Best way to clean drawbars?

[Guest]

I've just inherited a Hammond M-2. I am a complete newcomer to all things Hammond, so please excuse the basic questions! Anyway, when I adjust the drawbars, the harmonics do not increase and decrease smoothly: it sounds as if something (dust? grime?) is interrupting the connection. You have to really fidget around with each drawbar to get its harmonic to sound properly. Is this a problem that can potentially be solved by cleaning? If so, how would I go about cleaning the drawbars?</p>

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Thank you!
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[TheAdmiral]

Re: Best way to clean drawbars?



That's a standard fault in the older Hammonds with the old style drawbars. The best thing is to find a newer model like an M100 that's being parted out and replace the drawbars. They're on ebay all the time. M3's have the same problem.
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Cleaning will help some but not completely. On the older models like yours for a quick cleaning I just spray some tuner cleaner in them while working them back in forth but don't expect them to work much better. It's still a great organ.
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[johnny b3]

Re: Best way to clean drawbars?



Are you implying that M2's and M3's have ratchet drawbars?</p>

I'm pretty sure M3's do not, but have never seen an M2.</p>

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[Dave S.]

Re: Best way to clean drawbars?

They're not ratchets, but their transitionsounds like that of the ratchet style. I think the wipers are a little different than say those of a later B2 or B3, etc. My model M's drawbars pull smoothly, but the transition between busses isnt linear by any means.

[Guest]

Re: Best way to clean drawbars?



I've encountered the same problem with my M3. The funny thing is, some of the drawbars are smooth &amp; continuous, but a few of them are choppy. The choppiest ones have a layer of white goo on them which may have been intended as a lubricant. But should I just wipe the stuff off?</P>


Another question: I have a set of spare drawbars from an L100 (only 7 for the lower manual). Can I replace my choppy M3 drawbars with those from the L100 on an individual basis, or does it have to be a complete unit replacement?</P>

[toasterDude]

Re: Best way to clean drawbars?



my $.02 USD: I wouldn't go to all the trouble of replacing the drawbars. Contact cleaner will work, it's just notan easy, immediatefix. I had a 1955 M3 that had this exact problem. At first it was essentially unplayable because of the poor contacts. After one treatment with the contact cleaner it was decent enough to be playable. Then after that, I'd just go around back and spray the back of the drawbars again every few weeks - really working them back and forth as I went, each time. Eventually it was fine. --Kind of like when a TG hasn't been oiled in decades, you can't expect one dose of oil to have it back up and running immediately; it requires a little patience. good luck-</P>


TD</P>