I've been on the hunt for an actual folding organ ever since seeing a good one in an antique store in high school and failing to buy it. They're near-perfect busking instruments, if you're willing to lug them around- they're loud, clear, full-sounding, (unlike small portable amps, it must be said,) and don't require power. They're also attention-getting novelties, which is big. I converted a small organ for this purpose in 2021, but its limited range and the pain it took me to set up had me wanting more.
When I bought this organ, I had already picked up a very beat, slightly mysterious, and much older example. I figured that, since I was already planning on restoring another organ, I could get some practice before making the newer into a real hot rod.
The newer organ, an Estey, was found in a Lyndonville antique store, almost by accident. The company, located just a few hours South in the Connecticut River Valley in Brattleboro, was known for many, many decades as one of the country's leading manufacturers of reed organs.
The organ seemed post-war, based on its construction, and a little digging about the serial number online confirmed it as a 50's instrument. This was well past Estey's prime as a company, but the famed quality seemed still to be there. One major bonus of a later instrument like this one is its tuning to 440hz. The organ sported a 4-octave, C to C keyboard with full-size keys, octave-up stops for each half, and swell/grand organ levers. And it was made to fold up. Perfect.
Of course, a lot was wrong with it. Besides being filthy and creaky, it produced only enough sound to confirm that it could be made functional.
The main problem was this: the bellows cloth- the rubberized fabric surrounding the exhausters and the reservoir- had to be replaced, along with each of four valves. In an organ, the exhausters attach one to each foot pedal via straps, and serve to pump air out of the reservoir, which collapses against large springs until a key is pressed, allowing air to rush across a reed into the reservoir. The bellows cloth and leather checkvalves need to be very airtight for the system to work well.
Replacing the cloth and valves was the big job. Next to that, I decided I had to:
-Clean and wax the case
-Disassemble the case to the extent possible and replace worn screws
-Clean and lubricate the mechanical features of the instrument
-Roughly level the keys
-Adjust the action to be within normal for a piano or organ
-Work with reeds as absolutely necessary
Process photos:
As I got the organ, after removing the front panel. For some reason, this area was loaded with spruce needles:
Cool detail of the grand organ function. The knee lever acts on this hinged wooden slide, which in turn bumps up each door enabling air to get to the high choir of reeds, which are normally covered by a leather gasket. The right knee lever's function can also be seen, as it acts on the rotating brass rod to the right to lift the shutter, acting behind on the low choir of reeds, only:
The cheek stops each act to open one door of the high choir only. The function is of a simple wedge:
The keys are seen cut away below to make room for the slide mechanisms:
Instrument out of case:
Heavily depressed gaskets on the pallet valves leading to shallow action and uneven keys. I experimented with turning these around, but ended up switching them back for a better seal, and restored the action in a different way:
The newly clean upper action receiving new, thinner felt. The thinner felt allows the keys to drop further, and so deepens the action throughout the entire keyboard:
Cutting copies of old leather valves for the exhausters and reservoir. This organ had some interesting valve features: vinyl reservoir valves and spring-mounted, leather exhauster ones. I created new valves for my old, anonymous organ at the same time:
Making templates for new rubber cloth from the brittle, old coverings:
Transferring the pattern over to new material:
Applying card stock ribs to the finished covering:
The process of applying new bellows cloth. An exhauster is propped up, and one edge of the cloth is applied with thick hot glue. Hot animal glue is really necessary here, since it's slightly pliable, can be removed if a mistake is made, and applies quickly. I use my fingers to hold the cloth fast to an edge while it sets up. Once it does, more is added until the entire edge is worked around. The bottom edges of the exhausters in this organ are held with strips of wood and tacked, easing the process greatly:
Each exhauster is covered, followed by the reservoir. It is important to apply the valves for the reservoir before covering the exhausters, since they won't be accessible afterwards.
Setup for cleaning reeds. I drilled a block to hold each one in order, and used diluted ammonia, followed by several rinses, to wash them:
Playing with the key action and location. The pins in the nearest row are ellipsoid and can be turned or bent slightly to make changes to the key's position and relative looseness:
Aside from case repairs, most of the project then consisted of zipping things up. Note the two cleats added to the music stand/lid along the line of a crack:
Case mode:
The sound of the organ turned out very clean and pure, unlike other, reedier organs I've played. The grand organ feature was very nice for ocassional dramatic touches or forte sections, as well as some octave displacement tricks, which are good to have around when you're playing on just four octaves. Having seperate octave stops can also be recommended; it really brings out the right hand against accompaniment if you need it to.
Unfortunately, the leather I used for the valves was a bit too thick, resulting in quiet, but noticeable, farting sounds if pumping too hard. It was drowned out during play, but annoying to my perfectionist side nonetheless.
Apart from my drive to avoid carrying tons of huge, heavy furniture around, I ultimately decided to get rid of this organ because it just wasn't exactly what I was looking for. The ease of folding the organ was more than outweighed by its weight and awkwardness- not great for taking out to busking spots. The octave stops and knee levers are wonderful, but I would gladly trade the gizmos for a smaller size. The volume also left something to be desired, which I think owes at least partially to the massive wooden case. In the future I'll be on the lookout for an Estey JJ or something similar...
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