12/62 Paillard Vaucher Cartel circa 1888
A local friend asked me to look at her father's music box which she was afraid to play.
On first inspection:
The case requires a clean and repolish.
The tune sheet required restoration.
The movement simply required strip, clean, polish & reassembly.
Comb required several new dampers.
Cylinder pins needed to be straightened where necessary.
On first inspection:
The case requires a clean and repolish.
The tune sheet required restoration.
The movement simply required strip, clean, polish & reassembly.
Comb required several new dampers.
Cylinder pins needed to be straightened where necessary.
The movement removed from the box ready to be stripped ready for cleaning. There is a little excess oil on some parts, but in general all components seem to be in very good condition. Even the pawl springs are original. Almost unheard of.
On closer inspection I found that there have been several repairs made in the past. See captions on the relevant components below.
The cleaning process
Below is a pictorial process of safely reinstating the spring into its casing using a specialist jig.
Below. One day of cleaning and polishing and the movement is being rebuilt.
Although all is back together the governor will not run properly. I've discovered that the pins that position the arm are not tight, allowing the arm to move left or right. Given this and the re-bushing of the bearings it is necessary to have the governor rebuilt.
18th October - movement taken to The Musicbox Restorer
18th October - movement taken to The Musicbox Restorer
2nd February 2023
Movement collected from The Musicbox Restorer.
Governor re-bushed and rebuilt - now running smoothly.
Combs restored and dampers replaced. Many dampers had been soldered in place (bad practice). These have now been mainly replaced using the correct pins.
Tune sheet scanned and restored in Photoshop and printed.
The original will be strengthened and preserved with the restoration diary.
Movement collected from The Musicbox Restorer.
Governor re-bushed and rebuilt - now running smoothly.
Combs restored and dampers replaced. Many dampers had been soldered in place (bad practice). These have now been mainly replaced using the correct pins.
Tune sheet scanned and restored in Photoshop and printed.
The original will be strengthened and preserved with the restoration diary.
5th February 2023 - The final push
Touching up and polishing the case and lid
Touching up and polishing the case and lid
Restoration Complete 5th February 2023
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Two of the tunes
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