Huibert Jan Simonsz is asking how to replace a broken off pin on
a music box cylinder [151221 MMDigest].  The bottom line is that it
is impractical to try to replace pins that are broken off.  Here is
the explanation.

The cylinder when pinned has about half of its pin pushed through the
cylinder hole and then a cement is heated up and spun to stick on the
inside of the cylinder.  This is done primarily to avoid extra sounds
to be mingled with the music from a hollow cylinder.

Theoretically, if the cement was heated locally around the area
of the broken pin it conceivably could be pushed through the hole.
However, the pins are approximately 0.009 inches to 0.013 inches in
diameter.  To find a punch that would push in the remaining pin would
be problematic.  A punch of .009" diameter would have to be hardened
and if broken in the hole it would be difficult to remove.

The advice is this: if it is just a few pins missing, generally the
music would not suffer.  If there are many, many pins missing then a
total re-pin of the cylinder would be necessary.  I'm sure there are
people in Switzerland and/or England that could perform the service.
If not, there are a few restorers in the United States that could help.
I'd be happy to answer any other questions.

Tony Ciuffini
Rolling Hills Estates, California
http://www.musicalspecialties.com/ 
msi@dslextreme.com.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]