Trying to get an old Hammond M3 going again

**5150** · 04-22-2011, 03:40 PM

Hi all,
I'm new to this forum, but I've been sitting on this 1969 or '70 Hammond M3 for a few years now. It's been passed through the family, and hasn't run in a few years. It's been doing a great job of collecting dust, and being a pain to move around. I've finally taken a step in the right direction and bought a can of Hammond Generator Oil. After reading some posts here, I'm now afraid to see if there's any extensive damage to it. It's been sitting for about 15 years, I think out of oil. Someone at some point may have tried to start it with no oil. Although asking him about it, he said there was no screeching noises. It's been moved about three times, without the tone generator being locked.
I'm wondering if oil is added if I'm safe to try and start this thing and see what it will do.
If I add oil, how long do I let it soak before trying to fire it up? The one good thing I can say is, at least it's been stored in a well-controlled temperature environment, not a garage or basement.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Here's a pic of her, she's in fairly good shape, otherwise. If anyone knows where I might be able to find the piece and a half missing on the right side, please let me know. Those two speakers are not connected to the organ. Finally, I wanted to ask if anyone knew of an approximate value for this organ. I assumed there wasn't much of a demand for these, but looking on Ebay, I found a couple between $300-$800.

**handyczech** · 04-22-2011, 08:05 PM

Your age estimate is at least 10 years off. M-3 was pretty much not made after the L-100 and M-100 series were introduced in the very early '60s. The leg design indicates trying to match contemporary smooth leg, brass ferrule furniture from the mid-50s. I would suggest this was made prior to 1960 at least.

If you are certain that the organ has not run for 15 years, this may pose several problems. The oiling with proper oil may take days or weeks to travel through the hundreds of cotton wicks leading to the bearings inside the tonewheel generator. There is no "reservoir" of oil. It spreads from the funnels to the trough, and then on to the threads. There is also a square silver cup at the left side on top of the motor. Moisten lightly with oil.

This unit may have a curved masonite cover which should be removed for best service-5 or 6 screws along the top and bottom edge.

The electronics in this made use of big silver capacitors. I am no expert, but these are way way past their design life. There could be a leak, or one could pop and make a mess, or they could be okay for a while, but most likely-not.

The cord may be dried out and dangerous.

The correct start procedure is to flip and hold the start switch for the slow count of 8, followed by adding the run switch simultaneously for the count of 4, and release the start switch. I do not recommend that you try this without servicing the generator and the capacitors.

What are your intentions? Play it? Sell it? Value, even though this is a fine organ, is nil to a couple hundred or less IF in perfect rehabbed restored condition, near a metropolitan area.

**5150** · 04-22-2011, 08:16 PM

Wow, thanks for the reply. I must have been going by point of purchase on age. I know I still have the original receipt for it.
This has been held on to for many years, bought by my grandparents and passed through my family. My cousin had called a local organ shop for a cleaning and tune up quote of about $600. That's a little more than any of us want to invest into it at this point, but it has been a point of sentimental value, I suppose, more than anything else. To answer your question, the goal was to see if it could run again, at a minimal investment. Undecided about selling.
Thanks for your info

**Greg_M** · 04-22-2011, 08:47 PM

My first post....

I have been shopping for one just like this for the wife and so I have been watching craigslist and the usual price around Seattle is from $0 (not working, please haul away) to $200 for a "good shape" model.

I wish you were around here and wanted to sell it. I love to tinker with this type of thing. My project for the last year was to build/rebuild/restore a Sunn 200s amp. The wife is the keyboard player.

Good luck which ever way you go

**bossbandbob** · 04-22-2011, 09:42 PM

If it has "It's been moved about three times, without the tone generator being locked," it could have some broken wires. You would need to remove that curved masonite cover and check all the wires carefully, esp the fine uninsulated ones going to the TG filters. If all of those are intact a good oil soaking could be all it needs to bring it fully back to life but only use Hammond oil.

**jdoc** · 04-23-2011, 01:11 AM

Originally Posted by bossbandbob

If it has "It's been moved about three times, without the tone generator being locked," it could have some broken wires. You would need to remove that curved masonite cover and check all the wires carefully, esp the fine uninsulated ones going to the TG filters. If all of those are intact a good oil soaking could be all it needs to bring it fully back to life but only use Hammond oil.

Then again the one end of myM3 tone wheel generator suspension bracket with springs is smashed and bent and twisted and all the tones work fine. I looks like it was dropped on one end? Add a new power cord and fuse (I used 2.5 amp) and inspect all the wire and tubes in the back. On the left oil cup use very little oil for the scanner. Pull the Masonite cover and the pad in the left side should only be damp (big repair if over oiled)

**5150** · 04-23-2011, 02:01 AM

Just to entertain the notion, and this may be very well the path taken, is there anyone somewhat close to South Central PA that might have an interest in this organ? Just throwing it out there.

**5150** · 04-23-2011, 02:25 AM

...And you were correct, Handy, I did research on the serial number I have, and it links to a 1959 model.

**Me & My M3** · 04-23-2011, 02:42 AM

5150....

Don't give up so soon. If this M3 really has that much sentimental value to your family, be patient. You say the organ has been sitting idle for 15 years, so a few more days or a couple of weeks more won't hurt, right. What follows is a story I shared about an M3 I got last fall just before it was to be destroyed. The organ had been neglected beyond belief, but I got it running. Not because I'm a whiz-bang Hammond tech, but because these things were built like tanks. I am convinced that unless you toss one down a flight of stairs, or set it on fire, there's not much that can stop these organs from coming back to life. Here is what I had to say to a fellow with your exact same question....

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There are many people on this forum who know a lot more than I do about repairing old Hammond organs, so please take my post with a grain (or a box) of salt. I recently picked up an M3 that had been sitting for years and years. In fact, the last few years of its life had been spent in an old storage shed where it had been exposed to water everytime it rained. I found it in a very rural town located in a sparsly populated area of Tennessee. When I arrived to pick it up, I thougt I was on the set of the movie "Deliverence." Get the picture?

Being successful in protecting my hind-quarters, I got it home safely. I went to work cleaning out the dirt, dust and rat sh*t, then I oiled it. A week later I oiled it again. A week after that, I oiled it again. By the end of the third week I began trying the start/run switches. For the next 3 weeks I would oil it, wait three or four days then try to start it again. By the fifth week the generator was turning, but the run motor would not keep it turning. More oil and more patience. A few days later I would try to start it, then oil it, then wait. Finally, after 7 or 8 weeks it finally started. However, though the main driveshaft was turning smoothly, the tone wheel bearings were screaming.

I didn't know how the oiling threads were routed, and I did not want to do all of the un-soldering in order to take the top plate with all the capacitors off the generator in order to find out. Thanks to Utube I was able to avoid a lot of work in order to learn what I needed to learn....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qqmr6IiFLE

The tonewheel generator in the video is a little different than the one on your M3. This one has a self-starting motor, not the start-run motors found on the Hammond M3, but the generator itself is what you're interested in knowing about.

Long story even longer, it's been over two months since I first got the organ home and it now starts, runs and purrs like it was meant to. So, in my opinion, patience is the key here. As you will see in the video, there are a number of oiling threads that run from the oil trough located under the oiling funnels and the oil has to wick a long way to get to the bearings. If you suspect that your M3 has seen little oil over the years, my guess is that it is pretty dry.

I've read many posts where people have been able to bring these old organs back to life with oil and patience.

Just my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps. Congratulations on the M3. Once you get it running, you'll fall in love with it.

Me & My M3's

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You can read the entire thread here (and you should)....

http://www.organforum.com/forums/sho...hlight=Buffalo

My experience has been that when you are making a last ditch effort befoe reluctantly selling an organ you really want to keep, it's not going to hurt if you over oil the center funnel or the funnel on the righthand side (looking at the organ from the rear). Just don't over oil the the one located on top of the run motor (left side looking from the back).

Keep the faith, brother. This thing will live again with a little patience.

Me & My M3