Dear Readers:  As a new subscriber to MMD, I read with great interest
the articles posted each day.  This is a wonderful forum for fans of
mechanical music and novice and expert instrument restorers.  However,
the entry that appeared yesterday from Stephen Kent Goodman bothered me.

How are you supposed to become proficient at anything until or unless
you make some mistakes along the way?  Simply stating that you need to
leave repairs to the professionals is a very dim and discouraging
comment.

I was glad to read the response from Niels Berkers in 081103 MMDigest
that advocated my idea: start on a cheap instrument and practice,
practice, practice.  We know that these instruments are aging as fast
as we are, so the new generation of repairers needs to be encouraged
and fostered so that these works of art remain in working condition.

Sincerely,
Claudia Molinari