| Ballerina Music Boxes, inlaid music boxes, musical | | | | who would be happier now if, 30 years ago, they'd |
| jewelry boxes, cylinder music boxes, and antique music | | | | sold their lathes, workshop tools etc. and taken up |
| boxes are delicate and beautiful. As most music box | | | | farming. Not me though, I hasten to add."10. For those |
| and antique collectors know, in order to preserve them, | | | | antique and music box collectors looking to find |
| sometimes repair and restoration is needed. For this | | | | valuable and interesting pieces for their own collections, |
| special work, it is important to choose a company that | | | | where would you suggest they go either online or |
| is reputable and an expert in this area. This is the | | | | offline? How about those who are just starting a |
| second part of an interview with music box and | | | | collection?"Take advice from your friends. Don't |
| mechaical insturment repair and restoration expert, Mr. | | | | necessarily follow it, but give it some thought. |
| Jim WeirJim does all kinds of antique musical box | | | | Subscribe to music box sale catalogues, it's a good |
| repairs and restoration. His work includes comb repairs, | | | | way to check what things actually sell for; they often |
| releading and tuning, dampering, cylinder repairing, and | | | | give the hammer price of items from previous sales. |
| organ bridge work. Jim also offers all manner of | | | | Go to music box auctions if you can; not necessarily to |
| musical box work on disc and cylinder music | | | | buy anything but to observe, to get a feel not just for |
| boxes..Let's listen as he continues to give us an inside | | | | how much pieces sell for, but for what sells and what |
| peek of this unique business.6. What if your least | | | | doesn't. Try to figure out why what looked like a nice |
| favorite part of running your business? Your favorite | | | | box didn't sell. If you're really interested in buying a |
| part?"Paperwork. Dealing with taxes and Customs | | | | specific musical box, either from a dealer, private seller |
| (although I've got quite good dealing with Customs and | | | | or at auction it can save you a lot of heartache if you |
| Carriers). My favorite part? There is a satisfaction in | | | | get someone who knows what they're looking at to |
| finally getting a job finished; there's also a fair amount | | | | check the box over and advise you of likely repair |
| of satisfaction in finally getting paid."7. What are some | | | | costs before you buy it.A lot of repair costs can be |
| of your favorite music box and collectible pieces and | | | | itemized; if a potential customer emailed or wrote to |
| why?"A 26" consul model Stella. It belonged to the late | | | | me (even `phoned me) with a good description of a |
| Bruce Devine and literally arrived in pieces (it had been | | | | box needing repair, I would do my best to advise them |
| dropped from a crane while being loaded). Originally | | | | as to how much the repairs could cost before they |
| Bruce gave it to one of my trade customers, who | | | | part up with maybe a lot of money to buy it. I don't |
| passed it on to me. Then my trade customer ducked | | | | charge for this and neither do most restorers; having |
| out of the deal, and I ended up working direct for | | | | given advice we all hope for the work if the customer |
| Bruce. It was an `interesting' experience and quite a | | | | goes on and buys the box. If the box is a particularly |
| steep learning curve. At the end though, the box did | | | | fine example, and likely to be expensive to buy, it's can |
| sound good. Excellent tune arrangements."8. Is there | | | | be worth paying a restorers time for them to go and |
| any interesting history associated with some of your | | | | check it out at the sellers address. I've done this; a |
| pieces?"I don't collect musical boxes; without being | | | | collector armed with an itemized potential repair cost |
| funny I genuinely cannot afford to. Some of the pieces | | | | of something he's interested in buying is in a very |
| I've worked on have had `history'; as an example the | | | | strong position when it comes to arguing the sale price |
| Stella referred to above. Another would be a rare long | | | | with the seller".Jim ends with saying this about his |
| and short pin Forte-Piano box (maker unknown) I | | | | hopes for the future:"To bring in more work and pay |
| overhauled for a customer in France. It had a silver | | | | off the mortgage. Ok, there's a lot more to life than |
| presentation plaque in the lid; as far as I could gather it | | | | that but one way or another, the bills still have to be |
| was presented to a Mayor in 1847 for some kind of | | | | paid. Most of my work to now has come from |
| `service to the townspeople'. I'm not up on French | | | | dealers; what I'm hoping is that by advertising in the |
| politics, but the middle of the 19th century were | | | | MBSI Journal, I'll attract more work direct from the |
| turbulent times. One of the nicest stories is a box I fully | | | | public. In theory I could put up my public prices, but in |
| restored for an old lady in Edinburgh. She was in her | | | | practice I cannot, at least not to customers in the USA. |
| 70's. The box had been in her family since new, and | | | | They already have to pay shipping costs, and the |
| she had last heard it play when she was a child."9. | | | | simple fact is that whether a musical box needs comb |
| What important advice or tips would you give to | | | | work, cylinder work or a full restoration, there's a top |
| someone who would like to start a business such as | | | | limit to how much most people will pay to have it |
| yours either online or offline?"I wouldn't. Things move | | | | worked on, irrespective of how long the work takes. |
| faster now that we have the Internet. To get fully | | | | People have to make choices; your car's broke, your |
| involved in this kind of work takes time, which the | | | | washing machine leaks and the antique music box you |
| whole `I want it NOW' approach of the Internet doesn't | | | | inherited from your Grandmother squeaks. Which one |
| favor. I was lucky in that I had a skill with clocks that I | | | | do you spend your money on? That's about it really; |
| was able to sharpen and direct to music box work. If I | | | | the sun's shining and it's time to get back to the |
| had to give advice, I'd say by all means get involved | | | | workshop."I'd like to personally thank Jim for taking the |
| with music boxes, or whatever else begins to drive | | | | time to share with us this valuable information about his |
| you, but try to maintain a backup. The wisest thing? | | | | business as well as letting us get a sneak peak into |
| Learn that `quitting' is not necessarily a personal failure; | | | | the world of music box repairs and restoration. Jim |
| it's recognizing that some choices can turn out to be | | | | Weir can be reached at or by telephone/fax at |
| wrong. There are maybe a few music box repairers | | | | 01144-1575-572647. |