[ Ref. Neil Scragg in 160306 MMDigest --

Hi Neil!  The governor is one of the main sources of frustration in
music box repair -- a box that runs when dirty will not necessarily
run when clean, as cleaning removes built up dirt and 'gunk' and
changes the geometry of the gears.

1) Have you checked the bushings to see if there is any wear there?
If there is, re-bush.

2) Have you polished the pivot that hits the jewel?  It should be
well rounded with no flat spots (flat spots = friction).

3) The depthing of the worm (endless) into the worm gear is crucial.
Even though you marked where it _was,_ when you clean the dirt off
the gears, that mating place sometimes changes.  Play with the depthing
a little.  Be sure you have no comb on the bedplate and use minimal
spring power.

4) Have you polished the lands of the worm?

You can't always trust that pushing the first gear with your finger
is any indication that the gears will run under spring power.  You are
pushing on the larger brass gear, while the cylinder great gear pushes
on the steel pinion.  That difference of where power is applied can
change the pressure points that turn the gears.

Yes, the worm gear and worm are a bit 'off center', usually to the left
of center.

Gear noise is usually indicative of a worn bushing (or two), especially
the bushing under the jewel.

In the end if you've done all the above and it still doesn't start on
its own, you'll probably have to have a new worm and worm gear.  There
is probably just enough wear on the worm gear and possibly a microscopic
groove worn in the worm land to make it not want to start right away.

"Switching gears" now to talking about spring tension:  Remove the
female Geneva stop and wind the box fully, until you start getting
uncomfortable with how tight it is.  _Never_ try to force it.  Then
let the spring barrel unwind _one_ complete revolution and attach the
female Geneva so that you can't wind it past that point.  That way
you'll have at least one coil of spring that you can't wind inside the
barrel and you won't be able to pull the end off the spring barrel
rivet.

Hopefully at least one of the things mentioned above will help solve
your problem.

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