Some pictures of the construction of Don's new Organ - 'Topsy'
(click on each pic to enlarge)
The design for this organ - and the smaller Busker organ I built previously, came from John Smith
You can find out more about this man's wonderful work here
(It's a whole new world!)
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Basic frame, with bellows and drive wheel from an old mangle.
Accompaniment windchest valves
Base Pipe Jig
Base Pipe Jig - loaded ready for glueing one side
Underside view of lower 4 bass pipes in position
Drum and 'tappers' test video - it's a shame Bass is so indistinct
Top view of lower 4 bass pipes
Higher 4 bass pipes in position on unfinished main windchest, and accompaniment pipes on their own windchest attached to central divider
Lowest of the counter-melody pipes being checked for position
Counter melody pipes nearly completed and being tried for size
2 sets of 22 Melody Pipes
Oh! What fun making all these!
Work starting on fitting and wiring the pallet valves in the completed main windchest
All valves fitted and wired (Are there always one or two that involve repeated lid removal and replacement to get them to seal properly?)
Beginning to look like the real thing! Cutting bits off the open pipes to tune them is going to make me feel I'm committing an irrevocable act!
Melody pipes (not quite finished) in position
Interface and Palm Vx player linked up - and it plays!!
Interface finished - using an 18V battery stolen from a cheap strimmer for power
I could actually do with a spare battery and charger, so if you have a damaged B&Q 'Performance Power' strimmer or hedge trimmer, look for my 'Want it now' request on E-Bay
This no longer applies - see below
Rear Melody pipes clamped -front row "Velcro'd
So much tidier !
Interface tidied
The shelf for a 12V battery is redundant - it won't operate accompaniment valves reliably
A video of me playing China Boogie by Peter Griffiths
( find him here )
This file is 7.6Mb ! - so it takes a time to download
A video of me playing an earlier creation - a Busker Organ also designed by John Smith
My case is plain and simple - but to varnish or paint ?
No more exciting at the back!
Well, Varnish won, plus a little decoration on the front.
Topsy, stage 1, is now finished, and sounds wonderful!
John Smith deserves a Knighthood!
What was that about a Glockenspiel, drum and triangle - or turning off Celeste ?
Hmm - they will obviously come a little later, in Stage 2!
As shown left, the back view has changed. John S warned of problems with 18V running, and recommended sticking with 12V if possible. So I removed the springs on the valves for the accompaniment windchest, hoping that gravity and pressure would give OK sealing - they do! - and the valves now work OK on 12V. This means I can use the larger capacity 7Ah Powercube, which should give longer playing time per charge. Whilst modifying the windchest, I included a perspex cover. This was partly so I could how the valves performed under pressure, but also so that an audience can see the valves operating - assisted by a couple of blue LEDs
A Trolley to transport Topsy.
Hopefully stable enough - if I'm careful!
Redesigned . . . see later pics
'Duelling Banjos' Video
On the left is a video of part of 'Duelling Banjos' transposed for Topsy - as its around 9Mb, it may take a while to download.
The blue-lit section shows some of the valves of the Accompaniment windchest operating behind their perspex window
All the pipes have been reasonable well tuned now, and the two sets of melody pipes tuned 'celeste'.
I think it sounds great - and better in real life than through the video system on my little camera.
I nearly forgot the opening top lid, but it has now been added, plus some green interior illumination
A public performance
- at a Rotary Charity BBQ
Click on the image to see a short video (but still 3 Mb in length so may take a few moments to download)
In the left frame is the front of the - unfinished - display, which adds coloured lights to the organ sounds.
The video does not do it justice, as the camera cannot accept as wide a brightness range as the human eye, so some of the lighter colours appear as white
The odd effect in the centre of the top row is due to reflection from a fluorescent light
The completed Colour Organ display on top of Topsy - which now has decorative tops added to the Melody pipes
Well, the original trolley was NOT stable enough! A redesign with more - but smaller wheels - to ensure that the support points were OUTSIDE the organ was neccessary. A stroke of luck with the handle - it was the frame of a seat being junked, and fitted perfectly.
The new wheels also enabled the base to be enclosed, providing some useful storage space.
The rear cover has now been replaced with a sheet of plastic - a reflection at the top right shows it IS there. This should enable spectators to see more of 'the works'.
The additional connectors for the colour organ cables have been included, which made for a slight re-arrangement of some of the other components.
