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MMD > Archives > October 1998 > 1998.10.26 > 01Prev  Next


Should I Get My Music Box Re-pinned?
By Greg Farmer

I have a cylinder music box that needs re-pinning and I need to
determine my best course of action.  It is a very nice looking 19th
century key-wind box with a solid brass bed-plate marked '3523'.  The
comb has all 103 teeth with good tips and the dampers appear to be
okay too.  The cylinder is 10-5/8 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.
The metal has light surface discoloration or corrosion that I'm sure
would easily clean up.

It is in a very nicely inlaid box with a drop-down door on the left
side for access to the control levers and to wind it.  There is a
compartment on the right side for the key.  The tune card is missing,
but it plays 6 tunes.   It runs great, but sounds terrible.   The
cylinder pins are very worn, are very short, and many are missing.

I'm sure there are probably lots of different opinions about the
questions I have, but I'd like to know:

1) Would simply re-pinning the cylinder likely be enough to make it
sound good?

2) Do the re-pinners justify the pins as part of the job, or is that
extra cost?

2) Would new dampers necessarily be required or do old dampers in
good condition usually work OK?

3) Roughly how much does re-pinning a cylinder this size cost and
how long does it take?

4) Who does this type of work?

5) Roughly, what would a box like this in excellent condition be worth?

I'm not sentimentally attached to this box and would either keep it
or sell it after it is fixed, depending on the tunes it has and if I
like it or not.  So, I don't want to spend more on this than it is
worth.

Thanks,
Greg Farmer


(Message sent Mon 26 Oct 1998, 05:08:38 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.)

Key Words in Subject:  Box, Get, I, Music, My, Re-pinned, Should

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