I started working with music boxes in 1977, and since then I’d say tens of thousands have passed through my hands. But this was the first. It’s a miniature piano from the 1940s or so, and it belonged to my grandparents. I never knew my grandfather and I haven’t been able to identify the melody, but I like knowing we listened to the same music. The piano could use some restoration; there’s a chip from where the housekeeper dropped it and the velveteen inside is worn—sort of like the plumber’s house that needs to have the toilet fixed.
There are quite a few people who do restorations, but I focus on the mechanisms, and there are only maybe 8 or 10 people who do what I do. It’s nice to be able to take something apart that’s not functional and make it run smoothly. Like fixing an old car, tuning it up, making it sound great. There’s a Jewish phrase, tikkun olam: “to repair the world each day.” That’s what I do. This is my little bit. And this is the one that started it all.
~ Don Caine, owner, Music Box Repair Center Unlimited, Lomita, CA