Making Music Boxes in Switzerland
By Bob Ebert
Robbie Rhodes asked about how music boxes are made in Switzerland. Marcia and I toured the Reuge plant in Ste. Croix on June 30th this year. Quite a fascinating experience.
The small 18 note boxes are pretty well automated. The whole line is computer controlled. Cylinders and pins done automatically by machine and final assembly all on a computerized line. Although they could not tell us how many they make per year, I counted several of the operations and it seems about 8 or 9 movements per minute are going through; that would be about 500 per hour.
Holes are drilled for the larger boxes (36 note and bigger) by numeric controlled machines as well and pins inserted by machine. Tuning is done by a computerized system for all boxes - small and large. However, human intervention occurs at the end of the tuning process and each cylinder is put through a machine and tested by a highly skilled worker before being sent to final assembly.
The larger movements are assembled by hand. The real thrill was watching an artisan assemble the cylinder, movement, and comb for a 144 note box and attach this all to the plate. The skill here is that every pin must be lined up precisely with the comb. What this artisan does determines the success or failure of the box (and probably, in the long run, the firm).
The movements for the larger boxes are placed into cases made by artisans in the communities of Ste. Croix and the adjoining town of L'Auberson.
While there, we visited the mechanical music museums in Ste. Croix and L"Auberson. Both are most worthwhile. The one in Ste. Croix is in the old Paillard factory and has the Reuge company store attached. Never mind how much we spent there, but we did come back with a couple of nice boxes.
Hope this gives a bit of insight into the Reuge situation. Please note; tours are not normally conducted for groups under 20 persons. We took four months to get this one arranged - advanced planning is essential.
Bob Ebert
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(Message sent Mon 21 Aug 1995, 23:40:40 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.) |
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