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Jay, Do you think that these will fit the rolls that Ed Giada has?


Player Roll Spool Ends-- Black plastic
For Regular size rolls, 2 inches diameter
Left side without slot Old Part No. 451348A SH615L $ 2.00 np
Right side with slot Old Part No. 451348B SH615R $ 2.00 np

Charles
 
That sounds like what Ed uses he may still have those if you ask and I think they are cheaper it sounds like what I have and use right now. Best just to ask Ed he's pretty quick to respond.

Do you have a photo of those or know where the source is.

If you buy all your rolls from Ed just ask for his standard spool ends and make your bearing slots and rewind to fit they work just fine.

Jay
 
Not being able to see them I cant tell but Im almost sure its going to be like what Ed has I would just get them from him an I know they will fit. You will then need to make the bearing plate slots 3/4" dia and I have some straight rewind pins made up now if you need one its what I have been using for about 8 years now.

Also for those of you still needing a tracker bar Ed told me he had a few left that he had made up sometime back you might ask him about them. I know nothing about them other than he told me he had them.

Jay
 
Finally got back to the organ! I ordered and received a Christmas Collection from Ed. Gaida so I want to entertain my fifteen lucky guests.

First picture is of the rewind mechanism. I made it from figured walnut and turned the wheels, the groves on the wheels and the handle on the lathe. I haven’t filed the male hex at the end of the shaft for the spool yet. Many thanks to Jay for all is help getting this right!:clap:

The second picture is of the take up spool. I couldn’t find the proper sized pipe (maybe an English pipe?) and a lemonade can seemed a little cheesy, so I turned the middle to size from a piece of Tupelo, a very light wood, weighing only 4 oz. I drilled a ¼” hole down the center for the axel. I ground a flat spot on the axel where the set screw will seat (picture three). With a 7/8” Forstner bit, I drilled a ¼” deep hole in the middle of the spool, then drilled a screw sized hole down the center of this down to the shaft hole, for the set screw, which doubles as the post that the music roll hook will attach to. The bottom of the screw was ground flat enough so that the head of the screw sits below the spool. The end pieces were cut from 1/8” Baltic Birch and then the spool was stained and given two coats of shellac. I have not cut the axel to length yet, I’ll make of the bearing blocks and install them first.
 

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More good news

Hey Folks I just got off the phone with Ed Gaida and he is going to make spool ends for us that use the hex drive so everything will interchange and they will be WAY cheaper than getting them from Melvyn and you wont need one for every roll as they are made to change out from roll to roll. Contact Ed for all the details.
edgaida@sbcglobal.net.

I just got some new rolls from Ed and boy are the sweet. :thumb::thumb:
Jay
 
Jay pointed out a design flaw in my take-up spool. He said that the retainer for the music D ring should not have a head on it as it will rip the D ring from the music when it comes to the end of the rewind. He suggested driving a straight pin in at an angle to hold the D ring. I’ll do this, and change the set screw with a counter sunk screw.

Peter Shirtcliffe told me that John Smith has a new web site at http://www.johnsmithbusker.com/
 
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Ed,

Welcome to the forum. As I post my progress, if you see anything that I am doing wrong, like Jay, please let me know. I’d rather know sooner than later and I seem to need all the help I can get.

Chuck
 
Organ Build

Welcome Ed, glad that you have joined the family. Like Chuck stated we will take all the help that we can get from you and Jay. and thanks for the link to Brian Flora's website. The pictures really help get us through some of the questionable parts of the build. This is great fun and I can't wait to get that grin that Jay is always talking about.
Charles
 
I broke down -- temptation too much...
I could not find specifics -- i.e. Price - shipping etc. on J.Smith site so I email him for info. He emailed that my request had been forwarded to his daughter.

I am a person that lives in a world that functions at the speed of electrons -- waiting for this slow process to work and finally received the requested info. was trying.

I Really did not expect the price to be what it was! Especially after reading what is received from a purchase (somewhat steep). Waited and stewed a few days and but placed an order via PayPal.

So I am again waiting for the process to working but as always not waiting very patiently - guess I am confusing most internet retail stores speed with doing business with a kind of home grown family business.

Not real sure if my desire is up to making a functioning organ especially after see some of the photos on this thread as of late.
 
Paul,

This whole thing, at least for me, is a slow laborious process, but, based on my skills, I’m not expecting overnight miracles. If you are already experiencing frustration and expecting a streamlined process, attach A to B and insert C, then you will be very disappointed. Judging from your comments so far, if I were you I would quit now.

That being said, I am really enjoying the process, when I get over some of the mistakes I made and confusion of the process. That is what this forum is for, for those that have been there before to help those that are starting. As I finish each phase and see it come together, I get excited in anticipation of hearing the final product. But I’ll be happy with a final product that sounds good and looks good (by my standards) and not an organ that will be played in West Minster.
 
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Chuck Rodekohr said:
Paul,

if I were you I would quit now.
Click to expand...

Chuck I appreciate your words of encouragement!! Thanks-- I may just do that.
So keep your eye open for re-sale of plans.

Just to make it clear -- my frustration was directed at the slow response time trying to purchase the plans -- kind of like when the spirit moves me I will react..

Wish you great success with your organ --- (that sounds strange)

paul
 
Very big Welcome to the Family Ed. Glad you joined. Just a suggestion why not put your website link in your signature. It would make it easier for guys to click to and find it.:thumb:
 
Larry refers to the spinny thing as a vortex, well i think this thread is a vortex. I stay away from it cause each time i get sucked in closer to the edge. I have enough projects on the go that aint moving forward fast enough for my liking. This is one of those things that is definitely up near the top of my next to do list.

You only need listen to Jays video and youre sold. Jay i go there every time i am down. Your tune on Utube picks me up with a huge smile. This is a gota build someday project.

Paul dont give up I am sure the end result is well worth the effort.

All the best to the current flock of builders. Stay the course were following. This is a real great thread.:):thumb:
 
Rob Keeble said:
Larry refers to the spinny thing as a vortex, well i think this thread is a vortex. I stay away from it cause each time i get sucked in closer to the edge. I have enough projects on the go that aint moving forward fast enough for my liking. This is one of those things that is definitely up near the top of my next to do list.

You only need listen to Jays video and youre sold. Jay i go there every time i am down. Your tune on Utube picks me up with a huge smile. This is a gota build someday project.

Paul dont give up I am sure the end result is well worth the effort.

All the best to the current flock of builders. Stay the course were following. This is a real great thread.:):thumb:
Click to expand...

Come on Rob buy the plans and get with it ya know your gona do it:rofl::rofl:
Jay
 
Ed Gaida said:
As I stated in a previous post I have been building organs and all sorts of automatic musical instruments for 45+ years and my first busker organ plans drove me up the wall.

Smith calls the plans "carpenter's drawings" which means that a lot of the construction ( and measurements ) are left up to the individual builder. That is where the nightmare begins. The Senior plans are better than the first busker plans which I bought and tried. Between Brian Flora and his modifications and a lot of frustration on my part I was able to make it all come together. The first one is always the most difficult so you can benefit from my experience. Send me an email or personal message and I will be most happy to try and solve the problem. Believe me when I say that I have made all the mistakes that can be made building a Smith organ.

I say that I am retired but I still do a lot of restoration work. My time is pretty filled with that and other fun things, however, I stand ready to assist anyone in this forum who wants to build an organ. There is a method to my madness. I want to sell you the music to play on your organ when it is completed.

There are pitfalls around every corner, but I can assure when you finally have it all done and you play that first roll you will realize that it was all worth it.

I am in the process of getting together a catalog of hard to find/make items and will let all of you know when it is ready.

Hang in there. Jay has years of experience and I stand ready to help in anyway that I can. If you can work with wood, and you would not be here if you couldn't, then you can build an organ that works.
Click to expand...
I know many people have redrawn John's "carpenter's drawings" into complete enginering style plans, but of course can't sell them. I wonder if anyone who has gone through all this effort could work with John to upgrade the package to some less ambiguous CAD drawings? I'm sure it would increase his sales and the number of successful builds.

I would like to build a Topsy 3, but I may go whole hog with a "midifyed" Wurley 105, mostly because of the plan quality. The Senior was easy enough to figure out and modify as necessary, but a bigger machine has a much greater risk of failure due to the vagueness of the plans.


BTW Ed,

The 20 note rolls I bought from your "estate sale" are great! Any chance that you could still cut other rolls from Mel Wright's collection? I'd really like the "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" compilation.
 
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