Introduction
By Michael Sands
I have lurked probably longer than most, and my introduction will explain why.
I inherited my love of mechanical things from my mother. Now a retired German professor, she collects and restores antique watches and clocks. My wife is a competent mechanical engineer, but she works in high tech precision space experiments and is little help. But she introduced me to pinball machines, which I collect and restore. And she introduced me to music.
For a wedding present, I wanted to give her a music box. (Yes, Nancy, there are some of us on this list.) I could find only the simple commer- cial ones available and so bought her a nice Reuge. But I am exceeding lucky because I live near Ralph Heintz! I visited his workshop and became entranced. He provided me with my first music box restoration project and he was willing to help get me started. It is a nice cylinder box with bells, castanets, and drum. I hope to finish it by our tenth anniversary.
But none of this explains why I subscribe now. I have a Paces Races also desperately needing restoration. This is a gambling machine from the early 1930s and has horse racing as a theme. You bet your nickel and the horses race, and the machine calculates the odds and pays off. And it is all pneumatic and the horses are moved according to a piano roll hidden deep in the machine.
And for those that are curious, please visit the Sands of Time Mechanical Museum at
http:///www.dnai.com/~sands/
Please do edit my contributions. Please continue to add editorial comments, especially if contained in brackets, and please continue this group. You are all well-behaved and extremely interesting.
Michael Sands (408) 773-1170
age: 50
Sunnyvale, CA (San Francisco area)
sands@dnai.com http://www.dnai.com/~sands/
[ Glad you popped up here, Michael. I remember corresponding with you
[ ages ago about your process for restoring the art glass of the
[ pinball machines. I hope you will share your knowledge with us
[ sometime. Don't delay the music box restoration. ;) -- Robbie |
(Message sent Sat 15 Feb 1997, 20:19:22 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.) |
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