Thanks for your comment, I made the video because I could find any others showing how tubular pneumatic couplers work. I thought the leather purses was a really elegant way of turning the couplers on and off. Tubular pneumatic actions have a reputation for being slow but this one is really really fast, the console is built into the case so the tubes are quite short. We recently re-leathered all the pneumatic motors including a relay stage located between the coupler action and the swell motors. It had a set of Roosevelt motors that could be adjusted to control how quickly the notes came on and released. When adjusting them the person at the keyboard had to use two fingers to be able to press the keys fast enough to outpace the mechanism!
We have a 1904 Estey tubular pneumatic organ here in Charleston WV, which I relocated and reinstalled in 1997 to its current home. The action is as fast and light as anything ever built. I think a lot of tubular organs got a bad rap because they used lead tubing that clogged up over time, making the action appear sluggish. Estey used brass tubing - the action is lightning fast and absolutely delightful to play.
Another problem with lead tubing is that it will deform under its own weight. The tubes may flatten where they are hung over the edge of a piece of wood or if they are not properly tied up, making the action slower. That said, I imagine lead tube is a lot easier to install than brass.
Great video. Tubular pneumatic action is complicated. Is it slow?
Thanks for your comment, I made the video because I could find any others showing how tubular pneumatic couplers work. I thought the leather purses was a really elegant way of turning the couplers on and off. Tubular pneumatic actions have a reputation for being slow but this one is really really fast, the console is built into the case so the tubes are quite short. We recently re-leathered all the pneumatic motors including a relay stage located between the coupler action and the swell motors. It had a set of Roosevelt motors that could be adjusted to control how quickly the notes came on and released. When adjusting them the person at the keyboard had to use two fingers to be able to press the keys fast enough to outpace the mechanism!
We have a 1904 Estey tubular pneumatic organ here in Charleston WV, which I relocated and reinstalled in 1997 to its current home. The action is as fast and light as anything ever built. I think a lot of tubular organs got a bad rap because they used lead tubing that clogged up over time, making the action appear sluggish. Estey used brass tubing - the action is lightning fast and absolutely delightful to play.
Another problem with lead tubing is that it will deform under its own weight. The tubes may flatten where they are hung over the edge of a piece of wood or if they are not properly tied up, making the action slower. That said, I imagine lead tube is a lot easier to install than brass.