New musical toy

Wow, that's quite the split!It looks like it was cut from a cross section of the tree, much like you might turn a bowl. If so, then the split s not so hard to understand.
 
Tom,
Is that a wide split. or is there a piece missing? From the photo, it looks more like a missing piece (and tooth).
Also, does the number printed on the gear indicate the number of teeth?
It wouldn't be "authentic," but a new gear made from Baltic Birch plywood would preclude any further splitting problems.
 
Wow, that's quite the split!It looks like it was cut from a cross section of the tree, much like you might turn a bowl. If so, then the split s not so hard to understand.

Yes, that’s what it looks to me like as well. I think I’ve got a pice of hard maple out in the shop that I’ll try to make this out of.



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Tom,
Is that a wide split. or is there a piece missing? From the photo, it looks more like a missing piece (and tooth).
Also, does the number printed on the gear indicate the number of teeth?
It wouldn't be "authentic," but a new gear made from Baltic Birch plywood would preclude any further splitting problems.

Jim, I think the number is the number assigned to that barrel that identifies it as having those tunes on it. (I think). I’m still researching this stuff.
This gear has 32 teeth.

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I decided to remove the barrel from the piano last night to look at the “broken tooth”. What I discovered is not what I was expecting. The wooden gear had actually “split” and the opening was actually a wide gap not a missing tooth. So, I’m hoping I can still use it as a pattern to cut a new gear.
It’s probably still going to be another 6-8 weeks before I get to work in my shop due to the cold weather but this at least gives me a heads up on what I’ll need to do.
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neat, I would try to make one out of Baltic birch. It looks like there is a number on it "89" or "68".... :unsure:.... Jim beat me to the punch
 
It wouldn't be "authentic," but a new gear made from Baltic Birch plywood would preclude any further splitting problems.
I also agree with Jim, just be sure the roll is spinning freely/correctly though, as a jamb/bind may have caused the old teeth to break. It looks like the spiral drive gear would be much harder to fix it it wasnt spinning correctly.
 
You can see the pith in the photo of the gear, so it was definitely a cross section of the tree or branch. That'd be pretty much guaranteed to crack and split. It also looks to me like the gear's already been patched once before, and the missing chunk might have been from a second repair attempt. Looks like it should be pretty straightforward to come up with a new, more stable gear though. :thumb:
 
Interesting, I can't quite tell from the picture but is the gear centered on a set of growth rings like a cookie cut from the end of a tree? That would explain the radial split, and it sort of opens up the question of why they would make it like that? Easier to carve I suppose?

I think what I'd do is measure the expected radius on the unsplit side of the inside and outside of the gears.. Step off the expected spacing with a divider and get the layout that way, that would let me adjust for minor variations in d. It looks like the teeth are at a chord off of the centerline though so that might throw a small wrench in that plan. Alternatively I'd bet that the unsplit side could be used to make the patter for both sides...
 
With all CAD expertise on this forum, it seems like someone could fairly easily create a printable (and precise!) PDF template for you, given:
  • The outer diameter of the gear
  • The diameter at the base of the teeth
  • The tooth count
  • (Optional) The approximate angle from the tip of a tooth to the base of the next (or previous) tooth
I'm not sure I could do it though. "Anyone? Anyone?"
 
I just did a search on these instruments and there appears to be some info, site, forums about them. While you shop gets warm, you could probably find out about anything you want to know. Might even be some parts, overseas....
 
I just did a search on these instruments and there appears to be some info, site, forums about them. While you shop gets warm, you could probably find out about anything you want to know. Might even be some parts, overseas....

Paul, I have found one “Facebook” group so far. I have also found a couple of people who have restored these before. I will be asking questions of them as well. These are not necessarily rare but just not a lot of published information about them is available.


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Those were quite popular here during the forties and fifties, later they faded away like many other things. Regarding the wood grain, it seems fake from here, faking woodgrain was also popular those times as they were the post civil war ones and there was shortage of everything. After the civil war (1936-1939) people had to live on ration coupons until 1952, it wasn't until 1960 that people starter to notice some economical improvement.
Looking at the spiral gear and the overal appearance it seems that has not been used a lot.

They sell around 2000 or 3000€ ( I don't know in US). Just made a search and found this:https://www.todocoleccion.net/instr...odillos-funcionando-clavijero-nuevo~x48143521
 
The pins all look good so the tuning will hopefully go well. The gear certainly did distort. It looks like you could use from 7 o'clock to 2 o'clock (for averlap ) on your picture to create a complete pattern. That thing is quite beautiful and deserves you efforts. Great find.
 
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