•I faintly recall having posted something along these lines. If the Editor finds it, he can post a link instead of my babble. [Nothing on this subject from you in the last couple years that I could find. So babble on. --Relief Editor] In Germany we don't have that many parades going on, especially d...

•For sale: a Hofbauer 40er self-playing accordion. You provide the wind and it provides the music. Or, if you don't want to squeeze it, hook it up to a wind source and you're in business. Hofbauer stopped production of this instrument but continues to sell music for it. In excellent cosmetic and pla...

•I don't know what Ralph Schultz's Mills converter was built for, but I can corroborate his suspicion that it was not built to power a radio. I can also answer the question, "Why not just have a radio to plug into 110 volts?" The earliest battery operated radios had A, B, and C batteries. The A batt...

•It is probably okay to thread modern wiring through the old lead tubing in the Steck Duo-Art, but the opportunity for short circuits at the junction points is kind of a red flag for me. I recently removed all lead sheathing from a Welte upright and replaced it with wire that has rubber coating arou...

•Those familiar with the contents of Kevin McElhone's Organette Book will have seen the 'Go Go Tunes' car illustrated on page 260. I own the original and found it back in the 1990s in a local clearance warehouse. For obvious reasons my children were never allowed to play with it and it became part o...

•For sale: An 1870s Spanish, hand crank barrel piano, in good working condition (needs tuning), plays 10 tunes. Full size, mounted on a bright red and gold painted handcart with springs. It was originally used in England up to about 1990 then somehow made it to upstate New York, USA. It does have a ...

•[ Philip Jamison wrote in 140701 MMDigest: > Has anyone ever worked on these instruments? I can't see any > screws holding it together. You should come to all the COAA (Carousel Organ Association of America) Rallies and spend your evenings in the hospitality area. Small organ repairs are a common o...

•To put an oar in -- my experience is more with radios and antique cars, but some things apply just the same. In radio collecting, saturation is an important factor. Experience with French radios at the Galerie de Chartres in France shows that the bottom has fallen out of the market for 1930s and '4...

•[ John Haskey wrote in 140728 MMDigest -- > I'm planning to build a crank organ cart and, before I unknowingly > make a huge design mistake, I'd like some ideas and hints into what > makes a good cart. ... ... > > [ The cart plus the organ should fit within your vehicle. ;-) > [ -- Robbie I feel te...

•First, I would like to preface my comments by stating that working on antique musical boxes is not something for the amateur nor is it something to be taken lightly. They are very delicate mechanisms and a simple mistake can easily destroy the cylinder and musical comb making the box irreparable. R...

•I recently had a double singing bird cage as well as two whistlers repaired by Russ MacKay. Russ is the son-in-law of Moe Goldy, who is a highly respected restorer of these things. He re-feathered the birds, repaired the bellows, polished the brass, replaced flooring material and replaced a cracked...

•AMICA Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ Table Favors Available Again! Just in time for Holiday gift giving, we have a new limited supply of these remarkable miniature Wurlitzer 165 band organ replicas. The 70 extras from the August Convention sold out within two weeks. Don't miss this last opportunity. It i...

•[ Ref. Mark Kinsler in 171207 MMDigest Hi Mark, You have been "gifted" for repair with a classic Karl Griesbaum whistler. If there is a flashlight type bulb in the lamp post, then there is likely to be a battery compartment in the wooden base, used to light that bulb. You can see demonstrations of ...

•[ Ref. 180301 MMDigest, FS: Tangley Calliope & Trailer >[ I played this very calliope, pulled by a baby elephant, >[ in parades at Disneyland 50 years ago! -- Robbie The note you added about playing the calliope was interesting! Did you use the gas engine or the electric motor? Thanks, John McConne...

•Craig Smith's Amazon discovery [190311 MMDigest] would seem to be the perfect solution to Mr. Mueller's assignment, except that his customer wants a real brass music box, with a shiny brass cylinder that goes around. And so it is time for some artistic fakery. Now, mechanical music people would not...

•I've been following the thread about WD40. My experience with the stuff goes back a long way -- it's very good at stopping squeaks on door hinges, etc. One day a while ago I used it on my collection of model aero engines, and sprayed it into the inlet of one of the glow-plug type engines to let it ...

•[ Ref. Mark Singleton in 211017 MMDigest ] There are not very many barrel pianos left in North America to cannibalize but I had a clockmaker friend who loved to repurpose spring-wound power. His shop window had turntables and animations powered by large spring motors from old music boxes and phonog...

•Good day! My friend introduced me to MMD as a "place" to list an item for sale that is quite appropriate for this site. It is a German handcrafted "Flötenuhr R 20/31" with small wooden and metal pipes, custom ordered and crafted in 2007 at Orgelbau Raffin GmbH in Germany. I love the piece but now n...

•I have a Hofbauer 36er that I have motorized. I converted it to MIDI. I have a MIDI-controlled accordion and drum set and I can now play them all together by myself. I used a treadle sewing machine large pulley wheel and a motor acquired from All Electronics in Van Nuys, California. The motor has a...

•For sale: Wurlitzer 104 band organ, with drums, mounted on a trailer. The band organ came from [Fallon's] Playland Park in Springfield Township, Ohio, near Akron. It plays Wurlitzer Style 125 music rolls. The top globe turns, a Plexiglas cover protects the belt and drive motor. The trailer is 5 fee...