Re-Leathering

 The central nervous system of many styles of pipe organs is comprised of miles of wiring plus hundreds or even thousands of small leather membranes roughly the size of a silver dollar.  These membranes are responsible for making electrical contact, moving stop knobs or tabs, and opening the valves under each pipe.  This leather is paper-thin and, when new, is very strong and flexible.  As this leather ages, it becomes weak and brittle and develops holes or tears.  When this happens that membrane is rendered inoperable, resulting in dead notes, stuck notes, dead stops, and other problems.  These membranes can be replaced through a process known as re-leathering.  This process involves removing all of the old leather and replacing it with fresh new leather.  This can be time consuming and costly process due to the vast number of membranes in the average organ and the amount of labor involved; however, when you consider the fact that the leather is expected to last about 50 years, the costs involved in a re-leathering project are easily justified.  If your organ is 50 years old or more and has never been re-leathered, this is a process you may wish to consider before serious problems arise.

 Leather is also employed in the wind system of your instrument.  It is much thicker and stronger than the thin membranes described, but is still susceptible to the same problems.  When the leather on the bellows and other areas of the wind system gives way, the results can be much more noticeable.  You may hear loud wind leaks, the organ’s pitch and volume may drop drastically, or the instrument may stop responding altogether.  These problems are quick and affordable to repair.  In most cases, this leather also lasts about 50 years.

 Moe Piano & Organ Company can provide an individual quotation for the re-leathering of your instrument.  Upon completion of this process, the instrument will perform like new without all the dead notes, stuck notes, leaks, and other problems you may be experiencing.  Moe Piano & Organ Company offers a 10-year guarantee on this service although a re-leathered organ is expected to perform without trouble for many years to come.  Please contact us for more information regarding re-leathering.

Cleaning

 Pipe organs are an excellent repository for dust and dirt of all kinds because they are generally inaccessible for cleaning by the average person.  We strongly recommend leaving the cleaning of your instrument to an experienced professional, like Moe Piano & Organ Company.  Pipe organs are fragile instruments and a well-meaning person can cause serious and expensive damage without intent.  However, if left untended, years of dirt and dust buildup can cause problems in a pipe organ ranging from dead electrical contacts to problems with pipe speech.  It is important to have your instrument cleaned every 15-20 years to remove the build-up of dirt and grime.  The cleaning includes removal and cleaning of all pipe work, complete cleaning of the organ chamber spaces and any casework, cleaning of all electrical contacts within the instrument, minor adjustments to the speech of individual pipes to return them to their proper sound, cleaning of the console to remove buildup from years of playing, and a complete tuning when all is done.  Moe Piano & Organ Company can provide you with a quotation for the complete professional cleaning of your instrument.  Please contact us for more information.

Covering, Removal, and Storage

 When preparing to do any major structural work or remodeling in a church that has a pipe organ it is extremely important to have the organ covered or removed and stored.  Dust and debris from construction can cause serious and expensive damage to a pipe organ.  It is much less costly to have the organ covered or removed rather than have it cleaned and repaired when it is discovered that the construction has left large amounts of dirt and debris in the organ rendering it unusable.  Moe Piano & Organ Company can cover your instrument in place as well as remove all or part of it and provide safe storage for you instrument until such time as your construction is complete.  Please provide us with as much notice as possible if you will need to make use of this service.

Moe Piano & Organ Company
P.O. Box 348
Wadena, MN 56482
Phone 218-631-7063
Toll Free: 1-877-728-8636
E-mail: info@mpoc.50megs.com