Tom Vance wrote to ask for a source for a replacement comb for
a customer's music box.  I'd suggest that you have your customer take
this music box to someone in the area who has had extensive experience
restoring musical boxes, like the Musical Wonder House.  The MBSI
Journal also lists others nearby such as Nancy Fratti and Dave Beck.
That said, I will venture a guess at what they will tell your customer.

Firstly, the chance of finding a replacement comb is essentially zero.
It would have to come from an identical box with an intact comb.  But,
if you ever do find an identical parts box, the least likely part to
find intact is the comb because it is the most likely part to be
damaged.

On the other hand, if someone were to make such a comb, it would cost
substantially more than the musical box is worth, even after it is
restored, which is somewhere around $1500.  The only reasonable
approach is to repair the comb that you have.

Given the number of broken teeth and missing tips, I'd say that the job
will cost around $900.  But you also need to include the cost of a new
set of dampers (maybe $200).  Okay, that gets the comb in pretty good
shape.

But why are the tips all gone?  That's because the box has had a 'run'
-- assuming that someone hasn't just decided to break off those tips
for the fun of it.  Not likely, as you can see from the previously
botched repair of some bass teeth tips.  The cause of the run is
probably a fault in the governor.  Rebuilding that will cost at least
$250, more if the worm is damaged.

And the tooth tips don't break off by themselves.  They break when the
cylinder spins fast, and that breaks off or bends a lot of pins.  So
the cylinder probably needs repining ($1000), judging from the other
damage.

Finally, you have to disassemble and clean the mechanism and make the
necessary adjustments when you reassemble it (maybe another $500).

So, you add it up -- you get almost $3000 total.  Looking back, I think
some of those numbers might be a bit low.  Maybe the shock of the run
broke the spring: another $250.

So, what's the best way to replace the comb?  Find a working musical
box of about the same size with an intact comb and sell it to your
customer.  If you try to restore the one you have, both you and your
customer will be sorry you ever started, especially when the customer
finds out that the restored box isn't worth half of what the
restoration cost.

Regards
Craig Smith