MASON HAMLIN STYLE S


We just received the donation of a Mason Hamlin Reed Organ style S.   It was built in 1885 or 86 and is a quality machine.   It used a lot of mahogany and the rollers are metal rather than the standard wood.

The top cover is hinged with props and is opened for more volume.   At some point, we think the cover was opened and allowed to fall over the back of the organ.   It can only move 180 degrees before it catches on the rear side and apparently it split the rear cover.    We glued it back together and will put a chain stop on the lid, so that it does not happen again.

One of the front medallions is missing and the other was broken.   We glued the pieces back together, then glued the medallion back in place.

The organ plays weakly and probably has leaks in the pumps or reservoir which we will likely not try to correct.  The finish is in good shape and is original.   All in all, this will make a nice addition to our collection of reed organs.

                                             Repairing a Reed Organ  -             Part 3

A Smith Reed Organ was brought to us for repair to playing condition.   This was not a restoration job, just a repair to good playing condition.

In the past, we had wire brushed all rusty screws before reassembly.  The advent of EVAPO-RUST has made this job a lot easier.  Just put the rusty screws in a bottle of it, wait 24 hours and you have nice clean parts.

As we proceeded in reassembly, we found the root of the stuck stops problem was a transfer of parts between stop hardware, which once identified, was easily corrected.

As with most older wood mechanisms, there were some split parts which we glued back together.

With reassembly completed, we checked to see if all the reeds sounded and had to free a few stuck ones.

The final job was recovering the front grille with the corrected cloth.

At this point, the job is essentially done and the organ is ready to return to the owner.

                                                   Repairing a Reed Organ - Part 2

A Smith Reed Organ was brought to us for repair to playing condition.   This was not a restoration job,  just a repair to good playing condition.

We got the problem of the big stack leak under control, but further investigation showed some cracks in the top half where the valves mount.    These were sealed with silicon sealer for the larger ones and shellac based sealer for the narrow ones.

Now we can start reassembly.   The bottom of the air chest was put in place and then the top installed.

The valve push rods were carefully arranged when removed, so as to be able to install them in the same position they came from.   Before the next layer could go on, the stop slides which were hard to move, had to be freed up and readjusted.