THANK YOU!!! After reviewing dozens and dozens of sites and videos, yours was the only one that explained so simply how to clean gunked up oil, and re-oil properly. The slightest comment about using alcohol with a stiff paint brush was like a miracle! The music box would play slowly, then quickly, then stop and pluck a few notes really slowly, then start up slowly, then quickly...and stop. I watched the governor struggle but had no luck using other techniques. I was ready to give up, sure an expensive part replacement was necessary. Luckily, I found your video, got the alcohol and stuff paint brush, dabbed a little on the governor post and suddenly it was whizzing away!! I was astonished and couldn't believe my eyes! Following the rest of you advice on other gears, it got better and better. Emboldened, I gave the "flushing" a try, just a bit though and the winding became smooth and easy. After cleaning away, it suddenly stopped working well and I had a split second of panic. But then I remembered your words of wisdom and realized it might be time to dab my brush in the WD-40 to lubricate. I dabbed some on and again, like magic, everything cranked right up again happily whirring around and playing through until completion. I can now present my niece's old and beautiful Carousel Waltz music box back to her to give to her daughters. Everytime the horse goes up and down, I will smile thinking of your simple advice unlocking the key to her now family heirloom. This is only the third time I felt compelled to leave someone a comment. Today you were a hero!

Thank you for your carefully considered advice. The amount of craftsmanship in constructing & fine tuning these movements is amazing.

i just bought a bunch of "broken" music boxes at an estate sale. all of them work now... one needed comb readjustment, the other needed a "spa day". it had to be flushed out with wd40, rubbing alcohol, and oil several times before it would play properly. your video really helped and it plays such a hauntingly beautiful tune now rather than not one at all. thanks for posting.

@Vintage-Tech

5 жыл бұрын

Im so pleased this was helpful to you, enjoy your music boxes!!

@CBF1

4 жыл бұрын

mine has 1 broken tooth(Not a HUGE problem because while playing a song that tooth isn't actually used) along with an improperly adjusted comb(Too close to the cylinder) and at least 3-4 bent teeth...

@hemiola07

3 жыл бұрын

CBF1 Call Don Caine of Music Box Repair Center in Lomita, CA. Don has 40 years of experience and has done an absolutely thorough and spectacular job on all 11 of my vintage large Swiss movements - Reuge and Thorens included - and from my experience, there is a rarely anything that cannot be fixed in these movements since they were built to last a lifetime. Don can fabricate you new teeth, and this issue of bent teeth stems from stopping a movement and having the pins on the cylinder for too long. Don not only restored several boxes I bought on eBay, but also sold me several incredible “rescues” from eBay, including a very rare and beautiful vintage Reuge 4-tune 50-note box that had a severely misaligned comb. I cannot recommend him enough, and should you wish to get the absolute best service on Reuge boxes (which he is trained and authorized to repair), look no further. As the Ghostbusters theme says, “Ya gotta call ....”

I literally got a cotton bud and used vegetable oil as it's fine let it soak on moveable parts for a day and works perfect now from a slow machine that kept stopping,I will attempt to clean it now after your great tips I'm so happy I didn't take it apart now didn't realise the comb to drum was so precise thanks big hello from wales👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Thank you! Your helpful content helped me fix a vintage music box!

@Vintage-Tech

4 ай бұрын

Great to hear! glad it helped you

This worked for me! Just the cleaning and my beautiful thrifted Reuge works beautifully. Thank you.

Thanks for the info. I tried your paint brush with alcohol suggestion and it worked! Then added a bit of WD40 and these antique music boxes worked like new! So glad I didn't take them apart.

@Vintage-Tech

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your feedback, i'm so glad this worked for you!

@mikeharrington5593

4 жыл бұрын

I actually cleaned up one music box using the liquid supplied with cd/videotape cleaning kits

Thank you so much! I was able to repair a vintage musical pig 🐖 I found a the thrift store. Mechanism is the same brand as yours so that gave me confidence

Hi, thanks for a great video and the tips. You mention flushing the main spring, but how does one do that? In my box there does not seem to be any way of removing the housing for the spring, plus I'd be very nervous of doing that and have the spring just pop out and be unable to put it back. Do you oil the entire spring or just pivot points (assuming one can figure out how to get in there)? Also, what kind of oil is safe to use? You mention clock oil, if one doesn't have that what are other possibilities? I have read castor oil somewhere, is that or some other common vegetable oil or mineral oil (baby oil) safe? Or 3-in-1 machine oil? My music box has a Swiss mechanism from 1952 or 1953, so I want to be really cautious. Thanks.

How about replacing the dampers on the comb? My music box, the bass notes, make funny side noises. Thanks for sharing!

I was hoping you would play the music.

@Vintage-Tech

4 ай бұрын

Search my channel, plenty of music box music on there..

Any tips on adjusting the comb? I have modest experience in restoring mechanical clocks (diassemble, cleran, and oil, etc.) Thank you.

@Vintage-Tech

5 ай бұрын

The only tips i can offer is take your time making any adjustments and ultimately you a just for the best sound, be careful not to move the comb to close as this will cause excessive ware and stress..

Ive noticed some comments mentioning oil but I thought that oil would slow it down? Also do you have any tips on the brand sankyo music box? Im not quite sure how old it is. Its made to look like an old clock and has a gold circle that says "sankyo musical box" on it. The gold disk/circle has fallen and now jangles around the inside of the box AND there's no music being produced. I've tried to open it to inspect it but not only does it have screws but it had gold staples along the edges. Im wary to open it bc I'm not sure how i would keep it closed once i fix it. If anyone has any idea or is willing to chat with me about what steps i could take that would be great!

@hemiola07

3 жыл бұрын

Nicole Guerrero Call Don Caine of Music Box Repair Center in Lomita, CA. Look no further for expert music box repair and restoration. Don, who has 40 plus years of experience and even made Oz’s music box for the Disney film Oz the Great and Powerful, has done a masterful job on all 11 of my vintage large Swiss pieces, and can repair anything from luxury Swiss pieces to antique Reginas and even smaller Sankyo pieces. Because your movement is more inexpensive and smaller than mine, Don can probably walk you through a repair on the phone vs. sending the box in. Can’t tell you enough how much I recommend his services and expertise ... give him a call today!

How about sticking it entire mechanism into a isopropanol filled ultrasonic bath?

My Undertale music locket is broken and I found your video. I'm hoping I can do it Edit: I left the comb in a place where it had tension and it went weird.

I'll save you 16 minutes... Use isopropyl alcohol and a fine tipped brush to clean the device. Clean the mainspring with a lubricant solvent like WD-40. Re-oil the mainspring with clock oil.

@Vintage-Tech

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tip! I'm sure we can all do with an extra 16 minutes in our lives...

I have a Christmas angel music box that twirls. It was overwound. Can I use these directions on the angel?

@Vintage-Tech

3 жыл бұрын

as long as the music is created with this kind of music box then you could give it ago

I have an Italian made music box that has been over wound. The movement is under glass. What do you recommend to fix?

@Vintage-Tech

3 жыл бұрын

this video..

I have a crank Swiss large cylinder music box and it is over wound. Can you tell me how I would go about fixing it?

@Vintage-Tech

2 жыл бұрын

Hello Dianne and thanks for your message, a hand crank music box will have a very large and powerful spring inside which can be very dangerous if your not careful, one wrong move and you could do damage to your self and the box! With this type of music box I would suggest the safest thing to do would be to have a professional look at it for you.

Edward Norton I have an older Reuge that the cylinder is is looking a bit rusty or tarnished. Is there any way to clean that up? Maybe even get it shiny again? What would be a good chemical to use?

@Vintage-Tech

2 жыл бұрын

A good toothbrush and a tiny bit of metal polish that contains amonia would work. However! im not sure if the cylinder on your music box could be laquared orignaly to prevent it from becoming tarnished, using any kind of metal polish will make it look good in the short term but in doing so remove any kind of previous protective layer

@WarbirdPylonRacer

2 жыл бұрын

@@Vintage-Tech Thank you! I'll have a go at it and see what it looks like. If just brass we can see if the polish works. ;-)

Hello ! What tool do you use for redoing the pins straight ? Is there a possibily to repair an broken teeth ?

@Vintage-Tech

2 жыл бұрын

if the pins are bent then there is no tool for repairing that, you could perhaps try to bend them back but usually this would result in them breaking off. You would need to have an expert re-pin the cylinder. If the "teeth" are broken again you would need an expert music box restorer to reattach new teeth and tune them to the correct pitch...

@KarthusDreams

2 жыл бұрын

@@Vintage-Tech thanks

Where can someone find a skilled craftsman that can repair them? Does this work also for the boxes in stuffed animals?

@Vintage-Tech

5 жыл бұрын

yes this would work for boxes in stuffed animals. Your best bet is google search or a clock repair person could help you perhaps..

@mikeharrington5593

4 жыл бұрын

The cost of professional servicing & repair is always likely to far exceed the value of the music box.

@hemiola07

3 жыл бұрын

Don Caine of Music Box Repair Center Unlimited in Lomita, CA. Look no further for expert music box repair. Don has masterfully restored all of my luxury vintage Swiss music boxes and has even sold me some “rescues” that were previously in very bad shape but restored by him. Don has forty years of experience, including making Oz’s music box for the Disney movie Oz the Great and Powerful, and was trained in Switzerland; he is an authorized Reuge and Thorens repairman, and can repair anything from a valuable 19th century antique music box to a beloved stuffed animal. A true perfectionist, Don takes pride in his work, and he truly loves bringing joy to others repairing their beloved pieces. Give him a call today ...

Nicee

Could you just submerge the whole mechanism in alcohol , let it soak and disolve the old oil , and then put oil on it??

@Vintage-Tech

4 жыл бұрын

Yes as long as you can thoroughly dry the mechanism that's the important thing getting it completely dry

@VelveteenRabbit77

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

Can i use ethanol instead?

@Vintage-Tech

2 жыл бұрын

probably

Hello I just received a 50 note movement. I need help i wondered if i could get some advice from you. I can give details. My movement is stuck and i think i need to take it apart I hope you get this and would love to ask you a couple of questions. -james

@Vintage-Tech

Жыл бұрын

please do ask away I do check the comments often..

@collj86

Жыл бұрын

Hello I just got a 50 note movement, orpheus from sankyo Last night a freak thing happened. I was playing the movement. Mine are without boxes at the moment. But i was playing the movement on a wood desk in my room. And a piece of duct tape which i didnt notice on the desk went underneath the movement and got sucked up into the main gear The movement is wound but not moving. The tape has clogged the gears? I think i’ m going to send it to a company in florida i got them from that does repairs. But i wanted to ask is this something i could fix on my own? I have a screw driver. I was going to slowly dissamble the governor, start stop mechanism and spring drive etc. But not sure if i should. Can you give me any advice? A couple of things i wondered. Is if i was putting it back together. Is precise allignment important? As far as the movement moving? Is this something i could do on my own? Would it be harder than it looks. As far as just removing screws? I see other little pins on the movement? Also is the fact that it is wound up a problem? Anyway if u could get back to me i’d appreciate it. -james

@Vintage-Tech

Жыл бұрын

Hello James Your right to be cautious, the mechanism is fully wound so it would be very dangerous to take apart the governor or any part of the mechanics while it is in this fully wound state. I cant really think of a safe way you could take apart any part without first letting down the main spring so I think your best option is to get this sent away for repair, its not so much you may damage the music box but you could also badly hurt yourself! the main spring holds a surprising and dangerous about of power if its suddenly "let go" so best option is have a professional look at it for you it will be much safer for you and the music box. Many thanks for getting in touch

@tmign

Жыл бұрын

Furthering what Ed Norton below says - If the mechanism is stuck with a fully wound mainspring DO NOT attempt to take apart the governor assembly. If you remove the governor and the spring loosens then the barrel will run at an unrestrained high speed and will likely break some teeth on the comb. I have seen someone who did exactly this and brought it to me. Unfortunately there was no replacement available for the comb. Some combs are tuned differently for different tunes even though they have the same number of teeth, so they are not always easy to match up. His music box required the comb repaired or a new one made, both options way too expensive to justify, so sadly the music box mechanism was junked and replaced with a different mechanism with a different tune. If you feel you must mess with the regulator assembly then FIRST CAREFULLY remove the comb , making note of its exact position. Realignment of the comb can be its own nightmare.

I have one made by yoto

Thank you for badly explaining how this mechanism works, without physically showing any necessary dis/reassembly of any parts, or even the basics of any connections between gears 'n' stuff. It's all nice and shiny though, I suppose.

@Vintage-Tech

Жыл бұрын

No thank you my friend for taking the time to watch this terrible video and dedicating your time and effort to let me know how bad it is, Lets hope you take the time and effort to make some content of your own someday.. Thanks for watching