Up until the time I gave an estimate on this instrument, I had serviced, tuned, rebuild the
player systems for few band organs but had never restored one from the ground up. On first look,
this organ appeared to be in pretty fair shape. It had been repaired in the late fifties and had been in
a collector's basement for many years and still played a bit with an aid of an external suction box.
The facade paint job looked like it dating from the time it was last repaired was in good shape and
(more this side of tasteful then many others I have seen)so it was decided to keep it as is. It was decided
however that organ case which was painted fire engine red should be stripped and returned to it's original
quarter-sawn oak finish.
1. Making a New Case
click on image to see a larger version
When the organ arrived at the shop the first order of business was to gut the
cabinet and begin stripping the paint off the outside. This reveal a couple of
major problems. Many of these organs were not well treated when they belonged
to the carnivals. They were banged up, rained on, and acquired
numerous coats of paint as they were carted around.
This one was no exception. As the red paint came off the sad shape of the case was evident.
Sections of the oak veneer had been replaced with mismatched maple and poplar and putty. Moisture
had soaked into the core lumber causing warping, dry-rot, and ruining structural glue joints.
Some of the screws that held the cabinet together had almost rusted away. When the top and
bottom panels were removed the case collapsed under its own weight.
The base on which the organ case fit could be saved though it had its problems. It had been reveneered and nicely finished yet who ever did the
work used contact cement to lay the veneer. Contact cement is not the best adheasive
for for this purpose; with age it will give way. Since the thinning agent in lacquer
is the same as in most contact cements, the process of finishing may loosen or
bubble up the veneer. With little effort the veneer popped loose
on each corner, revealing broken frame joints . The type of doweling used
to assemble the cabinet can also be seen.
The original construction was not particularly substantial. In fact it was sub-economy grade, even
by today's standards All key joints were assembled with 3/8" dowels, four at each corner. The joints
were then veneered over. The structural integraty rested solely on the top and bottom panels that
fastened to it. On projects such as this I endevor to save as much of the original work as possible,
but there becomes a point replacing major components is not only cosmetically desireable, but ecomonical
as well.
Originally the core lumber in the side panels was a solid low-grade wormy oak.
For the new panels, I have used 23/32" poplar core cabinet-grade plywood laminated
over 3/16 Luan underlayment. This will make the 15/16" thickness of the
old walls. For the exterior faces I had quarter-sawn oak veneer laid up
in a tiger pattern. The panels were then laid in a special press of my own design, using a
urea-formaldehyde resin glue, a slow setting but very strong and rigid waterproof adhesive
which is mixed from a powder. The long setup time is good for applying to large
surface areas with time enough to make sure that the veneer sheet is
properly placed. After allowing the sides to cure for a couple of days I trimmed the
two sides to finish dimensions. For the front and back frames I used
solid poplar core splined together at the joints, then overlaid on the
back sides with oak veneer. Before assembly the original side panels were
used as templates for screw holes and other openings. Rabbet joints on the
corners replaced dowels for greater strength and stability. When the
case was fully assembled the exterior faces of the case were veneered
in the same manner of the original. After finish sanding it was off
to the refinisher.
2. Making a New Pump
When the pressure pump was stripped of the ribbings and leather it was obvious that the it
also needed to be replaced. The outer bellows boards were made of solid poplar which badly split,
especially around the flap-valve holes. The center pieces which connected to the pump rods
from the crank shaft were ok so they got recycled. The reservoir board was badly warped and half
the spreading braces were so rusted that they broke off where they fastened
into the wood.
rebuilding the Player Action
One of the major problems caused by the initial repair done 45+ years ago was in the replacement
of the tubing that ran from the tracker bar switching chest to the player stack. Originally
rubber, this was replaced with clear polyvinylchloride (aquarium tubing). As this material broke
down it released a heavy oily substance that flowed into and ruined most of the valve blocks.
I had to replace nearly all of these. I also decided to make a new pouch cut-out board for
switching tracker bars. This unit was soaked with oil from the spool frames and soaked with
Neatsfoot oil to preserve the rotten leather gasketing. There were also stripped holes which
already had screws that were two sizes larger then those used originally, an issue I had to deal with
throughout this project.
To plate or not to plate
Owner at first wanted all the hardware and gears nickel plated including the bells. I know
many collectors like everything nice and shinny like new, but between the harsh chemicals
used in the plating process, and the gorilla they got buffing the parts when they come out of
the tanks, I prefer to gears and other structural and delicate parts cleaning and leave it at
that. I have heard a few band organs in which the bells have been re-plated. They look real
pretty but sound clunky.
When I first started to work on duplex roll mechanism, I was very intimidated by what appeared
to be Rube Goldberg nightmare of gears, levers and cams. I disassembled very carefully,
took notes and kept all the parts in order. Who ever designed this had it well thought out.
All the cams and gears have taper pins so its hard to make a mistake positioning them.
The only problem was a pot-metal sprocket which engaged the cam-shaft that switched one
spool frame to the other. It had swelled up on its shaft causing the whole system to jam.
Cleaned up and oiled it is truly a marvel to watch. Now THAT'S mechanical music!
Pipes
In spite of the wretched condition of the case the most of the pipes were in very good with the
exception of the set of 8' stopped flutes located underneath the organ. Many had broken glue
joints or had cracked from the swelling of the stoppers. Most of the tuning stoppers jammed
in and knobs were all chewed up, making their removal for re-leathering difficult. Though the
rest of the pipes were in good shape they, required a great deal of cleaning and voicing.
I always wear hearing protection for this. These pipes are very loud and the prolonged exposure
required for adjustment and tuning can take its toll.
This organ has nearly 150 pipes of which there are 3 basic voices; Flute String and Trumpet.
Certain sets of pipes called ranks are assigned to sections in which the organ is divided;
Bass, Accompaniment, Counter melody and Melody.
One characteristic of this organ is that it is not chromatic. All music is arranged in the
key of C so notes that are not common to this key are eliminated thus saving space so the organ
can be more compact. The lower note, the bigger the pipe, so the more of those you can do without,
the better also. The 153 has only three bass notes C - D - G. Sort of like a rock band where
the lead guitarist only knows three chords. Before the mid 1920s when pop music was simple and
cheerful the limitations of the scale was unnoticeable, but during the sophistication of thirties
and forties certain songs had notes fudged to the point of unrecognizable, yet its limitations are part
of its charm. I'll take its brand of monotony to most of the stuff that passes for pop music today.
Open House
A few days before Christmas of '09 and a few days after the 153 was completed a couple friends
of mine helped me organize an open house party to celebrate the occasion. The affair was quite
a success and a photographer from the local Cannon County Currier showed up. The organ was
featured prominently on the front page of the Christmas edition. Special thanks to Fred Brungard
for seting up the decorations and the eats and to Jeff who shot some video and put together
featurette for Utube. My only regret was not having any Christmas tunes to play.
Recordings
Below are ten of my favorite recordings of this instrument. I did a recording session back in
December 09 when I had just finished the project (with not the best equipment). For this session
I had all stops pulled - full organ. The main criticism of the 153 is its monotonous sound.
If you listened to this first session you would probably agree. There are two manual stop knobs
on the side of the organ one shuts off the trumpets, the other shuts off a 2'celeste set of
violins. The high overtones of this rank of pipes drown out the piccolo and 1' violin, so when
these ranks are turned on by a signal from the roll, the register change is barely noticeable.
I discovered that if I turned of the set of 2'violins, the organ had more character and sounded
less monotonous, particularly if a tune had some nice arrangement work. Also the trumpets have
a stronger distinctive voice when the piccolos are off. Shortly before the organ was scheduled to
be picked up, I did another recording session with slightly better equipment with the organ at its
new setting.
The only problem with this session was my mother's parrot, which came into my possession after
she passed away. Smokey, who managed to keep quiet the first time, decided that the organ
sounded so good, he just had to sing along. Even with a moving pad over the cage you will still
hear an occasional whistle. Bless his heart - I love him to death.
Below are ten of my favorite tunes. I hope y'all enjoy them as much as I do
When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along
The Dollar Princess Waltz
Hop Scotch Polka
ON WISCONSIN
Too Fat Polka
Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland
Hi-Ho the Merrio
Army Air Corps
Yes Sir!, That's My Baby
Blue Danube
