It has been several months, now, since I have received the organ.
I still look around my shop in awe- what a project! In one area sits the console, or the pieces of it, I should say. I had to dismantle it to reglue joints and do needed repairs. When the time comes, it will all go back together, easily.
Over in another area are some of the longest and largest metal pipes, silent now, but waiting for the chance to spring back to life.
Spread out are the pipe chests, upon which the various pipes sit. Relay boards, dice boxes, blower, the main regulator/ reservoir, and more pipes. Then there is the large xylophone and the "harp".
I need to face it- I need at LEAST twice the room that I have!
When I went to a friend's house to tune his piano the other day, he began to ask about the organ. He had read the article that came out in the local paper, but was confused- was there enough of it left to restore? Was it all just a pile of junk, with little left to actually restore?
Oh, no- I assured him- ALL of the basics are there. It is just ALL in need of a serious overhaul and rebuilding. It CAN be done.
One of the points that has caused me some occasional restless nights has been the pipework. Boy, it really got beat up. Not the big metal pipes or the wooden tibia pipes, but the smaller, easy-to-remove pipes.
You don't have much of an organ without pipes! In a previous post I noted how much or each rank was missing or damaged beyond repair. It was- many times- disheartening.
A major pipe supply company had quoted me that to make new pipes for just the violin rank would be over $6,000! And I need serious help with 3 metal ranks. I clearly envisioned that it would be nothing short of $22,000 to replace the damaged pipework.
I don't have THAT MUCH money to invest in this, for as much as I envision the City or another local entity taking the organ, I don't know- for sure- if that kind of money would ever be realized back.
So, I have persistently watched a couple of sites on the internet that deal with old pipework, of the kind I need. There are people out there that have collected pipework from various organs and have lots of it stored away. And you can get a rank for a fraction of the cost of new.
And on my birthday- August 2- an ad popped up, with some of the pipework I needed!!!! YES!!!
The seller and I have communicated a number of times and struck a deal. I will be getting genuine Robert Morton violins, vox-humanas and some diapason. At a WONDERFUL price! It will be coming from Spokane, Washington, and he is busily constructing crates and heavy-duty mailing tubes . It won't be long!!!
With luck, I will be able to replace ALL of the pipework for less than $1,000. That is significant!!!
I will post some pictures of the new pipework when it gets here, alongside pictures of the old and twisted!
Onward.
