Pipes Out of Paper

Dear Mr. Kolbinson: -

I was very interested to receive your letter and, yes, I am the man that made the organ! I am by no means a professional organ builder, but if I can be of any help to anyone like-minded I shall be only too pleased to be of any help possible. Please notice my address is changed to what it was when the directory was compiled.

It is many years ago (and I am not an old man yet, I hope) since I saw in our public library a book entitled "Organ Building for Amateurs." I had always been "crazy" over organs but had to confine myself to the reed species. From instructions contained in this book I made a pipe and that was my downfall. I made several, then more, and finally got two or three octaves. I then bought an old reed organ for $3.00, extracted all the reeds and bought several yards of rubber tubing (such as used for bathroom showers) and stuck one end of the tube in the reed cell and the other in the pipe. Having reversed the valves on the bellows so they blew instead of "sucked" I had a pipe organ, - after a fashion, but it wasn't much good on the lower notes, and of course I only had one set of pipes. Once more I consulted the book and, to make a long story short so as not to bore you too much finally made a half-respectable pipe-organ. That was the one that got me the publicity, as some newspaper men, through a neighbor, got to hear of it and came up to see it. In 1935 we went to England "for good," and sent a vast amount of material to the auction rooms, organ included, - I almost gave it away. Within a year we were back in Victoria, starting all over again, and it wasn't long before I started another organ, - I'm funny that way.

So in our dining room I have "installed" a one-manual organ, electrically blown, with three sets of pipes, Open Diapason 8 ft., Stopped Diapason 8 ft. Principal 4 ft. tremulant and swell, and it does not sound too bad, although I am afraid a real organ-builder would collapse if he ever saw its "innards."

By now I guess you are thoroughly bored and want to know how I made my pipes. I was exceedingly fortunate and it was by mere chance that I picked up in a second-hand store two ancient volumes entitled "Amateur Work Illustrated." These books contained in serial style the identical material which was in the library book "Organ Building for Amateurs." This book, by the way, is out of print and cannot be obtained, unless second hand. Another thing, I believe somehow the newspapers got the idea I used newspaper for pipes. You must use a good grade of heavy brown wrapping paper, don't try anything else, I even tried wall-paper but it wasn't so good.

To get the correct diameter and length of pipes make a scale as I have shown here. (diagram 1) Draw it out full size, and you will get the diameter and length of any pipe you wish.

I procured short lengths of "round" from a wood-working factory where I work, in diameters from 1/4" to 2 1/2". On these I glued and rolled the pipes. Get a sheet of paper and, say for middle C cut it about 2'2" or so long, and wide enough to roll around a piece of 1 1/2" round at least 4 times thusly (diagram 2). Put a pencil mark where to start gluing. Be sure not to get any glue on your wooden round or your are "sunk," the paper must be free to slip off when glued.


Now cut a piece of wood about the same shape, only perhaps a little larger than an ice cream cone.

Cut a piece of paper approximately this shape.

Glue it and roll it around the cone and when turned upside down the wooden cone should drop out. You can make several pipes and cones at once, and stand them on end to dry. After twenty-four hours they should be hard and firm. I forgot to mention, after gluing wait a minute or so for the glue to soak into the paper and for the paper to stretch, or it will dry wrinkly.

I will now quote from "Organ Building for Amateurs" - quote-
"When this is done both tube and cone must be painted or varnished on inside. This is easily accomplished by tying a small piece of rag on the end of a wire." -Unquote-

Trim off the top of the cone until it is exactly the same diameter as the tube, then rub the end of the tube and the top of the cone with fine sandpaper stretched over a block.

Cut a piece of mahogany or cedar (I used fir or pine) this shape,
about 1/8 or 3/16 thick (for middle C) :

This piece is called a languid. Put it in the tube and cut a three-cornered piece about 1" high out of the tube where the flat part of the languid comes, but do not cut right down close to the languid. Keep about 1/16" off.
Now cut another piece of material this shape and glue this inside the top of the cone, flush with the top and cut a three-cornered piece out of the cone same as you did with the pipe.

Now glue cone and pipe together with both V-shaped cuts in line with each other, and let it dry.

Now cut two small pieces of wood these shapes:

The top one is bevelled and do not cut it down to too-sharp an edge. Rub any sharp edges off with fine paper. These are the upper and lower lips. 
Now, when your pipe is dry place the lower lip over the v-cut in your cone, and the upper lip over the cut in the pipe. Hold them there and blow gently into your pipe (having previously cut your cone off at the point until there is about a 1/4" hole.) If you are lucky you will get a musical note.

If not, by raising and lowering the lips a little and when your note comes, see just where the lips are and remove them, glue them, and replace. I hold them with rubber bands while drying. When finished paint the pipe, it both preserves it and makes it look nicer. Trim the top of the pipe until it sounds a little sharp of the note it should sound, then make a short tuning piece out of paper, similar to the tube itself,

which will slide up and down on your pipe, enabling you to tune it accurately. Larger pipes should have "ears"... small pieces glued vertically on either side of the mouth. Take a look at the show pipes of any church organ and you wll see what I mean.

You will find you can roll a bunch of tubes and cones on, say Monday, glue your languids in, and if carefully handled and stood upside down, cone and pipe may be glued together Tuesday, and on Wednesday you can fit the lips, paint them Thursday, and on Friday you will most likely get bawled out for not going to bed at a decent hour!!

These pipes sound very nice if stopped. I used a piece of round wood which fits snugly (and it must fit snug, - the least crack and your pipe won't sound). As no doubt you know they sound an octave lower if stopped. Tuning is accomplished by sliding the "plug" in and out.

According to the book lots of fancy stops can be made in paper: Gemshorn, Flageolet, Keraulophon, etc., but on my small organ I have an open diapason. Then a stopped diapason, made the same way, and a principal also made the same way only an octave higher.

I have made a fan, motor-driven, which blows air into a reservoir, and the keyboard action is the simple tracker, nothing pneumatic or electric. The stop action is the old-fashioned (but simple) slider.

Now, that will be enough to keep you busy for awhile, I might suggest that on very small pipes (2" or 3" long) I have cut out the cone, and they are simply little whistles.

I am very pleased you wrote to me, and please write and tell me about yourself and your organ, particularly since you have made pipes up to middle C. Frankly I have not had much success with my lowest octave, and am thinking of re-making it. Some of the pipes have not got enough volume.

If your experience is anything like mine you will find that some pipes, you can throw them together, and - toot! - they sound lovely, others you can play all night with them, and all you get is PFFFFFFT! Throw 'em away and make a new one.

I hope you can read and understand my scribble, and here's wishing you lots of luck and fun, and please write soon and let me know how you make out.

Yours sincerely,

Fred Hall