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a Log Home in the Hill Country

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Build A Great VPO – Part 3: Amp Repair

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on August 11, 2023 by JimAugust 11, 2023
photo of the Amplifier, ready for servicing

Just before disassembling the Thomas Transistor organ to create a VPO, I tried turning it on for one last listen. I wanted to sample a few of the basic sounds for later use building a sample set or synthesizer patches. It hadn’t been used for quite some time, though I had no reason to suspect it wouldn’t work. Within a second or two of powering the organ, there was a loud pop, followed by a very loud hum. Time to get it on the bench!

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Posted in Virtual Pipe Organ, Music, Projects, repairs | Tagged amp, amplifier, build, capacitor, DIY, electrolytic, esr, howto, MIDI, organ, pipe, re-cap, recap, theater, thomas, transistor, tube, vacuum, variac, virtual, vpo, wb0mmc

Build A Great VPO — Part 2 : Salvage and Move

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on August 8, 2023 by JimAugust 11, 2023
photo of the organ In place with new pedals

we talked about converting a Thomas Transistor Organ into a great Virtual Pipe Organ (VPO). This early 1960’s era electronic organ has good bones, but not worth restoring to its original condition. We can salvage some key components however. In this post, we begin with disassembly. Besides removing the parts we’re not going to use, it will also make the cabinet lighter. This is important since the organ must move to the second floor our home to make way for a remodel. with disassembly. Besides removing the parts we’re not going to use, it will also make the cabinet lighter. This is important since the organ must move to the second floor our home to make way for wood stove.

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Posted in Music, Projects, Virtual Pipe Organ | Tagged ago, american, build, DIY, guild, howto, jensen, leslie, organ, organists, pipe, speaker, thomas, transistor, virtual, vpo, wb0mmc

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Refinement: Jammin’ Jacks

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on October 21, 2017 by JimOctober 21, 2017
photo showing Measuring Key Dip

Every piano is different, and although there are recommended measurements for key dip, blow distance, hammer height, etc., changes are sometimes needed to suit a specific action. At this point, Danny Boone’s Regulating Grand Piano Touch and Tone suggested fully regulating … Continue reading →

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Posted in maker, Music, piano, Projects, repairs | Tagged action, action rebuild, Bernerd, blanco texas, danny l boone, DIY, grand piano touch, hammer, how to, howto, jack, jack screw, let-off, Mollberg, piano, regulating, regulating grand piano touch and tone, regulation, repetition lever, restoration, rtfm, shank, Texas, texas hill country, weber grand piano, wippen

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Early Impressions

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on October 20, 2017 by JimOctober 20, 2017
photo of The Weber and Baldwin Pianos Nested

With casters installed and a rudimentary understanding of action adjustments, I was able to tinker. Hammer alignment went quickly, and as predicted, the sotto voce pedal now worked properly. Since the rockers were not snugged into their final position, they tended to drift, so I touched up the hammer line and let-off, and put the action back into the piano. It was time to play!

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Posted in maker, Music, piano, Projects, repairs, Woodworking | Tagged 1893, 1927, action, action rebuild, Albert Weber, Baldwin Model C, Bernerd, blanco texas, carved victorian case, DIY, hammer alignment, how to, howto, Mollberg, piano, restoration, sotto voce, Texas, texas hill country, weber grand piano, weber piano company

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Baby Needs New Shoes! (Err, Casters)

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on September 17, 2017 by JimOctober 20, 2017
photo of the Leg reinstalled with caster

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, the Weber had been without casters for about 20 years. After we moved to our log home, I was eager to make it more playable, but there was a distinct rattling!

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Posted in maker, Music, piano, Projects, repairs, Woodworking | Tagged action, action rebuild, Bernerd, blanco texas, brass, carved victorian case, caster, DIY, flange, hammer alignment, how to, howto, Mollberg, piano, restoration, shank, sotto voce, Texas, texas hill country, weber grand piano

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – RTFM

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on September 5, 2017 by JimOctober 20, 2017
photo showing how to adjust repetition level spring tension

At the beginning of this project, my piano technician friend Jack recommended I read Regulating Grand Piano Touch and Tone by Danny L. Boone. It breaks the process down into 56 steps from reshaping the hammers to adjusting the pedals. I spent some time with it, but dove into the process with Bernard’s and Celeste’s help without really reading it all.

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Posted in Music, piano, Projects, repairs, Woodworking | Tagged action, action rebuild, back check, back check regulator, Bernerd, blanco texas, danny l boone, DIY, flange, getting things done, grand hammer butt spacer, grand piano touch, gtd, hammer, how to, howto, jack screw, Mollberg, piano, regulating, regulating grand piano touch and tone, regulation, restoration, rtfm, shank, Texas, texas hill country, weber grand piano

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – The Circle of Refinement

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on September 1, 2017 by JimSeptember 5, 2017
photo of piano strings and hammers

After the much-needed boost of demonstrating the Weber with rebuilt action at our piano gathering, I was eager to continue. Time to align the hammers so they centered on the strings and shifted correctly when the soto voce pedal (or “soft” pedal, on the left) was pressed.

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Posted in Central Texas, maker, Music, piano, Projects, repairs, Woodworking | Tagged action, action rebuild, back check, back check regulator, Bernerd, blanco texas, DIY, flange, grand hammer butt spacer, hammer, how to, howto, jack screw, Mollberg, piano, regulation, restoration, shank, Texas, texas hill country, weber grand piano

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Assembly and Adjustments

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on August 27, 2017 by JimSeptember 2, 2017
photo of the Action ready to reinstall in the piano

We were hosting a group of our pianist friends on Saturday, and I hoped to have the action back together and with luck, installed in the piano for a little preliminary “plunking”. Time was short!

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Posted in maker, Music, piano, Projects, repairs, Woodworking | Tagged action rebuild, Bernerd, block plane, DIY, felt bushing, how to, howto, let-off, Mollberg, piano, pin block, punchings, restoration, rocker arm, string height, Texas, texas hill country, weber grand piano, whippens, wippens, wippens cushion

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Key Leveling and Key Weights

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on August 21, 2017 by JimAugust 27, 2017
photo of All keys weighted

Back on track with the sharps refinish, let-off buttons and hammer rest repairs, I was looking forward to the last bits before reassembling the action: key leveling and key weights.

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Posted in maker, Music, piano, Projects, repairs, Woodworking | Tagged action rebuild, Bernerd, blanco, blanco texas, DIY, felt bushing, how to, howto, Mollberg, punchings, restoration, Texas, texas hill country, weber grand piano, wippens, woodworking

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Sharps, Cushions, and Buttons Roundup

Roy Creek Ranch Posted on August 20, 2017 by JimAugust 27, 2017
photo of piano keys Awaiting finish remover

This far into the action rebuild, and I confess to a little project fatigue. After so many months, the end seemed to be receding into the distance. After the excitement of receiving new hammers, I lost a month to a California trip and other things around the ranch that needed attention, and it was a little hard to get my head back into the game.

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Posted in Music, piano, Projects, repairs, Woodworking | Tagged action rebuild, Bernerd, blanco, blanco texas, Danish oil, DIY, ebony, hammer cusion, howto, Mollberg, piano, restoration, watco, weber grand piano, wippens

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