Chest and Console building

Following a busy Easter tuning Season, our shop is back in full swing. Chest framing has been built and assembled, and the curved Cherry stopjambs and other console parts are taking shape in the woodshop as well.

Each one of the holes in these Cherry stopjambs:

Will receive a Harris Precision Products drawknob unit:

Fitted with one of these Cocobolo drawknob stems:

The bulk of the existing pipework has been brought to the shop from storage, where it will be cleaned, fitted with new tuning slides, and planted on the chests.

Organ Demolition, Part the Second

Two weeks back a group of intrepid volunteers joined several Walsh Organs staff members in demolishing the existing organ structure, including the wooden casework and the plaster walls and ceilings that constituted the organ chambers. This was grueling work, and St. Elizabeth's parish members showed their mettle with reciprocating saws and sledge hammers in hand. Here was our fearless group at the beginning of the day on Friday:

We immediately commenced work on the demolition, taking out the remaining wood casework and inner plaster walls first.

Quite a bit of dust was settling in the church throughout the day:

Near the end of the day the ceiling of the former Swell chamber (on the left as you look up to the Gallery) was taken out.

Brian, St. Elizabeth's Choir Director, inspects our progress. He spent most of the time at ground level leading the volunteers operating the lift. Rather than carry all the debris down the winding staircase, we elected to use a 26' lift for anything that could be brought down over the front of the Gallery.

At the end of our work on Friday, all that remained of the former Swell chamber was a pile of debris and some holes in the wall where the ceiling was attached.

Organ Demolition, Part the First

With organ design and construction underway in the shop, the next step is to remove the existing instrument. We began this phase of the project Tuesday the 11th, with the removal of pipework and dismantling of the organ.

Here, Adam wraps treble pipes in the Swell division:

A stack of pipe trays ready to be lifted down over the Gallery, and the Great division main reservoir:

Mike removes the winding from the Pedal division:

And James dismantles the Great windchests:

Façade pipes, swell shades, and a casework panel removed, we are now able to hand out pipes and pieces from the Swell Division:

The existing Swell division has its pipes removed,

Walkboards and racking removed,

And the chest are sawn in half down the middle and removed.

Mike is carrying a walkboard from the Swell division into the hallway through the existing organ case. The new organ, while being considerably larger, will provide significantly improved Gallery floor space, as its case will not extend farther than the back half of the existing case. The existing hallway will now be in open space.

The final van load from this week's demolition work: