Restoring M.Schulz Reed organ

[Thohahente Weaver]

I picked up a free pump/reed organ (M. Schulz of Chicago) for my wife who has a organ performance degree from Syracuse. I also picked up a Hammond Aurora in the same week for $70 USD. Hammond restoration is proceeding. I start on the reed organ in the morning. The bellows appears to be in good shape and most of the keys work and the stops all work. When we use the treble or bass coupler the keys that didn't work now work. They also work when we use the "tutti" knee lever on the left side. There is a knee lever on the right that does not seem to do anything. Any guesses as to its function? Also looking for suggestions to get the keys to play? I am very handy with most things wood, mechanical and electrical/electronic and am retired so have tie to work o projects. I'm quite enjoying working on the organs.

[myorgan]

Welcome to the Forum! I hope you continue to keep us posted on your progress.

My guess (from your description) is that some of the reeds need to be cleaned. Only a speck of dust can keep a reed from sounding. If the reed sounds when the coupler is on, that's because the octave above or below is sounding. The knee lever on the left usually makes the bass (left hand) louder, whereas the right knee lever usually makes the treble (right hand) louder. My guess is that the knee lever mechanism is probably disconnected and it can be re-connected.

To fix the individual notes, you pull only one stop and then play every note. When you come across one that doesn't work, you can pull the reed to clean it. To clean the reed:

1. Remove the screws on either side of the front piece of wood at the front of the keys.
2. Lift that front piece of wood directly up, and it should come out.
3. You can check the mechanism for the right knee lever in there as well.
4. By carefully lifting the horizontal door covering the reeds, you can see the ends of the reeds in the reed cells.
5. At the very base of the reed, there will be a slot. You can use a reed puller to remove the reeds, one-by-one to clean. A puff of air will generally dislodge any dust or debris that is between the reed and the frame. Be very careful removing and replacing the reeds.

You should be able to figure things out from there. Hope that helps.

Michael

P.S. If you don't have a reed puller, a crochet hook may work.

[Silken Path]

That's a nice looking organ. Welcome to the forum. If you're lucky, you'll find the reed puller somewhere in the organ. On my Kimball, the left lever is crescendo - it gradually adds stuff until the old organ is honking. There's some discussion about reed cleaning, and pictures, in my Kimball thread linked below. It's around page 3. I bought an ultrasonic cleaner to do it (mainly because I wanted one anyway.) :)

[Organfella]

Welcome to the Forum! Glad you got that beauty - and she seems to be in good nick too! Michael has given you ample and good advice to which I cannot add much except perhaps mention that you should preferably stay away from the reeds with your vacuum cleaner. You can carefully vacuum dust and debris from between the stops and lever links but I tend even to not do that as there might be a screw, link, spring or other valuable part lying loose in there that may get sucked up and lost. You may also find some treasure in there - I have found coins, photographs, stop faces, little bits of link wood, dolls, even screwdrivers in there so, check first.
Oh, yes, and on some pump organs one of the knee levers opens all the stops - Grand Jeu!

Happy pumping!
Nico

[myorgan]

I have found coins, photographs, stop faces, little bits of link wood, dolls, even screwdrivers in there so, check first.

Nico,

You forgot your resident spider!!! I'll never forget that photo you shared.

Michael

[Thohahente Weaver]

Why thank you everyone. I am grateful for the advice. Off to Walmart to get a crochet hook. I am thinking I can make a reed puller looking at the design with some spring steel.

I will keep you up to date as I progress.

[nutmegct]

Before you head to WalMart - here's a photo of the reed puller I made from a nail and a wooden peg. Works perfectly for pulling the reed out, and pushing it back in place.



The head of the nail fits into the groove on the reed when you want to pull the reed out.

Tom M.
https://www.reedsoc.org/index.php/ro...organ?ID=12710

[nutmegct]

[Thohahente Weaver]

Saw it when I got home. I will make one of these too next trip to town where I cam get the wood piece. I have to get some red oak to make some plugs to fix plus sized screw holes.

[myorgan]

Try wooden match sticks. They generally provide enough bulk so the screws can get the extra "bite" they need in stripped holes.

Michael

[Organfella]

Toothpicks also work well. Dip them in wood glue and press them into the screw holes. You can press in as many as will go in tightly, break them off when they will no longer sink in. I have also used a small hammer to get them in tightly, then cut the protrusions off with a sharp knife - however, you may want to wait for the glue to set before cutting them - they might be pulled out by the cutting effort...
Nico

[Thohahente Weaver]

Matchsticks with "no more nails" work very well. I used that for chairs I have repaired. I was concerned that there was a protocol to preserve a consistent wood type by using plugs.

[Valiant Farmer]

Something else...the left knee lever opens all the stops, and the right lever opens the swells. If you have pulled out the 'Forte' stop(s) the swells are already open. Beauty organ though! Nothing quite like a 16' rank of reeds on an organ...trying to build one into my George Woods! - Joshua

[Thohahente Weaver]

Well here are some update photos. The organ is full disassembled and ready to be restored.