Front Panel

Since the organ is going to be the focal point of my living room and I went to all the trouble to refinish the console and build the swell box out of oak, I wanted to dress up the main wind chest to match.  I also wanted to hide all the wind lines and wiring under it.  I decided to make a panel that could be removed for tuning access but looks like it is part of the wind chest.  The console is not ornate, and my house is also not ornate so I didn't have much for inspiration.  But there is one notable feature in the house.  My house was built in 1940 by a prolific contractor named Roger Brown.  Virtually all "Brown-built" homes have at least one arched doorway somewhere in them.  I have an arch between foyer and living room, living room and dining room, and kitchen and breakfast nook.  I have already repeated this arch in the details of the dining table I chose and in the light fixture in the dining room.  I also carried it out into the garden making the outer edge of my brick patio the same arch.  It made sense to apply that to the organ as well.

I designed the panel to have two arches since one would have been disproportionate and three would have been too busy.  I used pocket screws to assemble it.  There is a base board identical to the baseboard in the living room and the trim at the top is the same trim I used on the swell box and the chimes.  It is finished to match.  The album doesn't have any photos of the final product because the finish is rather dark and the details didn't show up well.  Beside that, I don't want to give away too much of how it will all look after the final installation!

Front Panel Album