My Uncle Mike has helped rebuild nickelodeons and some old Wurlitzer band organs. I wrote to him regarding the question on bellows for a Coo Coo clock.
Here is his response. I hope that this is helpful. Tom ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- Hi Tom. Will try to advise as much as I can. The bellows would not be hard to recover. I have done similar recovering jobs on nickelodeons, but would not like to risk trying it on somebody else's instrument. A better bet might be to replace the two small bellows entirely. I just saw a pair of new ones at this website http://gallery.bcentral.com/GID4807942DD174173-Cuckoo-Clock-Parts.aspx for $9.50. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE--I have not bought from these people, but it shows what is out there. Google "cuckoo clock repair parts" to see many sites selling parts. I have great respect for the supplier S. LaRose, who is no longer in business. To add insult, their web domain has been grabbed by a Clock Kit Company. There is bad advice on the internet too. One page I was at said to epoxy the new material on. That would make it impossible for the next person to repair. All the mechanical music people (reputable ones) use hot-melt animal glue because it was used originally, and can be redone again in the future. I will go through some of my books tonight and see if I can locate a short tutorial on applying "pneumatic cloth" that I could scan and send you. Hope this is a start. Mike -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 11:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Need help with CooCoo Clock (off topic) hi mike et all i know it can be frustratiing i collect clocks too and my man charges me a minimum of 185 to clean them but they are older than what you are describing maybe someone in the music box society on this list can recommend someone who does bellows on the crank organs from what i have seen its not too hard to do best to all rob ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 11:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Need help with CooCoo Clock (off topic) hi mike et all i know it can be frustratiing i collect clocks too and my man charges me a minimum of 185 to clean them but they are older than what you are describing maybe someone in the music box society on this list can recommend someone who does bellows on the crank organs from what i have seen its not too hard to do best to all rob ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
