Maintenance log for Fall 2009/Winter 2010

March 18, 2010
1) Finished bushing loose rack board holes on the new Trumpet rank with adhesive backed felt from Grainger
2) Completed bushing loose Main Tibia racking with felt. They look much straighter and will be more stable and easier to tune.
3) Started to rework the hammers on the Chrysoglott with softer felt. It will sound much more delicate and Celesta like when completed.  
4) The new chest bearers for the Oboe horn chest are complete. They were finished shellacked  by Bob Macneur. 
5) Ordered and received the M66 blocks required to wire up the Oboe Horn chest. Also have the insertion tool for the M66 blocks.

February 22, 2010
1) Work continues on the single rank Kimball chest for the Oboe Horn. New rack board for C# side made, along with support pins, pipe stays (reworked from Main Trumpet chest) and "hi-hats".
2) Started work on releathering the Bass Drum/Cymbal action. Pneumatics are full of coal dust, very messy. 

February 11, 2010
1) Installed most of the Wurlitzer Tuba Horn rank, with the rebuilt pipe stays. Pressure is set to about 12" w/c. Rank boards holes were enlarged using a router and purpose built templates. A few pipes are still out for repair. 
2) Replaced the not so good Morton Trumpet rank with an M. P. Moeller French Trumpet. It really has the OK sound, being very much like a Wurlitzer "brass" Trumpet. It is only from Tenor "c" for now until the offset chest for the lowest 12 pipes is installed. It is the rank with the flared bells, between the Flute Celeste and the Wurlitzer Orchestral Oboe.

February 6, 2010
1) Began work on the single rank wind chest that will be for the Dennison Oboe rank in the Solo chamber. Rejoined to two halves into one chest. The chest was rebuilt previously and will not require new leather.

November 25, 2009
1) Transferred cleaned Harmonic Tuba pipes to CHS main chamber. It will require reaming the rack board holes to allow them to fit.
2) Installed new Wurlitzer winker for the Solo Glockenspiel and Xylophone, removing these items from the pedal offset winding. They are now on their own separate wind supply, set at 16" wind pressure  

November 19, 2009
1) Cleared all dead notes from the Main Diapason rank
2) Installed new walk board between the back two windchests 
3) Started looking into replacement of the too soft Main Wicks Diapason rank. Have located a suitable replacement. 
4) Damaged Tuba Horn and Orchestral Oboe pipes were sent off to Mike DeSarte for repair.

Overview of Solo/Main Chamber Retrofit - Summer of 2009

Solo Chamber Project

One of the chief complaints about the Cleveland High School organ has been the "soft" and non-distinct sound of the Solo chamber. In this case, "soft" does not pertain to the loudness of the chamber, it can get plenty loud. The term "soft" refers to the lack of definition of the ranks, and particularly the Tibia tremulant. This is caused by the size of the chamber, which is almost double the volume required for the amount of ranks and other effects installed in it. 
     The obvious solution would be to lower the ceiling about 6-8 feet, but the logistics and cost of this would be prohibitive. This, in conjunction with raising the windchests
would be the best solution. The best alternate option was to raise the windchests at least 18". The rear, 3 rank chest was raised a total of 22 3/4" and the forward 4 rank, Kinura and Vox Humana chests were raised a total of 18 3/4". This dramatically increased the ease of maintenance of all the wind chests. 
    Four other things were done during the Solo chamber retrofit. First, the sound killing walk board that ran over the center of the chests was eliminated. It was extremely precarious to tune and work on pipes from it, plus it blocked the sound of the treble pipes. Second, the Kinura chest was lowered so that it didn't block the egress of the solo chamber pipes. Third, the old walkboard was cut down to 16" wide and installed between the two larger chests, so tuning and voicing pipes will be a lot easier.  Finally, 12" square acoustical tiles and other types of acoustical treatment were attached to the walls of the chamber. The tiles' purpose is to dampen excessive reverberation in the chamber. Although this sounds counterintuitive, this is meant to increase the clarity of the sound emanating from the chamber and to help define the Tibia tremulant.
     Some changes in the winding scheme of the ranks was done during the course of reconnecting windlines. The Tibia Clausa was originally winded from the back of the chest with a 5" wind line. Since 5" PVC is not readily available, the wind line was changed to 4", and was winded from the side of the chest. The interesting "Y" configuration on the Solo tremulant was deleted. The OSI tremulant unit on the Tibia Clausa was replaced by a Wurlitzer large scale tremulant, graciously donated by a member.

Main Chamber Project

The Main chamber suffers from the same installation errors as the Solo Chamber, but there is more hardware packed into the same size chamber. The rear wind chest that has the Main Tibia Clausa, Open Diapason and Harmonic Tuba was raised 24" and moved back 16". It required  full reconfiguring of the winding system, with new 4" PVC wind lines and relocating the tremulants. The single rank Morton windchest that had the 4' Octave was deleted to make room. 
     The sound killing walkboards that ran through the center of the wind chests were also removed and a 15" wide walk board was installed between the back two wind chests. This allows easy maintenance and tuning of the Harmonic Tuba, Orchestral Oboe, and Trumpet ranks.  
     Almost all of the original windlines on the other two main chests was also removed, including 40 pounds of 5" PVC line. The new winding schemes are much simpler and less of a trip hazard. It is totally amazing how much better things work when simplified. We keep on removing things and the organ works and sounds better!   
      After measuring the wind pressure on the ranks fed by Main I regulator,  it was discovered that the pressure was too low (< 10"). The pressure was raised to about 12" by adding two large springs to the regulator, for a total of six springs. The sound of the Kimball Violins and Concert Flute was dramatically improved. All the other wind pressures were checked and adjusted as required. 
     The Main Vox Humana, a Wurlitzer rank, was louder than the new Morton Solo Vox Humana. The rank was re-regulated by closing the tops down so it is somewhat softer, blending better with the strings and Tibia.  

Blower Project

The blower has been a potential Achilles Heal on this organ for years. The blower itself has been installed in three or four different venues in its lifetime and soon will be on its third motor (the current DC motor was not the original motor) .  Since July 24, 2009, the blower has not been functional because of a partially shorted oil damped starter coil. The blower could be started but the coil would start to smoke after about a minutes operation. 

DC motor and blower issues:
1) The DC motor was rated at 1150 RPM at 230 VDC. It was running on at least 270 VDC and probably running faster than the 1150 RPM.  Because of that, one of the fans was removed to have to blower output less pressure, which has been reported as 30" + static pressure. The higher RPM contributed to more turbulence and wind noise. We were quoted $400-600 to install new motor brushes and service the bearings.
2) The Cutler-Hammer DC motor starter dates from 1914, was obsoleted in 1933, and the last spare parts were made in the 1960's. It has been modified over time, the contacts are burned and is otherwise unreliable and unsafe. DC was used when organ blowers were run off of city streetcar power. We were quoted $600.00 to rewind the starter motor coil. There is no real way to tell what other real or potential problems exist in the starter apparatus.
3) The fan that was removed had been installed at one time but was incorrectly installed so that it scraped against the adjacent stator. There were numerous aluminum particles found in the outlet butterfly valve. The rivets on the fan were worn down and the edges were sufficiently scraped so the fan has to be replaced, at an additional cost of $400.00.    

The cost of repairing the DC motor and starter would be almost half of the cost of as new motor. And there still might have been hidden problems with the starter and motor. So, to ensure continued reliability, the decision was made to replace the DC motor with new 3 phase, 208 VAC, 20 HP motor. It will have three fans and will deliver sufficient static pressure to ensure no sagging wind pressure.

On October 6th, 2009, the new motor was installed by Bob Otey of Seattle. The blower now has the original 3 stage configuration and produces 23 1/2" static pressure at the blower.  The blower was balanced electronically and runs extremely smooth. The old blower configuration imparted a low level rumble that could be heard throughout the entire building. That noise is now completely gone and the organ makes no noise when the swell shades are closed.

Maintenance log for Summer 2009

Below is a log of the daily events (starting from the latest date):
Day 47 October 9, 2009
1) Moved console into auditorium for publicity photo shoot
2) The entire organ is noticeably quieter in the auditorium. With the swell shades closed, there is no noise heard from the organ. Before the blower motor replacement and balancing, there was a noticeable low frequency rumble heard in the auditorium. 
3) Installed rack boards for the Main Diapason and Tibia Clausa and planted the pipes.
4) With the direction of Dennis Hedberg, numerous adjustments were made in the regulators and wind pressures.
5) Fixed leaks and ciphers on the Solo toy counter assembly. 
6) There are still some minor leaks on the Main Tibia chest toe boards which can't be fixed unless the chest is re-gasketed. 
Day 46 October 8, 2009
1) The Tibia portion of the Main 3 rank chest continued to leak even after shimming the screw holes with match sticks. It was decided to drill out the holes and insert dowels. 
2) Secured the bottom boards and the other two toe boards on the 3 rank chest.
3) Fixed numerous small wind leaks.   
Day 45 October 7, 2009
1) Checked operation of blower in the chambers, some new leaks to be addressed.
2) Started reassembly of the Main 3 rank chest after blowing out accumulated dirt and dust. Even with vacuuming out the chests, there was still a lot of dirt and dust inside. 
Day 44 October 6, 2009
1) Installed new 20 Hp blower motor. All three stages were electronically balanced and the blower runs very smoothly. Measured static pressure at the blower is 23 1/2"
2) No apparent problems with the electrical service to the blower, no failures after repeated starts and stops. 

Day 43 September 24, 2009
1) Removed old DC motor from blower so new motor can be installed next week. Required an engine hoist, floor jack and a pallet jack borrowed from the high school.
2) Confirmed that existing motor starter is adequate for the new blower motor. 
Day 42 (August 31, 2009)
1) Completed the connection of the 4" windline for the Main center windchest. 
2) Installed metal cleats for the toy counter.
Day 41 (August 28, 2009)
1) Gary Hughes connected all the traps wiring in the Main chamber and all the tremulant control wires.
2) Placed the rest of the Solo Violin Diapason, some pipes will need bushing on the toes. Also, rolled out some dents in selected pipes.
3) Max did an extensive clean-up in the Solo chamber. 
Day 40 (August 27, 2009)
1) Moved surplus pipes to storage
2) Milled some required parts for the Main 2 regulator windline connection and Solo Xylophone/Glockenspiel winker
3) Planted the most of the new Gottfried (?) Violin Diapason in the Solo chamber. Because the scale of the original Kimball Diaphonic Diapason was so big, the new pipes were re-scaled in the manual chest, so the lowest pipe on the manual chest is 8' GG. There 7 notes offset (CC thru FF#). Originally, the Kimball Diapason started at tenor C on the manual chest and the lowest 12 notes were offset.   
4) Received the 1 rank Kimball for the Oboe Horn in the Solo chamber, stored in blower room for now  
Day 39 (August 26, 2009)
1) Cut and installed new 4" windline for the Main 2 regulator.
2) Installed 3" windline for the Solo chamber toy counter.
3) located the main breaker panel that feeds the breaker panel in the Main chamber. It is located in the ante room in the Chemistry lab next door to the main chamber. (panel C-1, 70 amp breaker, panel is rated at 225 amps.)
4) Prepared the Wurlitzer winker for installation on the Solo xylophone/Glockenspiel instrument 

 
Day 38 (August 25, 2009)
1) Max completed the installation of the Main 2' Tibia offset chest by securing the cables and running a ground wire. Soldered the wires as they were never soldered.
2) Started the winding of the Main 2 regulator to the middle 3 rank chest
3) Ran windline for the Main toy counter and secured signal cable to the terminal board.
Day 37 (August 14, 2009)
1) Completed the new Vox Humana and Main I tremulant windlines
2) Marc Gerlack did a great job of preparing the side of the center Main cheat for the refurbished side plate
3) Jerry Hertel  prepared  and glued new gaskets for the old side plate
4) Max installed side plate and installed new wind lines
5) Mike Bryant prepared the 2' Tibia 12 note chest for installation
6) Installed above Tibia chest  

Day 36 (August 13, 2009)
1) Completed Tuba/Diapason tremulant line, which required modifying a support on the 16' Open Wood  offset chest.
2) Secured the  Main Tibia tremulant to the floor
3) Started to clean up the old Main and Vox Humana tremulant lines so they aren't trip hazards and they are more straight forward in configuration. Not so convoluted.
4) Discovered the most egregious, most amateurish and downright damaging silicone gel job yet in the center three rank chest. This won't be corrected in this round of retrofits.
5) Jonas donated a fully rebuilt Wurlitzer equalizer (winker). It will be used to improve the winding of the Solo Xylophone and Glockenspiel. 
Day 35 (August 12, 2009)
1) Completed all ground wire and buss connections to 3 rank chest
2) Moved 3" Bourdon windline to make way for the Tuba Tremulant line
3) Made an adjustment to the 4" Tuba windline and finished connections. 
4) Mike Bryant completed repair to the Tuba toe board and placed it on the wind chest.   
5) Ordered PVC pipe and fittings for Tuba tremulant windline
6) Started general clean up of the Main chamber

Day 34 (August 11, 2009)
1) Completed windlines for Main Tibia Clausa feed and tremulant
2) installed 4" adaptor and flange on Tuba/Diapason regulator.
3) Jonas and Marc completed the cutting and fitting the windline for the Main Tuba/diapason chest
4) Finally found the circuit breaker for the blower motor. It was in the Main chamber, not where we expected it to be. 
Day 33 (August 10, 2009)
1) Started cutting wind lines for the Main Tibia Clausa and Tuba chests
2) Jonas completed installation of the Solo Vox Humana 
3) Check sent for initial payment for new AC blower motor.
4) secured and dressed wiring for the Main 3 rank chest
5) Installed bottom boards with two screws each to get them out of the way and out of danger.
Day 32 (August 06, 2009)
1) No access to3rd floor due to floor waxing
2) Took measurements for Bob Otey to construct brackets for new blower motor 
3) Blower fans have been delivered to Bob Otey.
Day 31 (August 06, 2009)
1) No activity in the chambers due to floor cleaning and waxing on the 3rd floor
2) Dismantled blower for preparation for the new 20 HP, 208 VAC, 3 phase motor to be supplied by Bob Otey of Seattle. Found metal shavings on top of the outlet butterfly valve due to incorrect installation of the
    outer fan, which was scraping on the stator. Max noticed a cracked weld on the bracket that held one of the motor brushes. Overall, the decision to replace the DC motor with a new AC motor is a good one,      looking at all the inherent problems with the DC motor.  

Day 30 (August 05, 2009)
1) Max installed ground busses and wires for 3 rank chest
2) Installed new side panel for 3 rank chest
3) Mike finished the new gaskets for the Tuba toe board pouch rails.
4) Started preparation for the 4" windline connection on the Tuba regulator 
Day 29 (August 04, 2009)
1) Secured another wiring terminal strip and began cleaning up the cables
2) Mike completed the new gaskets on the Tibia toe board pouch rail, placed toe board on chest.
3) Hauled off excess pipework and wind chest to storage.
4) Acquired a Robert Morton 10" scale Vox Humana for the Solo Chamber. Jonas and Marc Gerlach installed it. 
5) Mike and Max started preparing the Tuba toe board for new gaskets on the pouch rails
6) Jonas and Marc started to disassemble the blower for conversion to a new AC motor. 

Day 28 (August 03, 2009)
1) Assembled new chest bearers for 3 rank chest in hallway
2) Moved and reassembled chest frame and bearers in the Main chamber
3) Secured new chest bearers to the floor with 1" plywood pads using 1/4" lag bolts
4) installed one Tibia bottom board and secured cable terminal strip
5) Mike inspected the toe boards for the Tibia and Diapason, will require new paper gaskets on the Tibia pouch rails. Pouch leather looks OK.
6) Jonas inquired about additional options for the blower. It may cost thousands to repair. 

  
Day 27 (July 31, 2009)
1) Removed and prepared the Main back 3 rank windchest frame for installation. It required lots of filling putty, sanding and bushing screw holes and other repairs.
2) Cleaned out and removed  almost all of the hardware in the hallway. Access to the organ chambers  will be limited next week when the CHS custodians wax the floor.  
3) Gary Hughes brought in a capacitive/inductive tester and determined that the blower starting coil is partially shorted. We will find a licensed shop that can rewind the coil.   
4) Received some documentation on the blower motor starter unit from Cutler-Hammer, which was obsoleted in 1933. 

Day 26 (July 30, 2009)
Work was canceled yesterday due to the extremely hot weather. 
1) Ran ground wire for the 12 note Tibia 2' chest
2) Connected the Solo and Solo Brass tremulant control wires
3) Cleaned the Solo chamber and removed all the accumulated tools and supplies
4) Started to clean the hallway of all accumulated parts and lumber
4) Had an electrician look at the blower motor starter device to explore options to repair or upgrade 
Day 25 (July 27, 2009)
1) Still looking at options for the blower starter
2) Fixed a crack in a Solo Tibia bottom board
3) Started winding the traps in the Main chamber
4) Continued with the dismantling of the Main rear 3 rank chest. Found more Silicone gel troubles but found an adaptor on a 12 note treble chest that actually had a leather gasket on it!   

Day 24 (July 24, 2009)
1) Fixed some leaks on the Solo manifold
2) Fixed a cipher in the Solo Tibia, which required dropping the bottom board, yet another glob of silicone gel. See picture below.
3) Fixed a dead note in the Solo Tibia which required removing the Tibia pipes and the toe board. The dead note was caused by a port not opened when the new gasket material was glued in. The new gasket material was required because of the silicone gel used to fix leaks. See #item 2 and entry from day 2. 
4) The DC starter device on the blower motor failed. The organ is non functional until this is fixed. Various options are being explored. It is not known how long this will take or how much it will cost.

Day 23 (July 23, 2009)
1) Max finished installing the new screws into the Kinura chest bottom board. No leaks! Replaced the old 3" #12 straight slot flat head screws with Philips head screws, along with new washers.. 
2) Planted the Kinura pipes
3) Jonas experimented more with the Solo Tibia tremulant, shortened the windline about 4-5'
4) Did some re-winding in the Main chamber to allow the blower to be turned on again. The new winding when installed will be much simpler and cleaner.  
5) Removed the center walkboard from the Main chamber
6) Had a large crew today, so we were able to hoist the Main traps assembly into place on top of the Harp. It fits like its supposed to. Its ready to wind and wire. 

Day 22 (July 22, 2009)
1) Finished winding the Kinura chest
2) Fixed wind leak on Solo manifold
3) Checked and set wind pressures in Solo chamber. Set as follows:
      a) Solo - 10 1/2"
      b) Solo Brass - 11"
      c) Tibia Clausa - 13 1/2"
      d) Vox Humana - 6"
4) Secured terminal board for the Solo 4 rank chest
5) Started work on raising at least one of the Main windchests by removing the Main Tibia and Diapason ranks and removing the toe boards on the 3 rank chest. 
Day 21 (July 21, 2009)
1) Wheeled out the console and heard the results of the work. The sound is much improved, even though everything is very out of tune.
2) Cleared a cipher from the Solo Tuba that required dropping a bottom board. Yet another glob of silicone gel lodged in the primary valve.
3) Discovered a dead note in the Solo Tibia (middle A) probably a blown pouch.
4) The Morton Diapason transplanted form the main chamber is still too tubby for the desired sound.
Day 20 (July 20, 2009) - one small step for a man.................
1) Fastened the 2' Tibia rack board and planted the pipes
2) Installed Kinura chest with new chest bearers. Routed the Solo tremulant line through the chest bearer to save space.
3) Completed tying the pipe stays for the English Horn
4) Confirmed measurements for the Main chamber move
5) A subjective measurement of the Solo vs. the Main reverb times indicates the Solo is now tighter than the main.  

Day 19 (July 17, 2009)
1) Finished installing Diapason pipes including 4' Octave
2) Planted the 4' Clarion pipes
3) Max cut and glued the gaskets for the 2' Tibia extension wind chest
4) Mounted the 2' Tibia extension wind chest, Max secured the wiring for it. 
5) Fixed cipher in Diapason chest, required dropping the bottom board
6) Planted the Tibia Clausa pipes on the wind chest, with the help of Bob Macneur
7) Mounted the acoustical tile donated by Jerry Hertel. The room is definitely getting tighter, less reverberant.  

Day 18 (July 16, 2009)
1) Installed the rest of the English Horn, Diapason and Harmonic Tuba ranks using brand new cotton twill tape on the pipe stays. Discovered that the Harmonic Tuba is harmonic from Tenor C on up. 
2) Installed the Trivo Saxophone
3) Jonas has made some preliminary adjustments on the tremulants 

Day 17 (July 15, 2009)
1) Installed Gamba, Gamba Celeste ranks.
2) Started to install English Horn, Diapason and Harmonic Tuba ranks. Discovered that the tenor D and D# boots on the Harmonic Tuba had been swapped when last installed.
3) Repaired one blown pneumatic pouch on the C side of the Diapason, another one was to far gone top repair.
4) Fixed ciphers on the Tuba chest, found screws holes drilled horizontally into the to boards were leaking. Plugged holes. Probably the same solution on the Post horn chest.
5) Made new rear plate for the 12 note Tibia 2' extension chest
Day 16 (July 14, 2009)
1) Installed braces for  Tibia Clausa tremulant.
2) Installed new 5" PVC wind line extension for the Solo ranks 
3) Chased more wind leaks and ciphers on the Solo windchest. Required dropping one bottom board.
4) Drilled 1 1/2" hole for the 2' Tibia 12 note extension windchest. Cannot install the chest as the back plate has to be reworked. Plugged hole.

Day 15 (July 13, 2009)
1) Repaired pneumatic motor on the large Wurlitzer tremulant unit and assembled the tremulant. 
2) Installed new Tibia Clausa tremulant wind line. It really shakes that regualtor! It will have to have a gate valve to scale back the tremulant a bit.
3) Chased more wind leaks and ciphers
4) Installed braces for Solo Brass tremulant wind line
Day 14 (July 10, 2009)
1) Installed new ladder for accessing the walkboard in front of the Tibia Clausa offset
2) Secured Solo tremulant to the floor and 4" wind line going to the Piano and traps.
3) Spent the rest of the day chasing ciphers and dead notes.  
4) Ordered more 2 1/2" pipe for the Tibia Tremulant wind line
Day 13 (July 9, 2009)
1) Installed new wind line for the Solo Brass tremulant. (see picture below) 
2) Installed new wind line for the Solo tremulant
3) Paul Quarino donated a large size Wurlitzer Tremulant for the Solo Tibia Clausa. It will require a very minor rebuild before installing, Many thanks to Paul.
4) Mike Bryant and Rob Kingdom decide to relocate the Kinura windchest so that it will be directly in front of the Vox Humana wind chest. This will be the closest rank to the swell shades for maximum egress.
5) Jack Powers finished the ground wires for all the chests.  

Day 12 (July 8, 2009)
1) Installed 2 1/2" Vox Humana tremulant wind line.
2) Started fixing leaks and ciphers. Lots of debris in the chests including a small clump of Silicone gel lodged in a primary valve. This required dropping 3 bottom boards to address these issues.  
3) The primary pneumatics we saw were in very good condition, they should be reliable for years to come.
Day 11 (July 7, 2009)
1) Max installed the corner brackets on Vox Humana chest, trimmed the walk board support so the new Tibia wind line would clear
2) Connected the separate 4" wind supply wind lines to the Tibia Clausa and Tuba/Diapason.
3) Secured the wiring terminal for the Vox Humana chest.
4) Connected the new wind lines for the English (post) Horn.
5) Max and Steve Jarvis installed the Vox Humana bottom board and ensured that all the screws secured correctly.
6) The one "Wurlitzer" tremulant unit we have turns out to be Robert Morton. Probably will install it where it was before but with cleaned up wind lines. Anybody out there that would like to donate a large Wurlitzer tremulant?  
7) Turned on the blower a couple of different times to blow out the chests. Quite a few ciphers left over from before the move. Plugged a few leaking screw holes. No apparent leaks in the new winding.
Day 10 (July 6, 2009)
1) Max installed all the required flanges for the various wind lines (not "air pipes")
2) Connected the wind supply to the Vox Humana wind chest and placed the chest.
3) Secured the wiring terminal for the 4 rank chest.
4) Jack finished replacing the missing magnet on the Vox Humana chest and checked all the remaining magnets. 
5) Jonas Nordwall inspected the work and was duly impressed. He suggested that we move the one Wurlitzer tremulant unit we have to the Tibia instead of the Solo. The Solo and Solo brass trems will be OSI.  
6) Acquired the required fittings, pipe and screws for tomorrows' work.
Day 9  (July 2, 2009)
1) Max finished installing the 4 rank chest bottom board screws.
2) Jack and Jerry finished the ground wires and busses for both chests.
3) All toe boards and rack boards were cleaned and rack boards were installed
4) Finished and attached the chest bearers, and replaced a missing (hole was stuffed with a napkin) magnet for the Vox Humana chest.
5) Rudy started the massive task of cleaning and vacuuming the chamber floor.

Day 8 (July 1, 2009)
1) All bottom boards installed onto the 4 rank chest, after replacing dead magnets and cleaning the bottom boards.
2) Installed bracing for the Tibia offset walk board.
3) Mike prepared the chest bearers for the Vox Humana chest. Again, a five minute job turns into 2 hours due to silicone gel sealant from the previous use. 
4) Turned the sound destroying center walk board into a new walk board in between chests

Day 7 (June 30, 2009)
1) All toe boards installed onto the 4 rank chest, after repairing gaskets and filling unused screw holes.
2) All bottom boards installed on the 3 rank chest, along with exchanged magnets replacing the two dead ones.
3) Installed the two blank off plates on the Tibia chest
4) Started to install the Tibia winding
Day 6 (June 29, 2009)
1) The Solo 4 rank chest is up on its new legs and secured to the floor 
2) Installed the braces for the center walk board 
3) Repaired a few toe board gaskets for the 4 rank chest  
4) Jack replaced some dead magnets on the Tibia chest

Day 4 (June 25, 2009)
We accomplished a lot today, and we had a large, enthusiastic crew on hand as well.
1) Clayton and Rick rearranged the Tibia regulator springs to ease the new winding 
2) Rick and Rob got the new chest bearers level and attached to the floor 
3) Aaron punched out the the holes in the toe board gaskets 
4) Mike and others got the new toe board gaskets glued into place 
5) Mike and others mounted the toe boards 
6) Rick and Rob made new supports for the Tibia offset chest walk board 
7) Rick, Aaron and Clayton removed the Kinura and Vox humana wind chests 
8) All the rest of the pipes from the manual chests were removed and stored 
9) Jeanette and Luurt cleaned and vacuumed both chambers.
10) Luurt, Aaron and Charles started attaching acoustical tiles to the chamber walls  

Day 2 (June 23, 2009)
1) Removed toeboards from the 3 rank chest, only to discover that Silicone gel had been used to seal leaks. The Silicone had partially to almost completely blocked the air flow from the primaries to the toeboards. No wonder the ranks on this chest had inconsistent attack. This is why amateurs and hobbyists should refrain from attempting repairs on pipe organs, without consulting someone who knows how to do it. This will require stripping off  the old gaskets and Silicone goo and replacing it with new packing leather gaskets.

Day 1 (June 22, 2009)
1)Removed the French Horn chest with its chest bearers, Solo II and Tibia tremulants
2) Removed and stored the pipework from the 3 rank chest. Discovered that none of the chests were cleated to the floor, just free standing.

Main II Regulator rebuild - 2007

16

Blown out gussets and rotten leather

New wooden parts on left ready to use

 Underside of completed regulator. The bottom plate is all new as the old one had too many unused holes sealed with silicone gel to be really viable.

Completed Regulator, ready to install. Of the three top plates, the nearest two were made new as the condition of the old wood was not good.  

Winkers before final finish and covering - the replica is the top one. All materials are recycled.

The rebuilt Wurlitzer "Winker" (upper left) in its new home, supplying air to the Harp at about 14" pressure. The lower right is a replica built by Rob Kingdom, supplying the Chrysoglott and traps at 13.5" pressure. The inlet to the winkers are mounted directly to the wind trunk.

Pre-fitting the new Chrysoglott winker onto the wind trunk. Mounting the inlet directly to the wind trunk saves space and a couple of flanges and fittings. Notice that the technicians fingers never leave his hands.

The pneumatic motor has been recovered and the wood pieces are re-finished. Notice even the metal hinges and springs have been cleaned and polished. 

Completed Persian Cymbal Unit

The Persian Cymbal has a large motor for a Gong effect and two smaller motors for the Persian cymbal roll.