Hi All, I think an introduction is long overdue.  My name is Steve
Walker.  I am a Journeyman Machinist - Tool & Die Maker.

What is a Journeyman, you ask?  Well, I apprenticed in a prototype
machine shop for four years, which included a 4-year night class at
a community college.  After completion I received my Journeyman
certificate from the State of California Apprenticeship Board.

I currently work for a large medical instrument manufacturer in the
research and development department as an experimental machinist and
CNC programmer.  My job is to program and machine prototype parts for
engineering as well as design and build tooling, injection molds and
vacuum forms.  I also work with the engineering department to make
sure the parts can be made economically when they are released to pro-
duction.  As you can guess, my background comes in very handy for my
hobby.

As a kid growing up in the seventies, I loved going to the local
Shakey's for pizza.  They had a player piano and I was fascinated with
it.  I tried relentlessly to convince my parents to buy one with no
luck.  It would have to wait until I moved out on my own.

I started collecting Mechanical Music in 1985 when I was 21.  My first
instrument was a Conway player piano with a Simplex action.  Shortly
after I bought the piano (while looking for rolls) I met my now good
friend Richard Rigg.  He invited me over to see his collection.  He
showed me the Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments and I was
hooked!  Since then I have continued to collect and met many new
friends through this hobby.  Between 1992 and 1994 I was Chairman of
the West Coast Chapter of MBSI, now called the Southern California
Chapter.

My collection has grown to include a 1926 Fischer Ampico "A", 1899
Style "V" Orchestrelle, 1917 Wurlitzer Style "C" Orchestrion (a very
good reproduction converted from a style "I", but not finished, another
project!), a coin operated 15-3/4" Criterion disc music box, 8-3/4"
Troubadour Disc music box, a large Tanzbar Concertina, a large 3-bird
automata, organettes, several small music boxes, cylinder and disk
phonographs (including my favourite: an Edison Opera (Mahogany) on a
half-barrel cylinder cabinet, and a Class "SM" spring motor Edison),
toys (Rolmonica, Play-a-Sax, PianoLodeon, etc.) and to round out the
collection, arcade and slot machines.

I have made some reproductions over the years.  For the 100th anniver-
sary of the Edison Talking Doll in 1990 I made about 13 very accurate
copies of the phonograph for this doll.  All the copies I have seen
had some parts made of aluminium.  Definitely not original looking.
At the time I had one of the dolls with a reproduction motor and wanted
a better one.  I copied an original creating all the necessary tooling
and using the correct materials as well as having parts tin plated as
they were originally.

Another reproduction was of an 1895 Berliner hand-cranked phonograph.
I only made three of these.  The original I copied is owned by Oliver
Berliner, the grandson of Emile Berliner.  My current project (almost
finished) is a Tangley CA-43 Calliaphone built from scratch.  Other
projects in the works are a 31-note keyless hand-cranked organ and a
Wurlitzer 105 band organ.  That is (as my wife points out), if I live
long enough!

Steve Walker
Riverside, California

 [ Welcome aboard, Steve.  I've enjoyed your articles, including
 [ the story elsewhere in this Digest.  Since you're a skilled 
 [ replica builder, do you think you can clone yourself?  (First
 [ check with your wife!  ;)  -- Robbie