This DVD will show you how I rebuild Ampico pumps. It was done alone, without scripts or prompts, and is very amateurish - I apologize for that. However, it is also long and boring— so what I lost in quality, I made up for in quantitatively laborious repetition.

     On the serious side however, I have discovered that when steps are crisply synopsized in what we have come to recognize as “professional presentations”, we don't learn very much! I have never figured that out, except, I know how I want to be taught something.

     You even get a little bonus in this DVD, with a demonstration of how to pouch an Ampico valve block How it got in there, I'll never know, but it has a neat little trick about it that you should consider carefully. It will make your pouches more sensitive, being made of thicker than original pouch leather— you need all the sensitivity you can get,

     I have always said about the typical videotape demonstration, “That video doesn't show me much, but if I could just spend some time with that guy while he's doing it, and just listen to him ramble on while I'm watching and asking questions, I could learn it really well!”

   So, I just decided to let you watch me do the rebuild. I include long scenes of mechanical repetition to talk about things which otherwise might never come up. “Every little bit helps”, as they say. So take these comments and information, together with your own knowledge and understanding of things, and I think you will get a good grasp of what it takes to assure yourself of a great Ampico pump.

     The main thing is not to expect to utilize the DVD on an “as you go” basis, at least the first time, but to get into your head the important principles being demonstrated and finally proved during the test setup of the pump. I doubt that you will believe that a pump can operate this smoothly and evenly until you see it all together in its last “big” scene. Just remember, that's what your pumps are going to work like because I've taken my time and risked boring you with repetition and slow careful monologue to give you some time to sort and think. I want you to take your time. The information is in the monologue.

     After the rebuild and testing of the basic Ampico A pump, I briefly explain the interim model Ampico pump that the Ampico engineering department had initially designed and put into some of the model B players in 1925 probably, but which was found in a model A. You'll probably never see one, but it's interesting Then the model B pump regulator and amplifier system takes the last 18 minutes of the video.

     One very important point about this DVD is that fast-forwarding doesn't work well because I am using slow, repetitious handwork scenes to talk about what I do, and why I do it that way. These are the times that you will gain your insight— the very moment you think you can fast forward through something like the pump wheel spinning in the test stand, I am about to describe a very important, alternate way of preparing the feeder drive pin brackets after they've been mixed up and you don't know which feeder they went on! That is also crucial in some instances.

     Learn the procedure by the audio portion, and just use the video portion as a memory stimulator to hearken back to what I've said, and you'll get the ideas quickly.

   Good luck on your rebuilds, and if there is anything about this DVD that you would like to comment on, I always invite your comments. If you just don't like my looks, I can always take that into consideration, too! And if you have ideas for another presentation, let me know what it is. This is actually the first video I ever tried to do, so they can only get better from here.