A Peep Inside.

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I just noticed that it is some weeks since anything appeared here, and it has been a long time since I put up news on the organ-grinding scene.

I have never been very keen on standing around in the cold winter months cranking my organ.

I know a lot of grinders are out there right up to Christmas, but I much prefer the warm days of summer, the smell of freshly mowed grass, beer tents and chip vans!

During the winter months organs can be stripped down, cleaned out and have alterations made or even new parts incorporated. I have one friend who, during the winter made a complete new set of bellows to go with the new sets of pipes he made the previous year.

I had planned to make a set of thirteen piccolo pipes to add to the three ranks I already have.

The organ design allows for four ranks, which can be selected by pulling the corresponding draw-bar. The organ will play perfectly well with only one set, the others are the to provide variety.

It occurred to me that many of you have seen the front of the organ, but not seen the inside.

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As I have all the melody pipes out at the moment, I have taken a few pictures of the 'innards'.

Here you can see the four rows of thirteen. Thirteen notes is all I have to play the tune, or melody, on. The other pipes are for Accompaniment and Bass (not shown here).

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Each of the ranks (rows) can be selected to play by pulling out the draw-bar (brass knob!) on the right-hand side, viewed from the front. In the above picture, rank two is selected to play.

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The Accompaniment pipes sit on either side of the case.

There are three (empty pipe mounts) in the above picture and the other five are on the opposite side (see previous picture).

This one above also shows two of the three crankshafts which pump the bellows right down at the bottom of the organ, which can be seen in the first picture.

At the moment I have filled only three of those rows with pipes and this Winter I was hoping to get the final forth row built. I have sent off for the thirteen pieces of brass tube, but what with Christmas and snow, they are still to be delivered.

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