Dad's repair shop: music box repair
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- Опубликовано: 14 апр 2019
- I repair a lot of things at work, almost always electronic.
But when my daughter brings me something mechanical that needs fixing, obviously I have to give it a shot.
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My tip jar: / pileofstuff
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This isn't the only way to do it.
It's probably not the best way to do it.
But it's how I do it. 
Хобби
There is nothing more precious than the relationship between a father and his daughter
Mate, you’ve saved my daughter’s Christmas present that she overwound the same day she got it.
For anyone else taking a stab at this, don't loosen the screws on the comb at the same time. Only loosen one, make your adjustments, tighten, then loosen the other. Otherwise you lose the positioning of it, which I have done in haste, and it took me at least 8 hours trying to get it right so I had no dead notes or off keys. Cleaning and lubricating took maybe 30 minutes, but that comb, do your best not to move it if you don't need to. Most often the issues are resolved by using a toothpick tip and applying wd-40 to the base and top insertion points of the worm screw on the govern. You can use castor oil at the base of the drive pin (crank pin), and any other gear spots that have friction points, you can even put some on the tips of the pins on the barrel to help the comb to slide off cleaner on the notes. Before oiling, if you are cleaning, you can use vinegar and a q-tip, and make sure you dont get the cotton caught on any pins or gear teeth. I would suggest something better selected than a q-tip, like a small paint brush with synthetic bristles, like the ones for oil based paints, so you don't lose bristles in the gearing. But if you have a local hardware store that sells Never-Dull - Magic Wadding Polish, it's amazing stuff for cleaning up anything metal that oxidizes or rusts. And it conditions it with a light oil to prevent future corrosion. You'll open the can and go... huh? This won't work. But you try it anyways, and I'm surprised more often than not at the job it does. I found most of the above online, but also am in the middle of reconditioning a music box to give to my mother. My father has been fighting cancer for 10 years and she has supported him, and been such a strength and comfort to him, and I feel its a large reason he's still fighting after prostate removal, liver removal, and the cancer moving into his bones last year. He was even golfing a month ago with my brother. Only 9 holes, but considering his condition medically, its amazing. Anyways, I am hoping to give it to her in the next day or two, and hopefully she likes it. And hopefully something I said helps someone else too. Comb sizes and number of notes on them vary greatly, so I would imagine techniques do as well. All the things I noted above were related to an 18 note comb, like the one I'm working on. They likely apply generally as well, but just to be clear, and not mislead anyone I figured I would add that.
Thank you
Thank you
Hi Rick, I sure could use some advice on repairing the music box on my musical Christmas stand. It's making a scratching sound. I'm sure it's an easy fix but afraid to break it. I can send a video if you're willing to take a look.
@@heidiricci8495 Sure, if there isn't anyone with more experience able to make time for you, I'll take a look and listen.
Is hard core to put back the comb in 72 note 3 tunes . Took me a week.
Thank your daughter for me... I'm 71 and I needed it. 🤭Children are smart... take a listen, you might learn something, dad. Thanks for sharing.🙃
Tomorrow she goes to school and tells her friends her Dad can fix anything! Hero Dad! Love your channel.
OMG you're exactly right, it happened to as an uncle, soon after I think they were breaking their toys just to see if I could fix them, lol!
jim hough4
This was so helpful. I was able to disassemble and reassemble. I sprayed some silicone sprayon everything and got all the part working but I think I messed up the music. It clicks on the drum but I stuck a pin in to the coil to make sure it was loose and I'm not sure if that does anything to the music but now it doesn't make music but a click when the comb goes over the drum. Oh well. I'll give it another go at some point. Thanks again for this tutorial. I'm a woman and I had a dad who could fix anything and I spent a lot of time watching him figure things out so this was a good challenge to me to see if I could do it. Yay
FWIW, the oil used for modern beard trimmers and small electric razors is great for music boxes. My barber gave me the idea when he described the fine oil he uses!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I used this as reference for fixing an old music box mechanism. loved the song as a child and could never find it, even after searching constantly for a "anniversary music box globe with doves". yesterday i decided to fish out the tune. found the reason it wouldn't run is because of a rust buildup whenever the globe of the music box sprung a leak. soaked it for abt an hour in cola. did that til the rust was gone for the most part.
then went to find videos on how to get it to properly run again. found your video and went to work on removing the comb and drum. i put the mechanism back together and rubbed some vaseline on it and with assistance it can run the tune now! i played the tune on my fixed music box back to my mom and she was able to figure out the song. it was "Love Is A Very Splendor Thing" and I've finally found it after all these years
thank you so much for this video, the music box meant so much to me as a kid and your video has helped me retrieve that part of my childhood. Thank you :>
When you tightened up the drum and it started playing the music properly it was like magic!
Loved that dad was being a hero! Lost my dad at 90 yrs old last year. My dad could truly fix anything! (or I thought so!) This was very helpful, brought back memories of sitting at his work bench with him when I was little.
Helpful hint for beginners, take a photo of the insides before you take it apart, makes a big difference.
I buy music boxes just for the mechanisms. I’ve been looking for Moonlight Sonata for years. Of course I could buy a new one but rather find a vintage one. I’m obsessed with all things mechanical powered. I have hundreds of old windup watches and clocks, music machines, metronomes, etc. I bought a Mississippi River paddle wheel boat yesterday that plays “Wish I was in Dixie.” The shaft extends from the barrel and turns a pulley with a rubber band that turns the paddle wheel while it plays. The notes are muffled so I googled how to fix it and came upon your video. I’ve been watching your videos for years so naturally watched this one too.
I hope this one was of some help.
Thank you for this information. I collected music boxes since I was 16. I now have about 70 music boxes; but since I wasn't feeling well for the past few years, they froze up. I have about 12 that need fixing. Thank you. Now I know what to look for and what to do.
Loved the ending. Nothing beats making your kid happy.
I don't know. Making your mom and/or dad happy are a pretty good challenge to that. Of course I don't have kids. And I sadly no longer have a father - as his fight with cancer was lost this January 21st @ 1:25am. But, the memories I have of making my old man proud/happy are at the top of my list, along with my mom who I'll try to give twice as many "happy/prouds" for the foreseeable future.
I have one but it's different with this same Beethoven's music and it's so heart-touching and I just took its picture and searched in Google lens then after sometime's I found this video, u r a great dad!
Tony, if you see this, which Beethoven song is this?
So sweet to fix that for your daughter, what a great dad! Love her happiness at the end! Simple things make dad the hero! So cool to watch the process - especially when you tightened the drum bearing and it tuned into place! Thanks for sharing : )
Way to go Dad! An easy way to set the comb spacing is to rotate the drum around to the "blank" area between the stop and start of the tune and use a couple of slips of paper as a spacer between the comb and drum. As an official "old fogey" I am now called upon to fix the grandkid's toys.
Super-helpful because I am in the midst of trying to repair a music box that is 80 years old. So glad that you could repair it for your daughter. It was amazing how tightening up the drum made the music play properly. Thank you so much!
One of the best instruction videos I’ve ever watched. Way to break it down.
Great fix and one very happy young lady. I know what this is like because my nick name is grandad fix it LOL. Nothing brings a greater pleasure than a childs happines when a favorite is brought back to life. Keep up the great vids and parenting.
You totally made that box music again! 😬👍
Nice job, Pops! We always need to put reality to the side to make others happy. Oh' wait that was reality! Well you know what I mean, lol. Thanks for sharing. I was sooo hoping that it wasn't a broken spring on the crank end. . if you ever get a watch that's wound up too tight. Check to see if it ticks a bit when you bump it. If it does, tape a vibrating device to it and it will unwind. Ready to work again.
Excellent Happy Daughter makes your project time productive to the rest of the family.
Thank u now I can fix my daughter's umbrella doll the doll is bit broken her music but thank u
Interesting video as I need to get an old vintage ceramic music box playing smoothly. My first inclination was to put a drop of sewing machine oil on numerous parts! Enjoyed the video and will be giving it a try as soon as I get my nerve up.
Nice job by a great dad! I just had the same request from my wife for a very similar movement! My problem involves the 'flywheel' thing ;) which is actually the speed governor which keeps the play at a proper speed and not have the music finish in 2 seconds. In my case the governor is loose for some reason and falls out. The parts are not easily found. Oh well. I have a schematic and will keep at it. Amazing engineering on such a small item!
Thanks for a fun and informative video!
"Flywheel thing is flywheeling!" ... Made me chuckle... xD
Sorry, I completely forgot to say thanks for the great video. Wish I had of seen it a few days ago, and it would have saved me a bunch of clicking and sorting out the helpful from the less so. You still did a great job going into it blind, so to speak, , which speaks to mechanical aptitude and knowledgeable confidence. And when the motivation is such as yours, it can never be anything but successful, as it drives your focus and determination much akin to the force that drives these little music boxes when the key is turned to store energy in the spring.
Great dads priceless 🤗
😎🏆👍
THAT'S a WIN ..🏆
Thanks for making this video , i have an antique musical dancer under glass , I've been putting off tackling the repair .
I think i can do it now 😃👍
One of the super dads now, awesome job mate, so good to hear your daughter happy, keep up the great work mate. 🤙🏼🇦🇺
You're a dad it's your job (lifetime commitment :-)
Grandads included...👴
Thanks. Great video.
Ya know....I just blasted my 1950's figurine with music box with a little WD40...and it runs perfectly...who knew!
Dads are just magic! :)
Great vid! Very detailed and informative👍👍
what i have discovered is the flywheel thing sets the timing of the music
Good job!! Everyone likes mechanical things too...
That fan thing is a governor to regulate the speed. In the old days a rod would drop into the fan when the lid shut to stop it spinning.
I think there's another music box in her room that uses that braking method. It sounds nasty if you close the lid gradually.
Typical flywheel brake governor. Using air and friction. Have you ever jumped in a parachute practice rig where the rotating fan is all that slows you down.
thats the kind i just bought from a thrift store! nothing moves when i open the box and the rod releases the governor but i can manipulate the governor by flicking it with my finger. it sometimes spins enough to get a few notes out and sometimes plays for a while, very slowly. it looks like all the gears and the barrel itself move fine, and the sound is in tune. it does feel like it’s wound too tight- i can only twist it once or twice before having to manipulate the governor a bunch to unwind it a bit. takes forever. any guesses as to what’s wrong?
thats the kind i just bought from a thrift store! nothing moves when i open the box and the rod releases the governor but i can manipulate the governor by flicking it with my finger. it sometimes spins enough to get a few notes out and sometimes plays for a while, very slowly. it looks like all the gears and the barrel itself move fine, and the sound is in tune. it does feel like it’s wound too tight- i can only twist it once or twice before having to manipulate the governor a bunch to unwind it a bit. takes forever. any guesses as to what’s wrong?
@@Zoe-rf3ly could be a few things. The barrel could be pushed into the gear too tightly and it can't rotate. The barrel screw on the other end, could be loosened a bit, it might also need a drop of oil. The comb could also be pushed tightly against the barrel preventing it from turning when the pins that stick out further can't pass the comb finger and get stuck now and then, which you can confirm by pushing on the barrel a little to see if helping it gets it past the finger. Just be careful if you decide to move the comb away from the barrel to allow it to turn more freely, only loosen 1 screw, make adjustment, retighten that same screw, before loosening the other screw. If you loosen both, the alignment and distance will both be lost, and you'll spend hours and days trying to get it back to that spot that is aligned with the barrel pins and at a distance that they don't miss completely or snag from being too close, and also ticks the pin with the right momentum to give the note its length but without over strumming it causing unpleasant reverberation/vibration. There are also adjustments for the tightness of the plastic gears next to the comb that transfer the turning motion to the governor worm screw, creating the right song tempo. Whatever you do, just try one thing at a time carefully, and if nothing is fixed, adjust them back before trying the next thing. Ie if you turn the screw at the end of the barrel, count how many turns, so you know how to return it to where it was. Ultimately it could be more than one thing causing the issue, but you'll have to use your judgement as I'm sure you'll notice subtle, or not so subtle changes with each thing you try, which might help you to estimate what it needs to turn properly and freely. My best guess is, if it's not getting snagged on pins, it's the barrel screw pushing it too tightly between the barrel axial point and the gear that's meshed with the crank housing causing binding between the gears. Hope this helps.
Thank you sooo much! I was able to fix my music box!!!
Thank you so very much . I have a music box with the same problem.
Well done!!! Where are you? Lol. If I try this ima mess it up !😂😂😂😎abut I need exactly this done... hmmmm
If it's already not working, the risk of trying isn't too high.
@@pileofstuff true lol. I was pounding something on the counter and it started playing just a few seconds . I think there may be hope yet!
0.21 to 1:53 - For Hot Melt glue, simply spray or dab on some Isopropyl Alcohol, leave a few moments, then peel off the Hot Melt.
Good job, Dad.
Impressive.
Fantastic ☺
Thanks for sharing.
I clicked on this because that doll on the top of music box, was the actual Annabelle doll, if you'll search the look of the real doll in the Conjuring....
It's Raggedy Anne, who is the original doll (from 1915) that Annabelle was based on.
Thank you
The problem was the comb keys were not aligned with the drum picks. If you play the video back at 0.25 speed at 10:28 you can see two keys being picked with one bump on the drum. That was making it sound weird. Adjusting the screw on the right side appears to shift the drum left and right just a bit for alignment. The drum still looked a bit shifted to the right at the end but didn't appear to be picking more than one key at a time. Good work.
Yay Dad! Would have loved it if you put the comb on backwards ;)
Best Dad ever!
To unwind it all you had to do is press down on the circle on the plastic part. Then the flywheel will start to turn. Thanks for the vlog.
The music box man on RUclips says to lube the bottom and top of the thingy that goes up and down, not the flywheely thingy.😉
But I thank you for showing me how to get my cover off because it is glued on like yours was.
One up for dadkind.
I have some very Expensive music boxes I’ve RECIEVED over the years from my husband as gifts for special occasions and I AHVE an Adorable Collection of Mice on a sewing machine he got my form the Music Box Factory in San Franscisco, anyhoo, there use to be shops in our local malls but now, they are gone.
I seriously Need to AHVE them Cleaned and lubricated and was hoping to find a DO IT YOURSELF VIDEO TO GIDE ME THRU THE PROCESS.
I FOUND HOUR VIDEO CLEAR CONCISE AND VERY EASY TO FOLLOW.
THANK YOU.
HOW DO I GO ABOUT HAVING PORCELAIN FIGURINE MUSIC. OXES REPAIRD .?
Any suggestions will be helpful.
They are for the. Radford Exchange .
It appears the comb should be moved slightly to the right. The teeth on the comb are not centered on the pins. I could be wrong.
You da man. Your my hero and hers to.
Very cool video!
I have a musical German beer stein that I bought in the early 70s, in Munich. Today, I tried to turn the music box on, but the twist mechanism had been over twisted, and no music. I followed your video, and discovered the pin had been pushed up so it didn't allow the 'fan' to turn. Once I pulled the pin out where it didn't touch the ''fan' -- the 'fan' started swinging rapidly, and the music played! My problem now is that the music is playing very slowly,. Any suggestions to get the music to speed up? Thank you for your video!! I subscribed to your site.
Looks like a fly wheel /centrifugal governor. I remember as a kid taking my sisters music box apart and removing the fan governor and then it spinning out of control, in turn breaking every finger off the note fingers - yikes! I put the parts back in the box ... dad couldn't figure out what happened to it ...... :-))
Just use a toothpick with a little WD-40 & put on the fan blade or governor & on the other plastic gears. Alot of times dust accumulates & stops playing.
Hmmm ..... the spring in my music box seems to be too _loosely __ wound (so to speak) because when I turn the key it just kind feels as if I were unscrewing it, even though I am not.
Fur Elise
Use a hair dryer to warm the glue🥹
Thank you for this video. I have a classic Pooh Bear, the music is not working anymore , any suggestion please?
This is the only music box I have worked on.
My approach was just "poke around inside and see what happens"...
Please tell me your kid's name is Elise! Would make that music perfect for her :D
You’re a good daddy.
Sir, what's the lifetime of a music box? Thank you for your videos!
4:40 how do I remove the barrel??
How did you remove the barrel thingy (the one with the pins) from the rest of it? I got a music box as part of a dollhouse it but it came sounding weird, so I was planning to replace the barrel and the tongs to ones from a different music box that I would just transplant onto the existing mechanism
Offf ya benimde müzik kutusu var zemberegi boşa dönüyor basit sanıyorum fakat kutunun içini açınca temelli bozulur diye açmıyorum
The box I'm trying to fix isn't overwound, cause it winds but then unwinds all at once, so is the spring that winds broken, or is it possibly fixable?
I have a ballerina music box I got the movement to work but it has a wire that comes down from the ballerina and I don't know where to put it back?
I'm not familiar with that type, sorry.
Do you have a place to send questions? I have a music box and it seems quite old on the cylinder with the notches there was actic on imeach side inbetween the metal one side came off its still playing will that mess it up if it stays off or no?
I'd like to help you but this is the only music box I've ever opened.
I'm trying to fix my daughters musical box because when I crank it it won't spin at all any advice
I just examined mine closely as I disassembled uit and poked and prodded at the various bits until I found the problem in mine.
Just go slow and don't force anything so you don't accidentally break something.
I have a danbury mint Pug dog music box. Can't find away to get inside the box to see what is wrong. Have you ever seen this type of music box?
Sorry, the one you see in the video is the only one I've ever opened.
YAY Dad!
Is it mozzart?
Olá eu quero fazer um porta jóia musical com bailarina, para a minha filha, mas não sei como fazer para a bailarina girar.. vc sabe me dizer como? Vc tem algum vídeo explicando?
Sorry, I do not. This is the only music box repair I have done.
I have a Snowbabies Stories music box that has been over wound. I believe I can get it to run again, by following some videos of how to do it but my problem is this. The music box has been glued in in the corners underneath. How can I loosen that glue to get the box mechanism out? Thank you so very much.
On this one I just carved the glue out with a sharp hobby knife. Carefully!
Sir nice video
Needs a little spot of oils on the mechanisms and bushes.
The modern oils is just not as good as the oil used in old music box's
...... boxes
WD-40 works.
you have to raise and lower it on the pin
Mines not moving at all. And the black casing can’t be unscrewed so I can’t see what’s not moving.
There are a lot of different ways that manufacturers make cases. Some are almost impossible to get into without destroying the whole thing.
The "flywheel" is actually called a govern.
I just fixed an old music box I had but how do we clean them? The outside, It has a lot of details and I would hate to ruin it with a bad soap or something!
That's going to depend on what the outside is made with and decorated with.
@@pileofstuff alright thank you! I have no idea since I got it at a thrift store haha!
@@samanthaguzman7928 The usual advice is to test any solvent or treatment in a small area on the back or bottom to see what it does anything bad.
a lil iso alcohol loosens hot glue almost instantly
Very sweet nice dad,.//.,
Use to play " Love story " you miss alaign the comb
Can an electric powered music box be repaired?
Possibly, but I've never seen one in person, so I can't be certain.
Remove musicbox that is glued down with a hairdryer. Only 1 -2 minutes.
HELP PLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
my music box is broken
Be sure to sell her the 30 day warranty!
I'm @ 10:20 and thinking you reversed the comb :) edit: I was wrong it can't be reversed
All that to remove the glue when you can just put a hair dryer to it for 2mins ✌🕊
Good job. Now fix that dishwasher.
How did you know I had a part for it sitting on my desk?
@@pileofstuff Wild guess. We are always fixing something. I finally made a RUclips counter. Well, 2 of them. Will make vid when I get a few drinks in me.
you should of greased it
I predict an "unlicensed music use" strike, from a RUclips copyright troll, in your near future 😕
Ludwig can come at me...
Outta copyright :-)
@@stuartajc8141 That never stopped a copyright troll before...
@@pileofstuff sorry, that was a Peter Sellers quote. I do know about copyright trolls (and their lawyers)
I fell asleep at 10:50...
woodprix is full of awesome tips. Very helpful to me. Thanks