User:Johnatuttle~enwiki/sandbox

 I'm John A Tuttle. I was born in 1948 in Berkeley, CA. I was raised in Daly City, CA and joined the Navy in 1966. I left the Navy in 1972 and started my player piano business.  Although I know a lot about fixing player pianos, nickelodeons, pump organs and reproducing instruments, doing business on the Internet is still interesting and challenging. I have discovered a world of knowledge and experience exists on the Internet and I have tapped into every source I've found. Even if I can't answer your question/s directly, I can usually find the answers in relatively short order. My E-Mail involvement with numerous professional rebuilders, collectors and enthusiasts has opened up 'databases' of information that twenty years ago would have taken decades to accumulate. Specific questions relating to repair and restoration processes, testing procedures, player mechanisms are always welcome. However, I am not a good source for information relating to values of music rolls or mechanical musical instruments because I do not buy or sell these items.  Presently, my Player Piano Repair &amp; Tuning Service, located in Brick, NJ., still pays some the bills, and exposure on the Net/Web has vastly expanded my area of operation. How I got here is an interesting story.</a> These days, I conduct most of my contract negotiations via e-mail. It's fast and accurate, and best of all there is a record of everything that is discussed. Using some of the information found on my <A HREF="https://www.player-care.com/pricesan.html">Prices & Terms page</A>, people are able to get a basic understanding of the costs involved before any work is ever started. My first major restoration project that was handled in this manner involved a customer in Boston, MA and his grand father's player piano. Check out the pictures of the <a href="https://www.player-care.com/francis.html">'Francis Bacon'</a> which was completed around the middle of September, 1998. <P align="justify">I still travel quite a bit and often work out-of-state repairing and servicing player pianos, nickelodeons, pump organs and reproducing instruments. Unfortunately, due to the increasing demands on my time because of the Internet, I no longer get involved with refinishing. However, I do know people who are truly experts in the field, and I don't hesitate to recommend them when it's necessary.

<P align="justify"> Since I do not get involved with the buying and selling of instruments, I operate my business from my home in Brick, NJ (near Asbury Park, Point Pleasant and Toms River). Basically, half of my home is devoted to player piano rebuilding of one sort or another. Since my marriage to Susannah in October, 2005, the areas where we 'live' are beginning to take on a new and much needed change. Having a feminine influence around the house is very ewnjoyable.

<P align="justify">I use to enjoy fishing and camping in New Jersey a lot more often, but I've had so little time these days that I'm no longer very good at catching fish, but I've become a pro at drowning worms. My hobbies are still <A HREF="https://www.player-care.com">composing music, poetry, and writing</a>. I am still working on my first book which will be titled <A HREF="https://www.player-care.com/preface.html">&quot;I love a Player&quot; (the preface)</A>. It is going to be the first children's guide to understanding the principles of operation that allow the player piano to work. My hope is that I can keep it simple enough for a child to understand and thereby entice youngsters to consider the trade as a livelihood. I am forever being asked about an apprentice. I've trained more than my share of young men AND women. If I can spirit one or more young people into the trade by capturing their imagination with my book before I retire, I will have achieved my goal. I hope to complete it by 2010. The chapter on the pouch and valve can be seen at <A HREF="https://www.player-care.com/mybook.html">&quot;I love a Player&quot;(the book). </A> The "Preface", A World Wonder, can be selected from the Navigation Bar below this paragraph. It explains how I first became involved with player pianos and their relationship to my life. However, these days I spend much of my 'free' time creating new web pages to help people solve particular problems. Also, I continue to spend time writing <a href="https://www.player-care.com/test_me.html"> Testing Procedures</a> for some of the major components of the player system.

<P align="justify">Occasionally, I get noticed for the work I've done over the years. Here are a few links to the pages that explain things in detail: <A HREF="https://www.player-care.com/award.html">Roger Waring Award</a>, <A HREF="https://www.player-care.com/award2.html">Best in Business Award</a>, and <A HREF="https://www.player-care.com/testimonials.html">Customers' Testimonials</a> </P>