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Music Box Comb Doesn't Match the Cylinder
By Don Caine

Hi Cristian,  What you have is a Thorens 1/28 note musical mechanism.
The 29th tooth is a non-sequitur that does not align with any pins.

Please know that musical combs and cylinders are a matched pair where
the notes tuned onto the comb are tune-specific to the notes pinned on
the cylinder.  The combs are only interchangeable when they are from
an identical mechanism of the same size, melody, and from the same
manufacturer (of the same vintage).  The comb from a 28-note Thorens
"Fur Elise" mechanism made in 1920 may well not align on a Thorens
mechanism made in 1950.

That the mounting screw holes in the comb do not seem to align with the
holes in the base plate I too would assume that it is not the original
comb for that mechanism.  Hopefully it is the comb for the same melody
that is tuned appropriately for that cylinder.

Usually, though not always, Thorens would inscribe the tune number of
the mechanism onto the side of the cylinder where the central shaft
goes through the cylinder and also scribed that number onto the bottom
of the comb enabling them to easily match the combs and cylinders for
the same melody together before assembling the mechanism.

You should be able to manually align the comb with your fingers (as
described below) holding the comb tightly to the base plate to see if
the melody is recognizable.  If it is, then the best solution will be
to elongate the comb screw holes to the right side so that you can
align the comb and then screw it down. (Small washers under the heads
of the comb screws may be helpful just as long as they do not make
contact with any of the tines of the teeth.)

Comb Alignment:

The first tine on the left side of the comb should align with the pin
that is farthest to the left side of the cylinder.  Alternately, there
should be a space on the cylinder where there are no pins at all, for
about 1/8th of an inch.  In that area, on the left side of the cylinder
face, one should see a line of dots ( . . . . . . ) that are spaced to
match the distance between the tips of the notes on the comb.  Those
are the alignment marks for the comb.

Ergo, if you align the comb with the center of the first tooth on the
left aligned to the first dot ( . . . . ) on the left of the cylinder,
then you will be aligning the comb correctly.  The comb should be
perfectly parallel to the face of the cylinder and each tooth tip
should align exactly, center to center, with each pin on the cylinder.

Most sincerely,

Don Caine - The Music Box Repair Center Unlimited
Lomita, California
tel.: 1-310-534-1557  cell: 1-310-386-6038
http://www.musicboxrepaircenter.com/ 


(Message sent Mon 9 Nov 2015, 04:06:20 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Box, Comb, Cylinder, Doesn't, Match, Music

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