Here are my two cents, hope that I'm not stepping on anyone's toes! :-)

I have found the comments on House on the Rock to be very interesting. I
admit to being somewhat disappointed in some of what was done, but what
was done is done. I doubt that any more authentic instruments are at
risk. After all, I understand the Hupfeld was restored in Germany by
Siegfried Wendel, how many other wonderful  treasures may yet be
resurrected? All of the newer pieces seem to be entirely built from odds
and ends. And the ingenuity in many of the things which are there are to
be marveled at, whether or not what you see and what you hear are in fact
totally different.

 Perhaps what concerns me more is how everyone is lead to believe that
everything is real. Working in a museum devoted to Mechanical Music where
all attempts are made to keep things authentic, it can be  frustrating
having our instruments compared to those at our friend's in Wisconsin. On
the other hand, it shows that people appreciate what we've done just as
much.

As far as maintenance, ours might be a bit different. Our machines are
demonstrated on guided tours. We've always felt that these machines will
be much better appreciated if our guests are informed as to what the
machine is, and how it actually works. Our tour demonstrates 12 machines,
ranging from a 27" Regina and an art case Weber Duo-art, to several coin
pianos and the Mortier dance organ (Bowers encyclopedia pg. 901 #38).
Since we have control on how often they are played, they do not run
constantly. But at five to seven tours a day, seven days a week, seven
months a year, plus special showings and our own enjoyment: that's nearly
1,500 plays each per year. The Mortier averages three tunes per tour
making it over 4,000 plays. The only time we can spend on maintenance is
late evenings, but other than regular oiling,  tunings and minor
adjustments, some of our machines are still playing as strong as ever
after more than 15 years. Granted there are occasional minor emergencies,
but relatively few and far between.

With only two of us doing the restoration, we still manage to add a
couple new pieces to the collection each year, and do some outside
projects. It's not that difficult, but it does take devotion.
It may be unfortunate that there are so many grand old machines playing
to the public in various states of disrepair, but they still draw a lot
of interest to our field of collecting. If only more machines could be
where they could entertain the general public!

Alexander (Andy) M. Struble
Musicmachines@Juno.com