Great info from all the responders on the 18" Mira question!  If you
want to repair the zither bar, you can use onion skin paper.  (Remember
the old 'second sheets' from the manual typewriter days?).

Remove the zither attachment and turn it upside down.  Remove any
residue on the underside of the bar.

Take a small piece of onion skin paper cut to the width of the bar and
roll it around a round small diameter object (thinner than a pencil)
about three layers, no more.  (The paper should not show once it is
flattened.)

Put 'Barge' contact cement on the underside of the zither bar and put
the _seam_ of the paper and hold it there till it sets.  You can use
rubber bands or a light weight on it.  Let it dry overnight.  When
it's dry, flatten the paper a little and install the zither back on
the machine.

If you make it too wide, so that the paper shows, you probably won't be
able to set the zither so you 100% can't hear it.  The paper sits pretty
close to the bottom of the comb teeth.

As for the power problem, the springs in Miras are mammoth in strength!
99% of the time they have never been pulled, cleaned, re-greased.  It
may simply be a case of your not winding the machine enough (it takes
a lot of power to play a chord!) and/or the spring is not giving up
it's all because it's filthy.  I suggest for _all_ disc music boxes to
have the springs pulled/cleaned/re-greased for maximum power output!

I've had many Miras over the years and they are _very_ sturdily built
machines.  I've gotten them 'straight out of the barn' and they've
played beautifully.  If no one has been into the machine, you
'shouldn't' have a problem with the star wheels, but there's always
a chance that it can happen.  Check out the other advice given, then
have the spring taken care of!

Nancy Fratti - Nancy Fratti Music Boxes
Canastota, New York, USA
http://www.nancyfrattimusicboxes.com/