Читать книгу Practical Organ Building онлайн

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ssss1 All these expressions will, of course, be explained hereafter.

It is not unreasonable to assume that the reader, who has contemplated for some time the building of an organ, has already by him some materials which he knows will be necessary; for instance, some boards of sound white deal for the framework, and perhaps for the bellows; and some scantlings of red deal, or pitch pine, or oak, or mahogany, or red cedar, for the blocks and stoppers of pipes. He will not need the aid of this book to be aware that old materials may sometimes be turned to excellent account in such a business as that upon which he is embarking. We have known the purchase (for a pound or two) of an old square pianoforte turn out a profitable investment. Its mahogany top was solid, not veneered; and the thin boards found in its interior dry as touch-wood, and perhaps one hundred years old, were made into pipes of charming sweetness.

The old organs before the days of mahogany were made chiefly of oak, often called "wainscot." We ourselves have made much use of this durable and trustworthy material, which may be obtained in the convenient form known as "coopers' staves," being planks about 6 feet in length, as many inches in width, and 2 or 3 inches thick. They may be divided, at any saw-pit or saw-mill, into boards of the desired thinness, and they work pleasantly under thoroughly sharp tools.