Windchest Part 3:
Assembly & Finishing


With the pouches laid, I was ready to begin assembling the chest.  I started by removing the pouch boards and setting them aside so they wouldn't get damaged during assembly and varnishing.  I attached the side boards to the toe boards with wood glue and screws.  Next, I laid out the bottom boards.  I wasn't able to do this earlier because I needed to have the sides attached to the top in order to get everything perfectly aligned.  I marked where each hole came down through the side board and met the bottom board.  This told me where the magnet would need to be positioned, so I made a template and marked all the holes for the magnets.  Each magnet needs one hole lined up with the hole in the side board, an oblong hole for the magnet coil to go through, and two pilot holes for the mounting screws.

I drilled a 3/8" hole to align with the side board hole.  I then drilled a hole just larger than 3/8" for the top of the magnet coil, one for the bottom of the coil, and another to connect the two.  It's hard to explain, so look at this photo (right).  I then drilled the pilot holes for the magnet mounting screws as well as the holes for the screws that will hold the bottom boards in place.  These included a countersink for a washer.

With all the holes drilled and most things assembled, I was ready for staining and varnishing.  I stained the exterior with a "golden maple" water-based analine dye to match my existing chest which had been shellacked.  I considered shellac for the new chest, but decided to go with varnish because it is easier to apply to large surfaces with a rubbing pad (I don't have a spray booth or spray gun).  I used the same type of varnish as I used on the console, applying 6 hand-rubbed coats.  I let it cure for about a week before proceeding.

Once the varnish was cured, I was ready to install the magnets.  I got the magnets from Fred Zander; he salvaged them from an old chest that had been retired during a renovation.  I made sure that each magnet lined up properly with the boring through the wood.  A couple weren't quite perfect, so I carved  away a little excess wood and it will be fine.  I then cut and glued a cork gasket into place to seal up the bottom boards.  I used a 3/8" dowel to punch through the cork at each of the holes and then used my handy crocheting hook to pull the cork disc out.  Also at his time, I cut the hole for the PVC pipe bringing wind into the chest.  It isn't ideal to run the wind line through the bottom board, because it is a pain to get into the chest to service it, but with my layout, I didn't have much choice.

Next, it was time for racking the pipes.  Most organ builders have sizing racks set up with holes pre-drilled into them and you just try each pipe in several holes until you find the right fit, make note of the size, and then drill the appropriate rack hole.  I didn't think it was worth creating this sort of rack if I may never use it again, so I made a little rack that is the same height as the actual rack board.  It has a notch in it and you put the pipe on it's toe hole, set the rack beside it and use a calipers to measure the diameter of the pipe foot at just that point.  I put a piece of masking tape on the rack board and as I measured each pipe foot, I wrote its measurement down.  Then, when I went to drill the holes, I had the measurement right by each pilot hole.

I used several types of bits including an adjustable large circle cutter that worked great for the larger holes.  I also drilled the holes for the rack pins.  I then put the racks in place and checked the size.  I thought it would be better to drill the hole a bit on the small side (if I didn't have the exact size bit) and then open it with a file as needed.  Boy, was that a pain!  It would have been far better to drill the hole a bit too large and shim it down with a piece of felt.  But I got it done.  Note: I haven't reinstalled the pouch boards yet.  I knew that if I was filing the rack holes open, I would get lots of sawdust down in the toe holes.  It was much easier to clean up without the pouch boards in place.

Well, I was finally ready put it all together!  I built chest bearers a week earlier and mounted the two chests in place and turned them upside-down on a work table.  I vacuumed each part clean with the shop-vac, and proceeded to assemble.  First, I attached the manifolds to the pouch boards and then screwed the pouch boards into place.  Then, I attached the manifolds to the side boards.  The next step was to install all the pieces of vinyl tubing connecting the pouch manifold to the side manifold.  I measured them all and cut them with a handy pipe cutter from my irrigation repair kit.  Fortunately, the tubing fit snugly enough that I didn't need to use any glue to hold them in place.

Then it was time to pull out the trusty old wiring color code chart and wire up all those magnets.  I used  #14 tinned copper wire for the common buss and attached one of the magnet wires to it.  I then marked each magnet with its pitch & number and laced out the color-coded cable just like I did in all the other chests and in the console (I almost have the code memorized now...).  I then screwed the bottom boards to the chest and attached the PVC wind lines.  I turned the blower on- no obvious ciphers and no major wind leaks!  I tested a couple valves by unscrewing the magnet port and they worked fine!  Tomorrow I am planning to attach the female end to the cable so I can hook it up to the console and test it for real.  I can't plant any pipes on it yet anyway- it's still upside down on the work bench and I need to wait for my next door neighbor to get home so he can help lift it off.  This thing isn't light!

Assembly & Finishing Album