The Gallery has been partitioned into five sections, viz:     Gallery Main Page (Current and Completed Projects)     Difficult Restoration No. 1 (Schoniger Organ)     Difficult Restoration No. 2 (Faber Suitcase Organ)     Difficult Restoration No. 3 (Estey Chapel Organ)     (Difficult Restoration No. 4 - A Pile of Stuff) Special Slide-Show Feature: Vocalion Serial Number 834 (being refurbished for the Redmond Oregon Historial Commission)

Difficult Restoration No. 4

Before: When its owner brought me this pile of "stuff" and asked me to turn it back into a reed organ, I resisted: there seemed so little to work with. The two ends of the case; the front stretcher; the panels at knee-level; the key-slip; and the gallery were present, along with a few fragments of the back and a box of small parts. There was no lower action, no upper action, and all the fret-work was in pieces.

After: It's amazing what an unlimited budget can accomplish!

Out of the wood-pile came a lid, a new stretcher (the one supplied was warped beyond use), the front panels and top: all former reed organ parts, and all solid walnut. Then came a derelict Clough & Warren action. A lower action was built from new material. All the fret-work was duplicated, along with various turnings, stop-knobs and so forth. The result exceeds my expectations by a wide margin. (If anyone can identify the maker of the case, I'd love to know who it was).