozens of narrow slots cleaned of dried paper dust and old shellac, and its ports checked for airtight alignment against the roll frame so no note misfires or ghosts. The spool box transport — including the take-up spool spring motor, the rewind clutch, and the paper-roll tempo indicator — needs full inspection, re-lubrication, and replacement of any perished rubber tubing that connects the wind-chest to the striker rail.

We would also like the foot pedal linkage and pump intake valves rebuilt so pedaling response feels even, along with a full leak test across the entire tracker-to-striker air path once reassembly is complete. Please describe your experience with pneumatic player mechanisms specifically — not general piano tuning — and include photos of comparable bellows or tracker-bar work you have completed. A written estimate broken down by bellows releathering, tracker bar service, and transport mechanism repair is required before work begins.