Cuckoo Cuckoo Music Box Question

[catbelly]

Should this music box drum have a longer pivot or something to keep it secured? I've found it pops out quite easily. Also now it seems to drop the weight instantly like it has no click or something.

 

[David S]

Are there any threads in the hole in the right hand boss?

David

 

[disciple_dan]

It looks like you have a broken barrel arbor. The fly gear looks strange also.

 

[JimmyOz]

Loosen the wheel your holding in the photo, that does the anamation, then loosen the screw that is holding the arbour and the drum should be able to move back into the pivot hole.

 

[catbelly]

The drum can easily move into the pivot hole, it will even hold enough to play music, but it seems quite fragile, after a couple of days (or hours) it pop out of the hole - some mixed advice here, is the pivot broken or it's supposed to be that small and there is a trick to make it stay in?

 

[THTanner]

The pinion on the arbor that drives the fan wheel is misaligned - perhaps you have loosened it up to figure what else is wrong? There are two screws that provide for that adjustment.

I think you are missing a part that goes in the hole on the right hand boss. The pivot on the drum does look short, but often there is an adjustable bushing in the pivot hole so that you can align the drum pins with the comb. Often there are adjustments at both ends of the drum. Perhaps the drum has been replaced and is not quite correct?

 

[Chris D]

See that screw on the left side of the barrel? That screw holds a bushing that is used to hold in the barrel. What you need to do is loosen the screw, push the drum over into the right side hole, push the bushing on the left over to the right to hold the barrel (don't push it right up against the barrel, you want a little end shake so the barrel spins freely), then tighten the screw down to hold the bushing in place.

 

[shutterbug]

I think Chris has it. If the arbor is not broken, that's the issue.

 

[catbelly]

Thank you Chris D that did the trick!

 

[catbelly]

Chris D actually one other small question if you don't mind - I've just about gotten this thing adjusted, the saw men saw, the clock ticks, the axe man chops and the music plays after cuckooing... but now sometimes the music doesn't play, if i gently pull on that pine cone, it will, and sometimes will continue to play on its own after other cycles. It seems the mechanism that runs the fan is also what causes the friction to prevent the pine cone from dropping, if i loosen the screws there too much the pine cone simply falls to the ground - is that the trick, to loosen just slightly somehow? Unfortunately to make small adjustments everything has to be taken out and readjusted which breaks something else usually

 

[Chris D]

Chris D actually one other small question if you don't mind - I've just about gotten this thing adjusted, the saw men saw, the clock ticks, the axe man chops and the music plays after cuckooing... but now sometimes the music doesn't play, if i gently pull on that pine cone, it will, and sometimes will continue to play on its own after other cycles. It seems the mechanism that runs the fan is also what causes the friction to prevent the pine cone from dropping, if i loosen the screws there too much the pine cone simply falls to the ground - is that the trick, to loosen just slightly somehow? Unfortunately to make small adjustments everything has to be taken out and readjusted which breaks something else usually

It kind of sounds like you're working with a "worn out" governor. If you rock the drum back and forth and watch the governor drive gear and the long arbor with the white plastic gear... do the gears look like they have a lot of play in them? You'll see them jump up and down. It could also be the mesh between the drum gear and the governor drive gear. You need to adjust the governor so that there is a little play between the two. You don't want the governor drive gear tight up against the drum gear. Hope that all makes sense.