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Copyright Copley Press, Inc. Aug 21, 2004
Tony Ciuffini loves making music.
Sometimes he uses a clarinet to toot out a song. Other times he uses a soldering iron, a drill and a few gears smaller than a fingernail.
Ciuffini is a self-described "musical box doctor," one of only three in California and a handful of others across the country who restore antique music boxes for a living.
From his San Pedro shop, Musical Specialities Inc., Ciuffini spends thousands of hours working on hundreds of damaged antique music boxes shipped to him from all over the country.
"There's no other instrument in the world that makes the sound of a tuned, musical box," Ciuffini said shortly after plucking at the metal teeth of onebroken box to demonstrate its
chirp-like pitch.
"It's an instrument unlike any other in sound or the way it is played."
The completely mechanical musical devices also tend to have an interesting history tied to each one.
One box Ciuffini worked on was used by Civil War Union Gen. William Sherman to feed his horse.
Another box that made its way across the San Pedro work bench originated in Russia, a gift from the Czar to the historically infamous cult leader Rasputin.
Other boxes have simpler memories tied to them.
"One woman walked into my garage one time and she almost fainted when she heard the box after I fixed it," Ciuffini said.
"She said she hadn't heard that song in so long, something just overcame her when she did hear it. People tend to have lots of memories tied to these boxes. Maybe it's because you don't
have to learn it to play and the sound is just so unique. I'm not sure."
Ciuffini's own love of music boxes began in 1975 when he started collecting the glossy wooden boxes.
Soon after, he started to dabble in repairs.
Ciuffini got so good at the work that a company asked him to start up a music box repair company in 1992.
He ran the company for two years and afterward decided he wanted to strike out on his own.
Instead of focusing only on repairs -- with their slim profit margins -- Ciuffini also decided to sell new boxes for wholesale prices, giving birth to Musical Specialties Inc.
While most of the business he generates comes from selling music boxes in items as diverse as old tin cans, cigarette lighters and miniature violins, Ciuffini's true passion remains repairing
the antique devices.
"It appeals to all of my interests. As an engineer, I'm enthralled by all this old-time technology, the cylinders, the pins, the springs and barrels," Ciuffini said.
"And to listen to it is fascinating."
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