For the organ builders out there... What kind of stuff have you found in the organ pipes ??? ;) ;D
QuoteA hacky sack, a chair leg and a 9V battery have been recovered by a pair of technicians dismantling Nelson College's pipe organ.
Mark Patterson and Richard Paulson are taking the instrument apart and sending its components to Oamaru for organ restorer Ron Newton to clean.
The organ was donated to the school by a group of old boys in the 1950s and Mr Patterson – the assistant organist at Nelson's Christ Church Cathedral – said this was the instrument's first overhaul.
"It was bought brand new by the old boys for 5000, [but] it has sort of deteriorated over the years. It's a beautiful instrument – well worth maintaining," he said.
Mr Patterson and Mr Paulson have been working on the organ's central section, the loudest of its three keyboards. They want to have it ready in time for the school prizegiving next Tuesday.
The organ works by using pressurised air sent into the instrument's reservoirs by a fan, where it is stabilised and sent through the pipes.
"Each pipe is like a recorder – it's the same concept but it's driven by a machine, not people," Mr Patterson said.
He said Nelson College was fortunate to have such a fantastic resource on its school grounds. He said the organ had about 1600 pipes, in some of which the interesting loot – including the hacky sack – was found.
Reminds me of an incident involving a Cinema organ installed in the PLU Fieldhouse... Something about the low C 32' diaphone and a a basketball... ;D ;D ;D ;)
Eric
KB7DQH
Hi
Not in the pipes, but when working on an organ that hadn't seen any significant work for many years, we found a copy of Radio Times for a date in the 1930's under the dust on top of the swell box.
Every Blessing
Tony
Often find the remains of birds in the display pipes/