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Pipes
After seeing an article in the local newspaper about the organ renovation project, a gentleman called from the Greenwood (SC) First Baptist Church to inquire if we would be interested in some old pipes that had been in a storeroom in their church for 35 years, left over from when their organ was augmented and moved to their new sanctuary. Foolishly, I said "sure", having no real idea what I was getting myself (and my students) into. (Actually, integrating real pipes into the instrument had been in the back of my mind all along, so when this opportunity presented itself, I couldn't turn it down.)
The pipes are a 16 foot open diapason pedal rank manufactured in 1948 by the Schantz Organ Company. Unfortunately, the high G (the smallest pipe in the rank) was nowhere to be found. I suspect someone walked off with it as a souvenir sometime during the three decades they were abandoned in the storeroom.
In addition to the missing pipe, for which we will eventually attempt to fabricate a replacement with the same tonal quality (not as easy as it sounds, actually, since I am firmly convinced that pipe construction and voicing is still one of the black arts), there are a few other problems that need to be resolved. The worst is a large crack in the lip of the middle D pipe (the pipe is about seven feet long, and the crack is well over a foot long). 
Cracked lips evidently can be repaired, since the high F# pipe has obviously had a small patch installed in its lip, 
but the crack in the D pipe is MUCH larger.
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CHORD site maintained by Dr. William Park. Please address comments or suggestions to parkw@ces.clemson.edu
