Pipe Organ Update

Thanks to the good folks who supplied assistance regarding spacing on the diyapasion chat I've got the holed drilled in the piston rails. The swell rail has swell to pedal and 1 thru 5 swell divisional pistons The great rail will have set, 1 thru 5 generals, great to pedal, 1 thru 5 great divisional, transpose up and transpose down, sforzando, and cancel. I missed the shipment of the Opus-2 controls due to my stupidity in forgetting my address. These are being sent again and I hope Dave Milton has forgiven me. When these arrive I will be busy rewiring everything in a more permanent fashion. I found some nice light, flexible hose at Lowe's where I work to use in tubing off the many bass notes. I was using tygon tubing but this is expensive, heavy and stiff requiring me to use barbed 90 deg elbows and supporting with wires from the ceiling. The new hose I'm using is made for piping water from sump pumps and costs about $8.00 for 25 feet at the store where I work. That saves a dollar a foot over the clear stuff. I will be adding more pictures when the rails are wired in.

Steve Pipe Organ Project

Well I've added the drawknob jams. There are 7 pedal stops, 14 swell and 12 great stops. The rockers in the middle were the stops for the organcraft which is the console and the 3 ranks of pipes that the console is integrated. I will be replacing it with couplers. I will be adding the divisional names above the drawknobs and perhaps a trim around the divisions. The Opus-Two controls have shipped. I might add pistons on the great drawknob jam for options Opus-Two has. And of course it needs pistons under the manuals yet. The Organcraft is the 3 rank organ with exposed pipes. The Kimball is behind the swell shades. You can catch a glimps of the melodia through the left side of the swell shades. The box to the left contains the Wicks vox humana which needs a windchest and swell shades. I think I will make it a vox in a box. Lots of work to do yet.

Steves Pipe Organ Project

My association with the pipe organ began in my sophmore year in high school. My father told me about a church in West Bridgewater, PA that was tearing out their pipe organ. As it worked out I began my first acquisition of a pipe organ. It was a three manual instrument. The name tag had the inscription "Made by A Gottfried Co Erie Pa for CB May Beaver Pa 1903" there is some question as to whether Gottfried actually made this instrument or rebuilt it. This organ was stored in the barn and unfortunately most of it is no longer usable. It had 23 ranks I believe. About the turn of the century I bought a 3 rank Organcraft practice organ on ebay originally from West Virginia University. This organ has an 8' metal gedackt, an 8' quint and a 4' principal. Two manual 61 notes and pedal 32 notes ep action and fits under an 8' ceiling. Around 2004 I purchased a Kimball pipe organ on ebay which came from the First Baptist Church in Pleasantville, NJ. Opus 6873. The photo is the right side of the Kimball pipe chamber. This is a 5 rank organ. The console was destroyed before the organ was listed on ebay. The only part that survived was the stop tab rail. I am now assembling the Organcraft and Kimball with a few renegade ranks from the Gottfried, Austin, Wicks, and a pedal octave whos manufacture I can't recall. At the moment after I'm through typing this I will resume working on the drawknob jambs. I will be posting pictures from previous progress and as I go along. I hope you enjoy the progress. I know I am.