Imagine you have a reed barrel organ whose wooden supports for the
ends of the worm gear crankshaft are so worn that they won't stay
screwed to the inner sides of the case.  What do you do?
Why, EPOXY them to the case sides, and paint over the whole mess.

This holds together well -- so well, that you will never get the
mechanism (bellows, barrel, keyframe, reeds) out of the case
without sawing/chipping/blasting through the epoxy joints --
since the lower end of the supports is also fastened to the inner
mechanism.

I expect to use small metal circular saw blades in my Dremel Moto
Tool (small hand-held electric grinder) to cut away the built-up
wooden shims around the epoxy joints, and later reconstruct this
thing in a way that may not be any more authentic but at least can
be taken apart when needed.  Any ideas?

I'm not complaining -- I got this organ very cheap at the Sandusky
Rally swap mart, and it should sound great once thoroughly rebuilt
(after I get it out of the case).  Enough notes were playing that
I could tell it had good deep bass.  Keyframe, reeds, and bellows
all need work, but it appears complete.

I've seen several organs of this general type -- roughly size and
shape of a large cylinder music box, in plain painted wood case.
Crank is in back on one end, with shaft passing up to the front.
Its wooden worm turns the barrel, which runs the length of the box.
The shaft also pumps a single feeder bellows via a crank-pin
wooden dowel that engages a fork on top of the pressure bellows.
Sometimes the bellows board is covered with a wallpaper swatch.

The reservoir bellows, keyframe, and reeds are all in the bottom,
hidden by the feeder and the barrel.  I can see my keyframe well
enough to count 26 notes.  Projecting out of the side end of the
box is the usual knife-blade handle for changing tunes -- it lifts
the keyframe pivots away from the barrel when shifting.
Mine has 5 tunes, rather a small number; a 6th slot in the knife
has been soldered closed.

I've heard that these were made in Germany, and I'd expect they
were for monkey grinders, although I can find no screw holes where
shoulder straps or a bottom pole would have attached to mine.

Mine has three cutouts in the front panel with grille cloth behind
(like an antique radio), and each cutout has some fake display
pipes (actually the inverted feet of metal pipes).

Someone spray-painted the barrel (including pins and staples)
gold, inspired by those Faventia Barcelona barrel pianos I guess.
Wonder if I should strip this or leave it alone?  The worm screw
is new and well made (may be plastic) and a new wooden mate gear
is on the barrel.  Possibly all salvaged from a Barcelona piano (at
last, a use for these! :-)  At least the barrel has staples so is
not from a piano (?)

I'd seen this instrument (or a close relative) at marts before,
but never so low priced.  I guess nobody else wants to hack
through epoxy either.

Anyone familiar with this type of grind organ?
Thanks, Mike Knudsen