Dismantle?

[wjoefox]

Hi all,

I am considering taking a pipe organ from my village into my home. However, I cannot afford an organ builder to do this for me!
So, I wondered if any of you could give me some tips on how to take the instrument apart. It's a 2 manual, 11 stop, Nelson of Durham.

Thanks.

[revtonynewnham]

Hi

First, remove the pipes and wrap them in newspaper and store them in boxes - preferably no more than 2 layers.  The basses may have to be kept seperate - but then they are stronger!  Be very careful not to bruise or dent the pipes, nor - and this is critical - distort any of the mouth components.  If you need to stand basses on end, then top down - NEVER on the feet (this will possibly close up the foot hole and alter the regulation).  Don't forget to label the boxes - the individual pipes will have a mark showing which rank they belong to and the note name - if this is missing/wrong/illegible, then add labels.

That done, take photos of the dismantling process!  Typically, the casework will need to be removed first, then disconnect the action (plenty of pictures - and sketches if needed - to help when you put it back together!)  The windchests usually then lift off (positioned on dowels - but not always the case - my chamber organ had these screwed down).  Number all the action parts - npo. 1 is the low C.  Then the reservoire/swell box etc should be obvious.LABEL EVERYTHING!!!!  Organ parts can be heavy, so a second pair of hands could be a great help - and if you can find someone who knows what (s)he is doing, that would be even better.  If you are on good terms with a local organ builder, they may well give you some advice.  Take plenty of ontainers for small partrs - keep all the screws, etc. - and label them.  And don't forget to let NPOR have the detail of the removal & new home, etc.!

Every Blessing

Tony

[David Pinnegar]

Hi!

I did this first when I was 15, a Cousans 7 rank from St Andrews, Peckham. It was a week to dismantle with a friend and two weeks to rebuild. On my second organ, an 11 rank Hunter, it was more compact, more difficult and the extra pipes meant that it was 2 weeks to dismantle and 4 weeks to rebuild together with help from 4 students from the London College of Furniture learning organ building there at that stage. Having some help, including their tutor on tap, was a tremendous advantage.

No doubt an organ builder or two here can give better advice but hope the following tips might be helpful.

The first thing to do is to remove the pipes. Lay them flat, preferably, for transportation and be careful both with the mouths and the feet. Organ builders have pipe trays - perhaps you can improvise something. A flat-bed truck is essential for all aspects of moving. Having removed the pipes, you can dismantle the swell box and possibly remove the pipe racks. Disconnect the sliders - and when moving an instrument do be careful of the slider ends - they are easily broken. An organ builder will recognise everything, but as an amateur, and possibly to ease reconstruction with amateur help, number the pipes in rows, perhaps lettered A-H or so and number them from the left, row by row.

If it's tracker, carefully undo the leather screw buttons. Hold the eye of the top of the threaded rod so that you don't damage the pull-downs when moving. You'll probably want to replace these when you rebuild - you can get them from K-A, and you might need to drill out the holes to a larger diameter for your threaded rods.

Having undone all comnections to the soundboards you can then move them - you'll need 2, 3 or 4 people as they're heavy and then dismantle the action and frame. Make sure that series of items are numbered, or at least taped together with masking tape.

When you rebuild, bear in mind that windchests and the like are difficult to get to again - so now is the time to do any repairs. You'll find the numbering that you've done very helpful in rebuilding. It takes a lot of guesswork out of the rebuild. You might want to replace felts or leather where worn, and roller boards can be noisy. I quietened down my second pipe organ by using plastic insulation from 1.5mm and 2.5mm electric cable on worn rollerboards. Ideally it could still do with rebuilding of many moving parts, but there is a lot one can do to quieten down old trackers.

When you reconnect the trackers to the pulldowns, setting and levelling the keyboards can be fun. A couple of straight edge timbers are great tools to this and you probably want to aim for a tread of around 6-8 mm - not too deep and not too shallow.

It's a good idea to take the fronts off the chests and check that all is well inside. Similar the tops of the soundboards so that you can get at the sliders, check for any cracks which will cause runs if not filled and apply nice quantities of fresh graphite powder for the sliders to slide in. When reassembling, don't overtighten the screws. Obviously airtightness is important but not so tight as to prevent the sliders sliding.

Pipework - on the rebuild, you'll be wise to see if you can get an organ builder to help you for a day or two. Putting the pipes back on speech - you will find that they won't all speak well after the move - and regulating them for their new environment. A day or two of professional help won't break the bank. Perhaps getting him in to look at the start whilst it's in situ might help so that he can point you in the direction of any obvious pitfalls to avoid.

Best wishes

David P

[wjoefox]

Thanks - those are both very very helpful. I will let you know how I get on, if I move it, and if I have any problems.

Many thanks,
WF

[NonPlayingAnorak]

Any news?

[wjoefox]

The planning permission part of this particular National Park (it's a special building) are being very difficult and slow, so no news as yet!