Restoring and repairing mechanical music boxes

We receive a lot of requests for advice on repair or restoration projects.

If you are tempted to embark on a repair project, please seek advice beforehand. We can advise you as to what is safe to tackle and what is better left to the experts. Irreparable damage can be caused to a musical box or other mechanical instrument by well-meaning but inexperienced amateurs, even with an engineering background, often rendering the piece unplayable and valueless. Please don’t risk destroying for ever an historic item.

No amount of information on the internet or in books can compete with personal experience or specialist training. Where appropriate, we can put you in touch with someone who can mentor you through a project, or suggest a ‘professional’ better qualified to carry out the work on your behalf. Read a member’s account of his experience of receiving such help.