French Organ Festival

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I thought you may like to see how things are done over in France.

They seem very keen on singing along with their music.

Wouldn't suit me, I can't sing for 'Love nor Money'.

This is just a selection of short clips

from the August 2011 Festival.

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The REAL Organ Grinder's Monkey

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Now this is something that was very common years ago.

Some said it was cruel to keep the monkey on a chain,

but this one seems very happy,

and is obviously loved by his owner.

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It is just a pity the organ is out of tune!

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Streets of Geneva

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Now here's a chap who takes his cat with him

when he goes out Organ Grinding.

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His name is Josef and his cat is called Toulouse.

I can't imagine either of mine putting up with this!

They leave the house when I start playing.

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Work continues on new Piccolo pipes.

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"Finished those piccolo pipes?" asked Dennis.

No, not quite, but I'm getting on 'Champion'.

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Now after cutting out all the blocks at the correct angles,

the drilling holes in each block,

(top block for the brass pipe and bottom block for the feed),

I had to chisel out the wind-way from the feed hole to the mouth.

(above)

Next, I was interested to see how much space I had,

from the back of these new pipes,

to the fronts of the pipes behind.

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I laid a new pipe block on its side with the feed hole on the bottom,

in line with the holes in the pipe mounts.

I had a good 3/8" gap showing, and I'm hoping the new pipes

will not affect the playing of the row behind.

Next, time to cut and mount the brass pipes.

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I reamed the holes in the top blocks,

to give a really good tight fit.

Brass tube cut to length with a VERY fine bladed piercing saw.

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The brass tube wall was only .014" thick (thin?)

Here they are all laid out ready for assembly (glue).

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I tried 'voicing' all of them in turn and had several at the high end,

that refused to 'speak'.

The 1/16" ply seemed a bit thick,

and the stream of air was blowing too high

over the top of the upper lip.

I changed the ply for 1/32" beech veneer

and that worked well on these high notes.

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I cut 13 pieces of veneer so I may use it on all the pipes.

I'll see how they sound before deciding.

Now comes the most difficult part.

Gluing them all up.

Oh, yes.

The wooden spoons (nice beech dowel handles)

are cut into short pieces, hole bored in the centre,

and a taper turned to fit the pipe mounts.

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Making a start on the Piccolo pipes.

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The organ has space for four ranks of pipes.

I never got round to building all four,

and have made do with three.

It will, and does play perfectly well with only one rank.

So my fourth choice was for 13 piccolo pipes,

which required to be made from nice hardwood.

Many thanks to Dennis,

for providing me with some excellent beech blocks.

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Milling the beech down to thickness.

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There were seven different thicknesses required

for the corresponding pipes.

As you can see from above,

there are some quite complicated angles to cut.

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I made a couple of 'cradles' to hold the blocks

at the correct angle for cutting.

It also ensured that all thirteen were all the same.

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From the above drawing you can see that quite a large hole

had to be drilled end-on to take the brass pipe.

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I did the drilling in the lathe as above.

I have a speed controller here and could

slow it down for these large drills.

The largest was 9/16".

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The 9/16" tube fits a treat.

The bottom blocks were then cleaned up in the mill,

and the bases cut parallel to the tops.

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Looking more like the finished thing now.

I left those bits on the bottom left of each base,

and will cut them off after the whole thing is glued up.

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This is where the air comes into the pipe at the base.

All marked up ready for more drilling.

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This time, all the holes for the wind pipes

were the same diameter.

Oh yes, the wooden spoons?

I'll tell you about those next time.

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A chance to hear some Brass Flute pipes.

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Orgelbau Stüber Berlin 26er Violinopan

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"Made in England"

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Over here a did a post which included a 'heap' of old

musical instruments awaiting repair.

In there, was this Piccolo.

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I bought it quite cheap in the local antique shop

many years ago.

It is an Eb piccolo as used in flute bands.

The technical notes say it is a :-

"Six key Conical flute in black wood with a silver head"

Now, I have always wanted a row of flute pipes for the organ.

You can see a lovely rank here on this Niemuth & Stuber

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Thirteen in a row. Just what I need.

The only snag is that I shall have to make my own!

I shall not actually be building flute pipes,

but a rank half the size to play an octave higher.

These are known a "Piccolo" pipes.

I sent off for the brass tubes some while back and

because I wanted Imperial sizes,

9/16", 17/32" and so on,

they had to come from our friends in America.

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Here they are!

Shipped hundreds of miles, just because we,

in England,

don't make things anymore.

Sad, isn't it.

So, out to the workshop as soon as it warms up a bit.

At least the new pipes will be:-

"Made in England"

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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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"De Carillon"

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The 64 Key Bursens Street Organ "De Carillon" at the Burley Village Show,

New Forest, Hampshire, England on August 7th 2010.

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Peter Mackett playing Blue Bayou.

Arr. Jan Kees de Ruijter.

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A Little Music from the Garden

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This popped up this morning on my YT favourites.

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An excellent arrangement.

I may have a go at a version myself if I can find the music.

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Another of my Favourites.

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I have popped this up because it is the latest video from my old friend "robinorgelman" from Holland.

It is all in Dutch I'm afraid, but it looks like a 125 year old Veerbeech.

The tunes are :-

Mars der Medici.

Lichtjes aan de Schelder.

Samba Medley.

Honolulu Rhumba.

Underneath the Arches.

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Fourth of July Celebrations

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Bob, playing his home built John Smith 26-note organ at the Old Poway Park July 4th Celebration.
The tune is the Hoch Heidecksburg March a Melvyn Wright arrangement.

It is not me, but I have to admit, Bob and I have many things in common.

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A Duet and a Hug

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Just browsing around on my days off and found a couple of interesting videos on YouTube.

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This is a duet video of Ted cranking his Raffin 20/40 organ, and Jonathan cranking a Raffin 20/78 owned by Dave Mahr. This was taken at the COAA organ rally held in Rossville, Georgia at Lake Winnepesaukah in May of 2010. (Lake Winnie)

Playing a fast tune like this and keeping together is quite difficult.

I think they made a good job of it.

And this next one is for Jan in California, who tells me, she is always willing to have a hug.

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Bavarian Polka ?

The Polka, is one my favourite types of dance. Not that I dance it, but because it fits in so well with the organ. The organ is always at its best with fast moving tunes. A Polka always fits the bill.

I have arranged dozens so far and they always play well. Slow waltzes and Old Fashioned waltzes on the other hand, although nice in themselves, can seem to 'drag' a bit on long sustained notes.

After Polkas, I would go for a good rousing march any day.

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Bell Ringers for the Organ Front

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And here they are, a beautiful pair of 'Bell Ringers'. I have dropped the word 'Lady' because several people have suggested they look more like boys?!?

Well.....principal boys from show biz perhaps, but with figures like that who cares.

They are 10" high and will really add that finishing touch to the the organ.

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The Organ gets an Airing

"The time has come the walrus said to talk of many things."

Not of sealing wax, but of how to get the organ out of the front (music) room, through the house, out the back door, down the side 'entry' across the front and into the car!

The reason for this unusual route, is that I have about eight steep steps from the front door!

The organ has its own 'playing' trolley which puts it at the right height but is not ideal for moving it around in the house. Why? It is too wide and won't go through the doors on its wheels.

I therefore have made a lower and narrower one to get the organ on this devious route.

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It is based on one I bought but with a wider base added and small strips to stop the organ sliding about.

Will it fit?

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Yes....."perfeck".

Now out to the garden.

I have just bought this 'cracking' tent from fellow organ grinder, Dennis, who has opted for a new smaller and lighter one, but this one should suit me down to the ground.

Well......there she is, out in the fresh air for the first time!

I had to give it a good cranking to see how it sounded. I have been told they sound quieter in open air compared to being indoors.

I was very pleased.....the old girl sounded great (to me.....I can't speak for the neighbours).

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And a closer look, now that I have the Henley painting in place.

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And a chance to see the plain(er) front in place.

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And its picture......this time of a pump mill on the Norfolk Broads.

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You will probably need to click on the pictures if you want a closer look.

But please......not too close!

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Organs at Shabbington

It turned out a lovely day for Shabbington Rally. Of course I could have taken dozens of photos, but I have chosen to show just a few here which I found unusual. Of course there were rows and rows of vintage cars, tractors and motorbikes in addition to the traction engines.

However it was this amazing Showman's Living Van that caught my eye. (Note: a left click on any of my photos should enlarge them to show more detail.)

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There was so much decoration on every single part....hardly anywhere was left untouched.

However, the surprise here was to be found inside......

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A small organ. I couldn't get a close look but with 16 melody pipes up front, it seemed a rather unusual one. Most organs show a odd number of pipes, 11 or 13 etc. ...the largest in the centre and an equal number either side. But this little fellow had 8 on one side and 7 on the other side of the central pipe.

It is not part of the original van as it was used for living in. I expect the little organ was rescued from the centre of some fairground ride.

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I took this last photo of the Bruder Organ because the scroll work is very similar to the decoration on mine and I was looking for some ideas for colour schemes etc.

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"I must be off my Trolley"

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Well I've seen quite a few unusual trolleys in my time.....

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Like this....

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Or this.....

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Or even this....

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But never like this!!!

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No......It's not fair to laugh.

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Just a wee smile then

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Champagne Time

The Organ.

And the Builder.

The winner of 'Best in Show' was Roseanne Wakely from the Arts University College at Bournemouth, who received a gold plated scalpel and a magnum of champagne.

Rosie's Winning Organ

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Rosie won a prize for this fantastic version of the John Smith 20 note Busker organ.

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I've put it up here because of several requests to see the finished organ.

Of course the organ 'innards' are built to a standard design, but the front....or to give it, it's correct name, proscenium!....is left to the whim of the builder. I think you'll agree, this a very original design.

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