Leather Pouches

Friday morning was spent with Fred at Bedient Organs.  He showed me how to replace a leather pouch on an electropneumatic chest.  There had been some water damage in the main manual chest resulting in some very stiff and crinkly leather.  After the demonstration, I replaced the remaining 5 pouches myself.  I guess I had it in my mind that these pouches and the EP action itself is this mystical component that shouldn't be messed with unless absolutely necessary- doing so may open a Pandora's Box of problems.  That may be true and I may have just enough knowledge now to be extremely dangerous.  However, it really wasn't all that difficult.  Part of me is asking "That wasn't so bad- maybe I should have replaced ALL the pouches and basically have a brand-new windchest from the start."  I just need to remind myself that although I want to do things right the first time, I really need to start practicing.  If I can even get 5-10 years out of these pouches I will be satisfied.  Then there's the cost associated-  I need to save up some cash for other parts including the Dulciana celeste rank and another windchest...

I forgot to grab my camera when going to Bedient, so there are no pictures of actually laying the pouches.  The album here shows carefully removing the old pouch with an Exacto knife, gently removing the spring, and then thoroughly removing all the old leather and fish glue from the pouch board.

At Bedient I did the following:

1)  Fred prepared a dowel that precisely fit through the spring hole.  He drilled a hole in the end of it to receive the pin on the underside of the pouch.
2)  Glue a leather nut to the pin on the underside of the pouch.  The nut should be thin enough to leave a little nub of the pin sticking through.  The nut should be small enough across that the spring will seat snugly around it.
3)  Make certain the dowel will fit through the spring hole.  Remove magnets if necessary.
4)  Apply a thin layer of fish glue around the pouch well.  Do not use so much that it oozes out onto the pouch board or especially into the well.  Fish glue is used because it holds well, but can be cleanly removed if necessary for future repairs (hopefully not for 50 years!).  It also cleans up easily with water.
5)  Put the dowel through the spring hole in the pouch board with the little hole toward the pouch.  Using the dowel as a centering guide, place the nub of the pouch pin in the dowel hole.
6)  Lower the dowel and pouch until the pouch sits level with the pouch board.  Gently press the pouch to the glue.  Wait a moment for the glue to set and gently press down on the pallet until it rests on the bottom of the well.
7)  Smooth out any wrinkles in the pouch and press the edge of the pouch firmly to the pouch board.

After 24 hours, use the dowel to raise the pouch as high as it will go without stretching it.  Make sure the pallet will rise high enough to seat against the toe board.  Very gently run your finger around the edge of the well.  Feel for stiff places where glue may have oozed out onto the leather.  Use your finger to break up the glue without stretching the pouch.  Sharp bits of glue can wear a hole in the leather causing early failure.  Gently replace the spring through its hole.  Make sure the spring seats around the leather nut.  Use the fish glue to replace the paper disc that holds the spring in place.

Oboe in a Box

Inspired by the "Vox-in-a-box" idea, I have decided to enclose my only reed, a rather generic but potent Oboe.

I took the time today to sketch out my plan for the enclosure. Links to the PDF's can be found at the end of this post.  Please pardon the graphics; these quick sketchs are mostly to get the ideas down on paper and have a way to run this past people. They are to scale, 1"=1'. I already purchased a set of shades, mounted in a frame roughly 4' x 4-1/2'. Therefore, I didn't draw any of the actual blades in place- just the frame. There are 9 individual blades total. I will of course add a lot of reinforcement and support pieces that I didn't take time to draw in. The approximate overall dimensions of the chamber are 4.5' wide, 2' deep, and 6' high. The box is as big as possible, but I know it is still cramped. I also realize that I am taking the rank that will need the most frequent tuning and making it the least accessible. I will make the rear panel and shutters removable for access (note the wing nuts). The ceiling of the box would be ~7" above the longest pipe. I figured it would be better to make the trebles speak up and out rather than cram the top of the bass pipes. I plan to put "crown moulding" inside to help reflect sound out of the corners. The walls will be made of 3/4" plywood. The console will be in front of the enclosure and the shades moved via a mechanical linkage to the swell shoe.

Feel free to comment on the design and any possible problems I may encounter.  Thanks!

Elevation.pdf

Plan View.pdf

Phwew...

Last weekend I removed all the pouch boards from the main manual chest and the oboe chest for inspection, cleaning, and repairs.  When I removed the bottom boards and looked at what was inside, I almost lost it.  I realized that I had absolutely no idea what I was looking at or what to do with it.  It took a little time to figure out where to start, but I slowly and cautiously began removing screws.  Once I got started, I began to understand how the action really works.  Click on the picture to see a whole album of pictures from that day.

A previous owner had warned me about some water damage that had occured long ago and may need to be repaired.  There were a few water stained pouches in the Gedeckt rank that are somewhat stiff and crinkly.  Three are especially stiff and three pouches in the Principal tend to stick in the open position.  Several pallets even had layers of masking tape on them to shim them up to close tightly.  I took a Gedeckt board to Gene Bedient for his opinions.  He and his staff said the pouches are in surprisingly good condition over all and he would only repair those that are especially bad.  That was a relief.  I was afraid that the whole thing might need releathering.

I posted my situation on the Organ Forum and DIYapason for additional advice.  The responses were mixed.  Some said take the time to releather anyway.  Others said put the damn thing together and start practicing.  One person suggested I try scratching the leather where it is glued to the pouch board.  It would then be obvious if the leather is rotting internally.  Light to moderate pressure with my thumb nail had no effect.  I had to really bear down to leave any mark in the leather what-so-ever.

Finally, I decided to replace the six bad pouches and move on to other projects.  I hope to get another 15+ years out of the old pouches before they start to fail.  I guess time will tell.  I have an appointment with Fred Zander at Bedient's shop on Monday morning to learn how to replace the bad pouches.  In the mean time, I will rewire the Dulciana as it needs no re-leathering.  I am also headed to Menard's right now to buy lumber for the main chest bearers.