Hello everyone!  After lurking for a few months and reading the
contents of the Archives (probably 40% of them anyway; Wow, what
a treasure trove of information!), I decided it's time for an
introduction.

My name is Jim West, and I have been fascinated with mechanical music
since I was a little boy.  I was surfing the Internet one evening and
came across the Stanoszek plans for the Wurlitzer 104/105 band organ.
"Hey! I'm good with tools and wood, I can do that!" I say to myself,
and that's where the infection took hold (I'm sure many of you can
relate...).

A friend (and fellow MMD subscriber) of mine, Jack Breen, had been
asking me to drop by his home and see is recently restored Violano.
I went, Jack demonstrated, and I was astonished.  After retrieving my
lower jaw from the carpet, we discussed band organs and decided that
building two each of half the pipes would save a lot of setup time in
the shop.  After much research, I'm ready to begin now.

Meanwhile, I start browsing the MMD Archives with the 1999 posts,
gobbling up any organ related information, and glossing over the rest.
Then I see posts about all the restorable player pianos that nobody
wants being available for short money.  Rewind the Archives ALL the
way, start over reading on many more subjects.  I join MBSI, go to
a chapter meeting and some open houses.

Oh dear, _now_ I've done it -- I've "fallen in love" with these
machines that are at least 2-3 times my age!  I would love to have
a player piano, an Orchestelle, a reproducing piano...  (You get the
picture.  I'm still recovering from the grin that 89-key Gavioli put
on my face.)

Now you know what has befallen me.  I'll probably hop in my truck some
day and drive from Massachusetts to St. Louis to see what D.L. Bullock
has to offer, but I probably better get that band organ well underway
before then.

Say, what are these orchestrion things all about....

Best Regards,
Jim West