Moving a BC with 23" wide Roll or Kari dollies

[tpappano]

Hello all, do I need to cobble some sort adapter from angle iron to support both front and rear legs, or is lifting from the rear legs and pedal switch assembly sufficient? I think the organ legs are 28" apart but the dollies are 23" wide. I certainly don't want to mess this baby up!

Thanks!
Tom

[Sweet Pete]

Lay a few pieces of 28"x3.5"x3/4" plywood under the legs and over the 23" racks.
Make leg holes partially indenting the 3/4" say 1/4"?; they'll more than likely stay put.
Fir is a bit light,maple or walnut ply best.Give that a try,have seen it done before.

Aluminum is easily drilled and cut.Doorway thresholds are about 2" too long?
Hardwood ply should be enough me thinks.

[tpappano]

The wood pieces sound good, I have a "speed bit" for making the sockets. Do you happen to know the centers measurement for the legs? All I've found is 28 3/4" for the overall cabinet depth.

Thanks Pete!

[tiredoldgeezer]

If you're gonna do it once, then several suggestions will work.

If you're gonna do this from now on, fab up some new chunks of angle iron and support it well.

[muckelroy]

... or buy a pair of 28” bases. Sorry, was that too easy?

[tpappano]

I do have an oxy-acetylene rig, do you think the guy at the rental company would notice that I lengthened his dolly bases?
I started to say this is probably a one-time thing, but this will also be the sixth organ I'll have brought into my shop 8)

[Goff]

May as well just buy 4" x 3" x 28" angles from enrickco. $50 a set. Arrives at your door, an hour with sockets and wrenches, you're good to go.Then you'll have 28" for when you need them rather than buying a complete dolly rig.

A BC is way heavier than a B3 so get with the proper assist on moving it.

do you think the guy at the rental company would notice that I lengthened his dolly bases?

Not to be judge and jury but this reminds me of the fable;

A guy was asked to take a chicken and go kill it where no one will see...the guy comes back with the chicken and was asked why he didn't kill the chicken... the guy said, because everywhere I take the chicken, it can see...
:embarrassed:

Does the rental guy have 28" units?

this will also be the sixth organ I'll have brought into my shop

Might want to invest in your own dolly rig if you're doing gangbuster business on them.

[tpappano]

If I had a little more time I would order the factory bases, but I have to deal with this one pretty quick. I might go ahead and get some anyway for future use, 50 bucks seems cheap enough compared to me driving around scrounging the steel. The rental guy checked and all theirs were the 23" ones.
Thanks for the tips! I should be laying eyes on the beast in a couple hours 8)

[Drawbar Dave]

You're getting a BC as well?! Great, welcome to the club ;-)

[tpappano]

Thanks, Dave! I'll say "yes" when it is actually on the trailer 8) I've had a couple situations that I thought were "done deals" that fizzled.

[carioca100]

Hmmm. this is good to know from Goff. For $200 I bought Roll or Kari dollies from an almost out of business piano store last summer. They used to sell Hammond' years ago and these were sitting in a corner under a bunch of junk and I spotted them . Cleaned them up and ready to go. However they wont move my B3 as they are 23". I kind of knew that when I bought them but figured what the heck and they will work on my C3.
I planned on moving to our new house and knew I need these but after I got them I was wondering how to move the B3. Could I get a strong piece of wood like hickory and lay on top to get the 28" width? Maybe. But I was wondering if I could find a metal shop to fabricate for me the right size.
But for $50 I'm going to search Goff's tip w/ Enricko.

thanks

[tpappano]

I have laid eyes and hands upon it, the plan is to load it and take to my shop Friday if the weather cooperates.

Drawbar Dave, could I ask you a big favor? Could you take a measurement from the center of a front leg to the center of a rear leg? I must cut two pieces of wood and drill shallow recesses to receive the tips of the legs. These boards then go between the organ and the dollies.

I think this one was first purchased April 1938. Case looks really good at first glance, bench is a little rough as is the rear of the pedal board. Wouldn't make any sounds but all the tubes light up and the generators start and spin quietly! Yea!

edit: It has a DX20 with it

[Drawbar Dave]

Hey Tom just caught this and sitting next to the BC now. 620mm centre to centre. Best of luck!

A little Howards Restore a Finish will work wonders with the rough bits.

Do you want the diameter of the bottom of the leg too? It's 1.50" or39mm according to my digital caliper gauge.

[tpappano]

Awesome, thanks Dave! I think this one is going to clean up really nice, I will get my hands on some Howards. On the console itself I didn't notice any problems with the wood or veneers. Gettin' kind of excited, picking it up Friday 8)

[Goff]

I think the wood on a BC is real wood finish, not a veneer. One reason why it's so heavy. Besides the chorus generator.