To respond to Todd Augsburger's questions in MMD 96.11.18 the
statements he makes are all too common for boxes found of uncertain
parentage and upbringing.  The phrases "non-melodic, few pins bent,
teeth replaced, scuff marks around adjustments, non-melodic" make my
blood chill a few degrees.  They sound like the work of a well
intentioned but ill prepared fixer-upper.

Specifically:

Pins can sometimes be straightened, sometimes not.  It depends on the
brittleness of the particular pins used on this box and also how badly
they are bent over.  If too many are lost or badly bent, the cylinder
will need repinning (many dollars!).  Non-harmonious play may be due to
poor registration of the cylinder with the comb tips.  Usually easy to
correct but may not be the whole problem.  The tune change cam or
"snail" may be messed up; tough problem to fix! The fact that teeth
have been replaced may mean that the replacements may be misaligned or
were not tuned correctly.  Generally correctable but time consuming.
Some of these problems can be corrected by one who has had some
training but some will probably require an expert.  The cost for
something like this cannot be done without inspection but it could
(even probably) be considerable.

Generally, you should rely on your ears.  If what you hear is not
pleasing in any way, stay away.  If the price is right and/or the box
has some other special merits it might be worth taking a chance on but
for one not experienced, it may be best to remain cautious.  This box
sounds like it might need a lot of work.

Hope this helps some.  It's really a value judgment and involves some
risk.  Sometimes you win, sometimes not.  Good luck.

Chuck Walker

____¶
Chuck Walker (cewalker@prodigy.com)¶
Hopewell Junction, NY