John, you really do not "dilly dally"! Do they day that anymore? I put a, I believe 1" PVC nipple, in my air tube to keep it from collapsing. It just floats in there It could have been just a short piece of PVC pipe or any thing that would fit.

I made my sides per the dimensions in the plan and then decided, it is my organ, I don't want it crowded so I made new ones and added about 1 1/2" on the front. Then I am going to make a front that is hinged and about 1" deep to go in the front of that so my sides will be around 2 2/2" wider that the plans call for. Do what you want. I wanted it to be easier to work on because I have a feeling I will be doing just that!

Your's is looking great, John. I just can't believe how fast you are moving on it. I have to sit and ponder things, drag my feet and talk to self about everything. That takes time!

P.S. I don't think you need the pipe clamps. Mine has never even tried to come off.
 
Last edited:
Looks good Paul. I really like the scroll work on the back. That is a nice touch. I scrolled "music notes" on the back of mine. I think I will steal your idea though and add a piece of dark material to the inside. That really let's the scroll work show well.

Yep, you and Jay are to blame, somewhere I saw pictures of music notes on the back of your's or/and Jay's and I knew I had do scroll something. I thought it was mandatory!
 
John I mount the bellow/res assembly so it is pretty close to the front of the organ but the only thing you need to make sure of is that your Bass pipes will fit in the back and clear the bellows when operating. If the clearance for the pipes is good then you will be fine where it is.

As far as the bike tube I use some stiff wire and wind a coil and install it inside to keep it from collapsing you only need a rap or two and that will solve your problem.
 
Hope It Is Not A Bad Omen!

I have my Pipe board mounted, connecting tubing from tracker to pipes, tuning as best I can by myself as I go, get to the last pipe and the connector I hook the tube to breaks! Darn, I was going to play some music tonight!! Guess I still could, have a 19 note organ!:eek:
 
Got it fixed, played two rolls of music, neighbors had the cops here in no time! Not really. It didn't sound too bad, but definitely need some more tuning. May have to get some help with that. 7 months and actual music! :D:D:D

Now it is tune, adjustments and finish! What then? Guess I will have to start another.

John, keep working, it is worth every minute of labor. At the rate you are going, it will not take you nearly as long.
 
Broke! Already, I broke it! I went to tighten up a gear on the crankshaft and I split the dillybob that I had made to hold it in place. Guess I will go make a better one.

I do not have a video camera, but my Nephew does. My intent is to finish the organ then put up the you tube video so all can publicly ridicule me!

Now, I have some articles that a new local organ friend e-mailed to me. They were published in the "Carousel Organ Association's publication that they put out, of which he is a member. They are pdf files.

2 files of "Building the John Smith 20 Note Organ" part #1 and #2 (this is about building the Busker but also would help with the Senior 20)

2 files on "Building the John Smith Universal (20-26) Organ" Part #1 and #2

1 file "Punch Your Own Organ Rolls (with computer help)"

If anyone is interested in a email copy of any or all email me your email address and let me know.

I have read the Busker one and thought it was good.
 
Last edited:
Hi All,
Does anyone have a photo or two that might detail the placement of the reservoir spring on a Senior 20? I'm to that point, but can't find much info in the plans.

Also, would you happen to have a photo showing how you mounted your pipes on the front? I'm trying to get an idea for configuration, space available, etc., as I will be building my pipes next week.

Thanks.
 
I really liked Mione Hill's idea but I didn't have one of those clamps on hand.

Here are some pictures of my setup. This is also shown in the video. Be sure to make it so you can adjust the location of the spring.

On mounting the pipes, I just epoxied t-bolts to the back of the pipes. Mine were for a #6 size screw. Drill holes in the board for the t-bolts to stick through. There are many variations of this t-bolt setup and other ways of going about it. Oh, before I epoxied the t-bolts, I bent the little nubbins flat.
 

Attachments

  • spring.JPG
    spring.JPG
    58.9 KB · Views: 32
  • IMG_1284.jpg
    IMG_1284.jpg
    20.4 KB · Views: 28
  • IMG_1310.JPG
    IMG_1310.JPG
    109.3 KB · Views: 26
Last edited:
FUNNY!

My brother stopped by today for a little visit. I said, you want to hear my organ. He says ah, okay not real excited but guess he felt obligated to go along with it. I put in a roll and started cranking. When the music fired up he jumped straight in the air, came down and jumped back. You should have seen the look on his face. All he could say was HOLLY COW! HOLLY COW! What a smile it put on his face. It was great!
 
Thanks Mione, Paul and Tom. Your advice and photos are very helpful (will look for your later, Tom -- thanks).

Paul, did you make shallow holes or something to provide for adjusting and holding the spring, or did you just jam it in there? Mione's Busker shows the "rack board" for adjustment, but the Senior plans don't show that (I don't think).

It seems as though the Senior 20 plans call for the front display pipes to be mounted on the two trapezoidal pieces that tie into the conductor plinth across the front of the organ. Paul, have you exercised your creativity again and built a whole mounting board for yours, similar to the older method in the Busker plans? Are you happy with it? Would you do it any different another time around? I like the t-nuts -- seems like a very secure way to do it.

I'm not using a conductor, so will probably mount the pipes similar to what Tom and Jay did, putting an eleventh pipe in the front display. Jay, when you did that, did you just use the trapezoids, or a bigger mounting board for the pipes, like Paul's?

I've got to learn to review the video before asking so many questions -- after I wrote my last note, I found a reference to the reservoir spring mount in the pipes section. Your photos have helped a lot to clarify that -- thanks.

By the way, Paul -- did you red Valspar ever finally dry? ;)
 
Last edited:
John, here are several photos of my organ. Right or wrong....this is how I did it.....and it works for me. I think the photos speak for themselves but if you need specific details then I can try to explain further. Basiclly I mounted the pipes on a mounting board then ran two cross mounts, top and bottom to each side of the organ case and simply screwed them into mounting blocks that I glued to the inside of the case. The spring is mounted as per John Smith's instructions. I drilled several holes in the mounting plates to allow for adjustability of the spring.

IMG_0288 (Small).JPGIMG_0289 (Small).JPGIMG_0290 (Small).JPGIMG_0291 (Small).JPGIMG_0292 (Small).JPGIMG_0293 (Small).JPGIMG_0294 (Small).JPGIMG_0296 (Small).JPG
 
My brother stopped by today for a little visit. I said, you want to hear my organ. He says ah, okay not real excited but guess he felt obligated to go along with it. I put in a roll and started cranking. When the music fired up he jumped straight in the air, came down and jumped back. You should have seen the look on his face. All he could say was HOLLY COW! HOLLY COW! What a smile it put on his face. It was great!

Now thats what it's all about. Watching peoples faces light up is the ultimate expression of appreciation for me.
 
I had an elegant post written up, but it has evidently gone to the great bit bucket in the sky.

In short, I am wondering if there is any reason why more than 11 pipes couldn't be put on the front of the organ, thus making it a bit less cramped inside the box. It looks like there is room left to right, and a few more than the normal 10 or 11 front pipes are 8 or 9 inches long, so it seems like they should fit.

What am I missing?
 
Top