The Organ Forum

G'day everyone :)

   My progress on the reed organ is going very well.The full clean out 
is complete , the peddle straps have been replaced , some missing wood 
linkage has been reconstructed and a quick air clean on the reeds have 
them all playing now.Ive still got about 60% of the case to go for 
cleaning and repolishing and also will lightly clean the keys.

My question today for the great people on this forum is:

Can anyone tell me what the workings are inside the Vox humana?.

I know it pretty much spins in conjunction with air flow , but before i take mine apart does 
anyone have a picture of the interior?.The reason is mine squeaks just 
little bit at times when turning and now is the time to get it sorted 
and not latter when the organ is playing as it may be noticeable and 
annoying to say the least.  

Any help very much appreciated.

Regards ~Daniel~ Australia :)

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Mason and Hamlin reed organ ,Weber Duo-Art 1920 pianola , Richard Lipp and Sonhs 1914 ,6'4" Player Grand

In the reed organ I had as a child the 'Vox Humana' was the Tremulant.  There was a box inside the organ which had a fan like thing that rotated to give the tremulant.

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2m Viscount Opera Organ

My Suggestion would be to use a very very small dab of greese on the external support points where rests the axle that runs into the pneumatic motor and carries the external blades (Usually cardboard), working the axle back and forth only as far as it will go without strain. I would not use light oil because of the possibility of the wood swelling. If that doesn't help, do the same where the axle enters the motor body. 

The Motor itself is, in my case at least, simply a water-wheel shape that fits very closely inside the barrel of the motor body.  Mine has an open conduit to the resevoir on one side, and an exhaust (or intake) valve opened and closed by the Vox Humana stop. On many organs I understand that the body is sealed with glue and is a pain to disassemble and reassemble.  I have seen organs where the internal blades are worn or broken and drawing the stop drains the resevoir silencing the instrument; and others where the chanel has been blocked by some serviceman to save the effort or expense to repair the problem. Anyone who has successfully repaired the interior of the motor are better qualified that I to suggest how to proceed.

Lee

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If you can keep your head
when all about you are losing theirs
and blaming it on you
Its just possible you haven't grasped the situation.

Hi Lee and thankyou , after working on player pianos i know how problems can arise if you need to disassemble something that was  made along time ago that is ment to stay airtight.I'm lucky that my internal fan still spins and the set up is pretty much the same as you described. I will dab some grease on it today and hopefully it can solve my noise. 

In regards to the actual Vox Humana device , it looks well glued and screwed and the last thing i wanted to do what to take it apart , as it will always lead to a broken piece or wood split.

Regards Daniel.  

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Mason and Hamlin reed organ ,Weber Duo-Art 1920 pianola , Richard Lipp and Sonhs 1914 ,6'4" Player Grand

Dan;

Do not use grease to lubricate the fittings, as it will gunk up with dirt and become worse than before. Likewise with silicones such as WD-40. Use only powdered graphite.

I would advise against taking the vox apart. The vanes inside are usually pressed fibreboard and are very brittle due to age. Graphite on the spindle ends should take care of any squeaks.

Agree.

Nix the grease, go with graphite.

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Soubasse32