To Ian McDonald:  Welcome to another Musical Box lover.  I looked up the
article in the MBSI Silver Anniversary book and saw some pictures of the
boxes that Ian enjoys so much.  Ian, maybe we can keep some more Musical
Box info on MMD!

To John Winn, who wanted to know about fairground organ makers in the UK
-- The best source for info on this is Andrew Pilmer, a major restorer of
such instruments in UK.  He is not on e-mail, but can be reached at:
Phone:  01904-738309  or  FAX: 01904-738659

He is a most friendly person and travels extensively in his occupation.
He also does most of the fairs each summer weekend.  He's also a member
of the Fair Organ Preservation Society and could get you an application
to join that if you like!

To Bruce Clark:  Great news about the Regina with molasses!  You never
know what is in these mechanisms sometimes, but with perseverance all
usually turns out well!

As for cleaning/oiling the mechanism.  Treat the spring with great
respect -- it is about 27 feet of spring steel coiled in a 5" barrel!
Are you going to pull it out?  If so, you must clean off the old grease
(alcohol and steel wool will do it) and apply new grease.  I have some
great grease with Teflon in it that works fine, or you can get some
molybdenum grease from Sears (used in automotive work).  Smear a thin,
even layer of it on the spring, then put the spring back in barrel.
(Easier said than done.)

As for the other motor parts:  Once the spring barrel is off, the easiest
thing to do is soak the remaining parts in denatured alcohol (hardware
store product).  The alcohol will dissolve any grease really quickly and
you can scrub off the 'gop' with any kind of stiff bristled brush.  To be
sure that you've cleaned all parts as good as they can be, they should
be taken apart to whatever degree you are comfortable with.

I'm thinking here of the governor especially.  The governor is the heart
of the box.  IF you take it apart, there are adjustments that will have
to be made when you put it back together.  The best, most thorough way to
clean any mechanical movement is to take it apart as much as you can,
providing you can get it back together again!  Note the position of the
worm and worm gear; there is sometimes an eccentric, moveable bushing at
the bottom end of the worm.

Put a scratch line on the frame and the bushing so you can line them up
again.  Check the jewel under the jewel cap on the top end of the
governor assembly.  It may be pitted and/or missing and may need to be
replaced.  Bear in mind that cleaning out bushings accentuates wear and
you MIGHT have to re-bush.

As for the correct lubricants:  I use stem grease on the worm and a very
heavy oil on all the bushings.  I have all this in stock, so you don't
have to worry about where to get it!

As for cleaning the parts on top of the bed-plate -- ** Do not take the
star wheel gantry off!!! **  You can take the star wheels out, CAREFULLY
(it is easy to crack the star wheel gantry in trying to remove the star
wheels).  Call me and I'll explain how to do it.

If you have access to an air compressor and a spray can to put on that
compressor you can clean this assembly relatively easily.  Fill the spray
can with denatured alcohol and blast the star wheel assembly.  You can
take the damper rails off if you want to, but note any shim washers and
be sure you think you can put them back on in the same place.  They are
moveable from side to side and front to back.  Leave them on if you're
not comfortable with them.

The alcohol blast will usually remove the gold paint on the bed-plate.
You can re-paint with Krylon gold paint, or any gold paint that you
prefer.

You can remove the brass hold-down arm and center turntable (if there
is one).  But DO NOT REMOVE the center post!  There's a lot of movement
in the center post and that can cause positioning problems later.
Questions?  E-mail or call me!

Congratulations on saving another great music box!

Nancy Fratti - Panchronia Antiquities
PO BOX 210 - Whitehall, NY 12887-0210 USA
518-282-9770  or fax: 518-282-9800
Disc & Cylinder Musical Boxes - Musical Box Restoration Supplies