•Hello Melinda, your message (MMD 981028): > I picked up a Thorens 36-note music box at a antique store Saturday; > they practically gave it to me ($25). It doesn't work, locked up that > is. I had a book that told me step by step how to clean parts, etc. > > I was wondering if anyone knew what I sh...

•[ Re inquiry from new MMDer Melinda Paris in MMDigest 981028 ] It is difficult to guess what might be wrong with your music box without seeing it. However, we have see quite a few of these boxes and repaired some of them. You mention that the box "is stuck." Check the small gear in the governor ass...

•Sounds like you have Thorens that plays three tunes, and the comb has 36 teeth, hence 3/36. There is a MMD participant by the name of Hauke, I believe from Germany, who has a large Thorens collection. Perhaps he'll see your request on the MMD, and respond to you. Larry Greenfield [ See Hauke Marxse...

•Melinda, I expect that there is probably nothing much wrong with your music box if you can look at its parts and see nothing obvious broken. (I know this is a rather rash statement, but if it was not obviously mistreated, it's probably true.) So here's my offer. If you would like to put the little ...

•I have received a badly damaged 8-tune music box in my shop. I've done all the cosmetic work on the works, everything is all set to go, except that the gear which mates with the fly has been damaged due to previous maladjustment. The teeth have been crowned over. I've done my best to true the gear ...

•Nancy Fratti handles an assortment of worm wheels as well as worm gears. Check with her to get what you need. The new gear may not run smoothly until it is worn in. Make sure that the worm wheel is well polished to a mirror finish where the worm wheel runs, and this will greatly aid in the smooth s...

•I've just finished repinning the balance rail on my ongoing built-up project, and seem to have uncovered another problem. Now that the rail pins are all nice and vertical, there are a number of keys that are rather twisted to one side or another. I've tried steaming them, and correcting the twist b...

•I've been reading the thread on roll reading techniques with great interest. With the help of a friend, I plan to begin some experiments of my own this spring, and all this information is most helpful. Meanwhile, all I have is my player piano, so Spencer Chase's frustra- tion of trying to play dama...

•Does anyone know of a method of repairing, stabilizing, or strengthen- ing old pot metal parts that have begun to crack and deteriorate, but are not past the point of no return? I know I read an article about this years ago, but can't recall where. Thanks! Hal O'Rourke

•I bought some welding rod for repairing pot metal from an antique car supplies dealer and the stuff works great for repairing breaks or building up worn areas for re-shaping. It can be welded with a "cool" propane flame and requires no flux. After machining there is no visible color difference. Hop...

•Hal, welcome to the Wonderful World of Pot Metal. The inventor of this impure die-cast zinc alloy has been cursed into Hell by more antique collectors than anyone else in history. But somewhere, in my boxes of papers I moved from Chicago to Maine, is a four-page article I saved years ago from a mod...

•Jack Niewoehner asks where he can get good calfskin for making snare drum heads. I have an Arburo jazz organ with a set of metric size drums with the original cowhide drum heads. I tried the best drum suppliers (I'm in Canada), but they couldn't match up heads for metric-sized drums. However, they ...

•Help! I need some suggestions on the following problem. I have a 1926 Steinway with a broken agraffe on the C one octave above Middle C. I have followed the directions in Art Reblitz's book, "Piano Servicing, Tuning and Rebuilding", which suggests using a #2 'Easy Out' to extract the agraffe shaft ...

•John McClure in 990709 MMDigest wrote: > Help! I need some suggestions with a broken agraffe on the C > one octave above Middle C. The shaft won't come out with reasonable > force applied, and I'm afraid the 'Easy Out' might break off > is there a recommended liquid to free the part? Kano Laborator...

•In a similar situation, I used a very sharp center punch to ding the center of the broken portion of the agraffe. Then I went to a small drill bit, like a 1/16" or so to begin, and drilled through the shaft. I continued to increase the size of the bit until the hole was near the edge of the cast ir...

•I bet it is an M (notorious agraffe poppers in that era). File the tip of a screw driver into a \/ or /\ , where the end has two points (as a fish tail). Lightly tap this into the post and turn. Do not expand the brass, just catch it. WD-40 (sparingly) or other lube oil may be needed, as well as a ...

•Thanks to all who responded to my cry for help with a broken agraffe. This worked: basically drilling the brass shaft out with center punched hole and small drill bit, then picking parts away with small awl, and cleaning and carefully re-taping hole. A good days work, but saved pulling the plate an...

•John McClure: I'm a new subscriber and haven't yet e-mailed my introduction, but I wanted to help you with your broken agraffe. I've replaced a few agraffes, always on Steinways. They used two sizes: 7/32" and 1/4". It is usually the 7/32" small one that breaks. I've heard that some didn't have the...

•Hello all, This question may be a bit on the far edge of the main interest of this group, but it is related to antique player piano repair, albeit maybe loosely. I just acquired an old four-legged piano stool with a claw and glass ball on the bottom of each of the legs. The stool is one in which th...

•Replacement stool mechanisms are available from: Schaff Piano Supply Co. 451 Oakwood Road Lake Zurich, Illinois 60047 Tel: 847-438-4556 or 1-800-747-4266 Fax: 847-438-4615 I haven't seen these parts, so can't comment on quality. Cheers Doug Rhodes