Photos of first step of disassembly

I took off the "outer skin" of the organ and here is the current condition:

Playing condition

Before I began to dissassemble the organ I wanted to document the playing condition.

Here is a table of the ability of the individual notes to sound. The notes are numbered with the lowest C being C1 and the highest being C5. Middle C is C3.

Treble
Vox jubilate: C3 - F5, except for E5.
Flute: C3 - F5, except for C4, Eflat4, E4, F4, Bflat4, D5,F5
Diapason C3 - F5, except for Eflat4, C#5 and E5

Bass
Violetta F0 - B2, except for A2
Viola F0 - B2
Melodia F0 - B2
Subbass C1 - C2

The Harmonic stop doubles at the octave. Vox humana has no impact as the fan device does not turn. The I and II forte make no impact.

In beginning the project I noticed a knees activated lever fro crescendo effects. I had read about this but did not relaize that my organ had the feature. I will explore it in my next time there.




The bellows decay - the time it takes for the organ to cease sounding after stopping pedalling is 2 seconds.

Making the organ bench

I am writing this after having completed all of my other projects and completed the bench. I started with some nice cherry planks that were given to me by a friend's father.

I cut them to shape.

At this point they have been glued together. The finish on the sides and the cross bars is a hand applied minwax with a satin finish. I have not really finished the sides and especially no the seat top. I am wiating until the ned of the project since I am using the bench while I am working. Also, I think I will do a high gloss French finish (shellac) on the seat top, although this may look out of place.

Here it is now. Note the slight angle of the seat to accommodate pedalling!

Getting organized

In the past month I have done some basic research on reed organs. Turns out that there are a lot of resources out there and a lot of individuals willing to share their knowledge. There is a guy who is putting up a series of instructional videos on You tube, starting with how to pedal. There is another video there showing how to do the rebuild. I don't now how thorough it is, but it looks like there will be some good ideas in it when I have time to view the whole thing.


I have been playing the organ and trying to get an advance feel for what will need to be done. Since I have just started a master's degree program and I have replacement hatch cover to make for my sailbaot, I really don't expect to take the organ apart until late this spring, at the earliest.



As you can tell from this video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzrH6DeoEXo ], there are clearly some issues. The keys are very loud, and I assume that whatever felt or cushioning was laid underneath them has long since lost its effectiveness. Another significant issue is that when I stop pedaling the sound almost immediately ceases. According to what I have seen on YouTube, the bellows, being full of somewhat compressed air, should expel that air after you stop pedaling over a period of maybe five seconds. That would hold the sound at a reasonable level for nearly that long. Also, although the stops work, I thnk that there are some mechanical issues, especially with what I call the 'doubling' stops. As far as intonation, my ear isn't up to that, but I would get or build an electronic tool to tune the instrument when I get it to that point of repair.


While making the video I had enough light to find and read the production label inside the cabinet. The organ is serial number #76598 which, according to the Estey Organ Museum website, definitely dates it's manufacture to 1878.


The first thing that I am going to do is to make the bench. All of the organs came with a bench to sit on while playing, and most of them have disappeared by now. In my reference book, "The American Reed Organ," Mr Gellerman provided a picture of a typical bench. The interesting thing about the bench is that the seat is angled slight downward, which provides an easier angle for the organist't legs to facilitate pumping the bellows. I am surprised that pipe organ benches weren't designed that same way to allow for pedalling. Here is a picture of the bench that I will be building - the proportions a little off to my eye, so I will make it not quite so wide. I have a piece of wood that was given to me by the father of a friend when he decommissioned his wood shop. It is a rough cut plank a foot wide, eight feet long and over an inch thick, probably cherry. I am sure that this will ultimately be a beautiful piece of furniture.

Introduction

I am setting up this blog on the 1st of February, but don't expect to contribute to it until I start the rehab project in a couple of months.

Last fall I bought a 1867 vintage J Estey reed organ. The case is immaculate and it plays well enough that you can recognize the music. It will need to repaired internally, but I expect that it will be a superior instrument when I am done. The only reference that I have is "The American Reed Organ" by Robert Gellerman, a comprehensive bible on this species of instrument.

When I am ready to start I will put up some pictures and links to some videos of me playing it.