YANKEE DOODLE Street Organ Kit

YANKEE DOODLE
Street Organ Kit
Assembling Manual
First, let me congratulate you on purchasing the YANKEE DOODLE Street Organ in kit form. Very
soon you will be able to play your new organ on family events, art and craft shows, or just for your
pleasure!
Just couple of words before you start to assemble the organ.
There are a few street organ kits on the market. Usually these kits contain hundreds of small parts,
which have to be assembled. This process may be very exciting and creative. However, the result
sometimes might disappoint you. It will depend on the skill and experience of the assembler. It also
might take months to complete an organ out of this kit.
The kit you have purchased consists of about (10) ready components. These units – bellows, receiver,
pressure box, and other – are made professionally to guaranty the best sound and performance quality
for the instrument.
All you have to do is mount these components to the frame, also supplied, and connect these units to
each other with provided flexible tubing. It would take you only several evenings. You will also need
to design and fabricate an outer decorative case for your organ, or - as a simplest way – just to cover
the frame with the decorative panels.
Now let us begin...
What you have got
The box you've got contains the following:
– Pressure box. It has a lid or door attached with a hinge, and two hand cranks – smaller for
rewinding, and lager for playing. Also note a double row of brass tubes and rod end with ball
bearing.
– Bellows. Their upper part looks like butterfly wings. So, we will call them wings. Note a
plastic air outlet on the base and wooden bracket on the left wing for connecting the end
rod;
– Receiver and V-shaped spring. Note a plastic air outlet and wooden overflowing valve;
– Frame. Note a notch in one of the top bar from inside the frame. This side of the frame will
be referred as a BACK of the organ. The opposite side will be referred as a FRONT;
– Bass pipes plate. This plate has first (5) lower pipes, from #1 to #5;
– Treble pipes plate. This plate has 15 higher pipes, from #6 to #20;
– Flexible tubing for connecting all the components. These are (2) pieces of corrugated plastic
tube 21 mm diameter, and (2) long tubing 5/16” and 1/4” diameter. Tube 5/16” is shorter:
you will use it for connecting (6) bass pipes. Tubing 1/4” will connect all other (15) pipes;
– Fasteners (wood screws);
– Music roll on standard plastic spool.
The materials and tools you will need
Glue.
You would need a regular white or yellow woodworking glue.
Tools.
You will use regular tools like screwdriver, clamps, scissors, tape measure, ruler, pencil.
Mounting the bellows
Place the frame with BACK side towards yourself, like shown on the picture. Place the bellows base
on the two wood brackets. Move the bellows to yourself, but leave 1/4” (6 mm) gap between bellows
and lower back frame bar. Also move the bellows to the right but leave 1/4” (6 mm) gap between
bellows and lower right frame bar. You may use a shim to make this gap.
Use spring clamp to keep the bellows on it's place, turn over the frame and screw in (4) wood screws
6x1-1/4”.
IMPORTANT: Don't use the regular sharp screws: they may cut the holes in leather folders of the
bellows. Enclosed you will find (4) screws with no sharp tips. Use these screws, but first screw-in
regular sharp screw by just half of it's length – make a direction for non-sharp screws. Then remove it
and insert a non-sharp screw.
The bellows are now installed. Note the shim visible on the picture. Remove it after bellows
installation.
Mounting the pressure box
Put the pressure box on the table, unscrew the hinge out of the door, and put the door aside (on the
pictures below the door is not detached).
Note: before attaching the door back to the box later you may want to finish it ( by sanding and
lacquering or painting). In this case don't forget to remove the glass.
Place the frame with BACK side towards yourself. Insert the pressure box between two closest frame
bars as shown on the picture. Apply some glue to the front and back side of the pressure box, insert it
deeper into the frame and clamp with (4) clamps. Clean the glue residue.
IMPORTANT: make sure the distance between right side of the pressure box and upper right frame
bar is 40 mm.
After finishing the door attach it back to the pressure box.
Attach both crank handles.
Turn the frame around with FRONT side towards yourself. Detach the threaded axle from the rod end,
insert it into the hole of bellows bracket as shown.
Attach the rod end and screw it by hand. Carefully try to make one turn with main – lager – crank.
Make sure that both wings in their lowest position have the same distance to the base. Check it. If
distances are different, regulate the length of the rod end until you are satisfied. Screw-in the nut of the
threaded axle tightly. Also screw-in (2) nuts on the rod ends using two keys.
Take one shorter piece of 21 mm tubing and screw-in both ends to the outlet of the bellows and far
outlet of the pressure box. Don't use any tool, instead apply your hand strength as much as you can.
Note: after you screw-in the tubing to the outlet it is impossible to screw it out.
Now we have pressure box and bellows installed and connected to each other.
Mounting the receiver
Place the receiver into the frame as pictured. Leave 1/4” (6 mm) gap between receiver and vertical
frame bar, and 1/4” between upper edge of the receiver and upper frame bar. Secure the position with
clamp and attach the receiver to the frame with (3) wood screws. Also use non-sharp end screws.
Connect receiver and pressure box with another 21 mm flexible tube.
Squeeze the V-shaped spring and insert it between the pressure box and receiver as shown.
Then re-locate one wing of the spring by inserting it's blade into the slot in the bar between pressure
box and receiver. Other wing must be moved to the upper edge of the receiver, only 1/4” from the top.
Open the receiver fully (move it's wing to the end) and see if the lower edge of the spring isn't in the
way of turning rod end. If it blocks the rod end you can move the spring a little aside.
The final step in receiver installation is the valve regulating.
The valve opens by the thread that connects the valve and base of the receiver. It must be opened
when receiver is about full of air. Open the receiver all the way, then move it back about 1/4” (6 mm)
and check if the valve opens and closes within this movement. If the valve is still closed, make a thread
a little shorter. If the valve is still open make the thread a little longer. To make the thread longer or
shorter unscrew the screw (see the picture below) and then screw it back to secure the thread.
Now the receiver is installed.
Mounting the base pipes panel
Carefully insert the base pipes panel into the frame as shown. Insert (2) screws to the ends of lower bar
of the panel and tight them as shown.
Bass pipes plate is now installed.
Mounting the front pipes panel
Before the pipe panel installation you may want to finish the plate and pipes. In this case sand them
with 220 grade sandpaper, lacquer (pipes) and paint (plate). I usually paint the panel in black with spray
can and apply several coats of lacquer. For the pipes I may use stain before applying the lacquer. To
finish these parts first you have to detach pipes from the plate. Unscrew all 15 nuts on the back of the
panel and take the pipes off.
After you finished and assemble the plate, carefully insert it as shown on the picture. It is convenient to
turn the frame, putting it with back side down.
Before inserting remove (2) screws shown on the picture below half-way. After the panel is inserted
into the frame screw-in them back. These screws must not be inserted into any part of the plate. They
just support the plate.
Turn the frame back. With the wooden locker (shown on the picture) attach the upper edge of the plate
to the frame bar.
Now we have the organ assembled. Next step is tubing.
Tubing the pipes and pressure box
During this operation it is convenient to place the frame upside down or on the front side. Locate the
brass tubes at the back of the pipes – bass and treble. Also locate two rows of brass tubes underneath
the pressure box.
There are numbers written near the tubes. Locate numbers 1-20 on the pressure box, numbers 1-5 on
the bass pipes and numbers 6-20 on the treble pipes plate. We have to connect every pair of tubes with
the same numbers using the soft tubing. Note, that brass tubes number 1 to 5 are connected with 5/16”
tubing, all others with 1/4” tubing.
Start with connecting pipe #1 with according brass tube of the pressure box. Measure the distance
between the tubes with a tape. Keep in mind that tubing has to be long enough with no pressure . At the
same time it should be short enough: there will be 20 tubes, and each takes some room. Also often there
are more than one way to place the tubing. Add a little more – 2 inches, just in case, and cut the 5/16”
tubing. Connect tubing to the pipe, carefully supporting the pipe body. Then connect the other end to
the pressure box.
The same way, one by one, connect all the tubes. From time by time keep checking the movement of
the bellows, assuring that tubs are not in the way.
After you finish the tubing, you may find that some of the tubes are in the way of the bellows' wings or
rod ends, or receiver wing, or spring. If this happened you can use a long cable ties to tight the couple
of tubs together and move them away.
Sometimes a piece of dowel can work as well.
Below are some pictures of different organs where you can see some elements of tubing.
You organ is ready now! You may insert the music roll and play the tune.
For information on loading the music roll and tuning the pipes please see the Organ Manual.