The piccolo windchest of the PipeMare project is nearing completion. The valves have all been mounted and cabled inside the windchest:
The piccolo windchest cabledThe almost finished windchest
The first level of the pipe support rack is almost finished, although some adjustments are needed. Here is the finished windchest with some of the pipes mounted.
The pipe support rack is made of 3mm acrylic glass, and I sort of regret not using 5mm. The 3mm sheets are just a bit too flimsy and fragile, and I don’t know how they are going to hold up, especially when we mount the second layer of supports for the larger pipes.
Work on the PipeMare Piccolo is progressing according to plan. All the organ valves are mounted and pressure tested for passive air seal.
Organ valves mounted on the underside of the toeboard
Common source rail and diodes
Cabling is under way, using copper rails as common leads.
Next up is the actual cabling from the valves to the 50-pin aviation connector on the backside of the windchest, and then cabling from the windchest up to the PipeMare Controller.
To do an actual test of the windchest, we are also going to need to assemble the driver board stack.
After finishing the accordion in the PipeMare project, the focus turned to one of the pipe organs in the same project, i.e. the PipeMare Piccolo organ.
All pipe dimensions have been measured, and placement of the organ valves were planned:
Placement of valves on the underside of the toeboard
While the pipes on the topside of the toeboard are placed in nice and even rows, the underside is more chaotic. Because of space restrictions, the valves must be placed rather strangely to make room for all of them. Fortunately, noone will see it once the windchest is closed.
The topside of the toeboard with countersunk holes
The topside of the toeboard has been stained and varnished. Flatbottomed coutnersinks has been drilled, fitting pieces of PVC pipe for the pipes. This way of making pipe-to-toeboard seals makes it easier to make and makes the organ more robust, when we need to move it.
PVC tube pieces placed in countersunk holes
On the toeboard is also placed three Ø25mm clear acrylic rods. These will carry the first layer of pipe support, which will be made with a sheet of clear acrylic glass.
Valves being mounted in the windchest/toeboard
The valves are being mounted, but until a shipment of new self tapping screws arrives, nothing more happens.
Well, the PipeMare accordion is now more or less finished. The swells are working, cabling is completed and orange LEDs are placed inside the front to illuminate the reed banks while playing.
The finished accordion windchest with swell panels
We still need to build the external handheld calibrator.
Not exactly an awe-inspiring arrangement, but the important thing is that it finally proves the concept. The servos work pretty well, and the entire idea of putting the accordion reeds into a pressurised windchest works perfectly as well.
Now we just need to build the swell panels, and, of course, the PipeMare controller and all the rest…
