Most of you know I’ve nearly abandoned all of my previous hobbies for rubber powered balsa wood and tissue paper free flight airplanes. On that front nothing has changed. I apologize for not posting more of my progress, but I don’t have much of value to share – there’s better sites for information and inspiration. Yup, my model planes sure look great – unfortunately they’re just not ready to break any duration records – yet.
As a member of the Flying Aces Club I’ve also become obsessed with 1930’s issues of the Flying Aces magazine. I’ve been collecting as many as possible and carefully scanning, restoring and saving the files as PDF documents. If you’re trying to unload your collection of FA magazines – I’d be happy to take them off your hands, no matter the condition.
While scanning the December 1935 issue of FA magazine I came across this ad for the Huff Sky-Test. I’ve never seen this ad in any other issue thus far. It caught my eye – looks like a neat project to build. Look how much fun that spiffy young fella is having!
I did a little searching around the web for more information and came up empty handed. I figured I’d post the ad on my blog to get the ball rolling. Maybe someone will find this post and be kind enough to share more information. (Hint. Hint). I need a reason to fire up the woodworking workshop again!
After all, “A few hours at the controls of the HUFF SKY-TEST qualifies you as a FUTURE FLIER OF AMERICA.” Somehow I don’t think free Certificates of Membership are currently available.
In just a few short months my cool nephew is allowing me to take his son, my great-nephew, away for our first weekend of bonding. The young man in question is twelve years old, he’ll turn thirteen the month following our trip. When I was that age everything – and everyone – was LAME.
This is our first trip (my fault for not arranging this earlier), and what guy doesn’t want to be the cool (great) uncle? My mind raced as I tried to recall the things I was interested in when I was his age:
* Looking like a mysterious dude alone in the shadows
* Experiments resulting with fire and explosions (I hope mom doesn’t see I have no hair on one arm and I’m missing part of an eyebrow)
* Groveling over my lack of girls and greenbacks
* Music and art
* Sharing my thoughts to the only thing I could trust, a journal
I suspect I just defined the interests of many young men in five bullet points.
I recall a handful of meaningful conversations shared with fringe relatives in my youthful days. It was a pleasure to speak to an adult that wasn’t part of my daily life. The separation made it easier to open up and share thoughts without risking being judged or teased endlessly. We communicated in an adult manner.
After a some thinking (can you smell the rubber burning?) the possible itineraries boil down to two themes:
1. Camping, Fishing, Hiking: A quiet opportunity to relax and share what’s on our minds.
2. Extreme Fun: A loud opportunity to forget about what’s on our minds.
My great-nephew is a quiet young man. He never sits still and prefers to be off alone occupied by the mischievous things young boys do: whacking tree stumps with an ax, poking at tree stumps with a crowbar, quietly groveling about life while sitting on tree stumps. This is the expected outcome of a camping trip.
I’m the cool uncle, so let’s be extreme! Amusement parks are great, but not with your uncle. What’s more extreme? I know!- go karts (not the dumb kiddie ones), ATVs, UTVs, motor boats, off-road Segway adventures – how about paintball, target practice with a compound bow or slingshot!
Many of these awesome activities do not allow “children” under the age of 13 to drive or be responsible for taking charge (and slingshots are mainly illegal). My nephew may be a goof, but he’s responsible and knows his capabilities. A front running idea is a camping trip including some extreme fun and experiments.
Nostalgic Camping Activities
Playing Baseball With A Pocket Knife
The other day I was having a conversation with my pops. He asked me if I ever played “the pocket knife baseball game”, something my father remembers fondly. I’ll admit I’ve never played this game (yet) but any dangerous activity that doesn’t require physical exertion has my attention. Perhaps this is something my great-nephew and I can play on our camping trip! I started researching the topic.
Project Gutenberg
My search concluded, as it usually does when researching old fashioned fun, at Project Gutenberg. For those of you that are unaware, Project Gutenberg “offers over 59,000 free eBooks… for which U.S. copyright has expired.” Many of the books are solid gold and chuck full of fun. Back in the “old days” kids were encouraged to experiment and play with all sorts of stuff – stuff that “nowadays” adults could get in trouble for!
The pocket knife baseball game was found in a Project Gutenberg eBook titled The Boy Mechanic, Volume 1: 700 Things for Boys to Do by H. H. Windsor. Alongside the rules to play knife baseball are other “things for boys to do” such as:
How To Make Boomerangs
Glass-Cleaning Solution: water & sulphuric acid
Polishing Cloths for Silver: 2lb. of whiting, 1/2 oz. of oleic acid & 1 gal of gasoline
How to Make a (real) Cannon: utilizing hydraulic pipe
How to Make a Small Electric Furnace: wrap asbestos, wire and plaster-of-paris around a block of wood
How To Explode Black Powder with Electricity
Small Electrical Hydrogen Generator: make hydrogen and enjoy the “report” after placing a match nearby
A Homemade Acetylene-Gas Generator
How to Make a Box Kite
How to Make a Small Medical Induction Coil
… and 690 other things to keep a young man busy.
As you can imagine books such as this, and many others, are no longer being printed. Many books from the old days are flat out banned because of the potential dangers lurking on the pages. These books were wildly popular during their heyday and with good reason. They encouraged kids of all ages to responsibly experiment, engage their minds and hands, and have fun doing so.
I’m BORED!
It’s no wonder many kids today aren’t interested in math and sciences, they aren’t allowed to actually practice any of this stuff. Compare chemistry kits (or toys) from the old days to the ridiculous boring “safe” stuff that’s on the market today. The thrill of mixing vinegar and baking soda doesn’t last long. I studied chemistry in high school and was dumbfounded by how little “chemistry” I practiced. It’s like giving a kid a piano but not allowing them to touch it until they understand everything about how music is composed.
Stop asking why kids only want to sit on a computer – it’s the only limitless thing they have to experiment with. It’s impossible to limit what kids do online. The computer provides a dangerous and thrilling frontier for kids to tinker with unobserved.
I’m not suggesting handing kids hazardous things (the internet for instance) to let them play willy-nilly. These old books don’t condone reckless behavior either, they encourage responsible experimentation. Know it or not, kids are going to get into stuff – shouldn’t we provide information and supplies to explore responsibly?
Great-Uncle And Great-Nephew Fun
With a few months before our weekend together I still have time to decide what we’re going to do. Last night I came up with the idea of including a stop at an old fashioned county fair complete with tractor pulls, live music and livestock contests. There’ll be plenty to keep busy and my gold chain decked-out great-nephew will have droves of gams to ogle.
Camping may be involved as well. I can demonstrate how to make charcoal with wood chips in an old paint can. The charcoal, when mixed with a few (formerly readily available) ingredients, is transformed into an explosive powder. Using a simple to build apparatus we could distill wood chips into a liquid alcohol creating a spectacular burst of flames when sprayed into the campfire. Maybe we’ll start a fire with a drop of water or enjoy the challenge of using a magnesium fire starter. We’ll filter our water using the charcoal we made together.
I can teach him how to sharpen a knife using an oil stone, ruin the blade playing baseball and do it all over again. Perhaps demonstrate how to carve wood using the knife. We can stroll through the woods and I could teach my great-nephew how to identify trees by examining the leaves. We could carve our names into the bark of a beech tree with our freshly sharpened pocket knives.
In my mind the weekend plays out like a soft focus montage in a nostalgic movie. A very real possibility is that I’ll be called a “jerk” (if he respects me enough to use such a gentle word), ride silently in the car, stare blankly at a campfire, I’ll pet goats and be audience to a patriotic folk band while my great-nephew explores the fair on his own with a fistful of my moola.
No matter how the weekend plays out we’ll have fun, great-nephew’s disapproving scowl and all. The fun may not be evident during the trip but the memories – they’ll only improve with age.
Okay. Okay. It seems like I’ve abandoned this blog. Perhaps it’s safe to say I have, but give me a chance to explain. The blame lies squarely on two things: the Flying Aces Club and Instagram. Instagram makes it so easy to “insta”ntly update friends, family and followers on what’s happening. So call me lazy, that’s usually my “go to” place for posting what I’m up to.
Two years ago I was up to a whole lot of different things: woodworking, woodcarving, automata, musical machines and such. Ever since I started building rubber powered balsa wood and tissue paper airplanes – I’ve been obsessed. Building planes has been my focus. I suppose I should be posting photos and videos of my planes on this blog, but again Instagram makes it so darn easy.
Alongside the planes I’ve been immersing myself in a nostalgic cocoon cranking my earbuds full of accordion shredders Frankie Yankovic and Jimmy Sturr, sometimes taking it down a notch with aviation enthusiast John Denver. Never of fan of kicking back with a book – I’ve been devouring Jean Shepherd books like candy. His short stories are easy to read, fun and a delightful time machine to a different time in history.
Polkas? Give me a break! Yeah, that was my sentiment as a child growing up in a very Polish influenced area of Northeastern Pennsylvania. I suppose I understand the genre as an adult – again, it’s fun, silly and cheerful. I say the same regarding the old fashioned nostalgic hobby of balsa and tissue airplanes.
For the better part of a century people have been enjoying the mystery of “Who Stole The Kishka?”. To summarize, the butcher turned his back and the fat, round and firmly packed kishka, hanging on the rack, disappeared. Someone called the cops to report this nefarious heist! After a moment of panic Yusef found the kishka, brought it back and returned it to the rack. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.
Both planes and polkas bring people together to celebrate, reminisce and have fun. What I didn’t understand as a “know-it-all” kid was the HARD WORK, passion and devotion behind the celebration. Planes, polkas, and pierogies don’t make themselves. Contests and concerts are the culmination of culture, tradition, and passion passed through generations of families and devoted enthusiasts.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on my site, apologies for that. As you probably know, I’ve been obsessing over rubber powered flying models. Also, I’m preparing to begin teaching young pilots on how to build their very own flying models as part of a Maker program in my town.
I’ve thought long and hard about the best projects to introduce young pilots to the hobby. I recently came across an article on Frank Ehling’s Dart-Too plane while browsing the AMA website. The Dart-Too is a follow up project to the popular Delta Dart / AMA Cub that Mr. Ehling designed. When I found this project I knew it would be a great starter project.
After downloading the plan, however, I found the plan was incomplete. What I mean by this is, when the two pages of the plan are joined together a large gap appeared in the middle of the plan.
The original plan downloaded from the AMA site with missing design information in the center.
I took it upon myself to draw in the missing information and recompile the PDF, the downloadable plan and article are found here. The AMA logo and “Dart-Too” text were removed in order to provide space for the future pilots to add their names and custom designs.
I found this project easy to build and fun to fly. I used regular copy paper for my build, and yes, it adds quite a bit of extra weight. I will likely build it again using tissue paper to examine the potentially improved flight times. Feel free to download the plan and build a few for yourself!
For a little more than a year I’ve been interested in making old fashioned stick and tissue free flight airplanes. I made a few as a youngster, but I can’t say they ever actually took flight. I’ve been building Peanut Scale and other smaller flying models focusing on making them fly. I joined the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) and the Flying Aces Club and devouring as much information about free flight models as possible. I was excited to learn the 2018 AMA Expo East was practically in my backyard. I purchased a two-day ticket and anxiously awaited the event.
Friday February 23 finally arrived. I filled out the Static Display Entry Form, packed up my recently completed Farman Mosquito peanut and I headed out to the Meadowlands Exposition Center. Light rain greeted my arrival and no close parking was to be found. I eventually parked the car, grabbed the shoe box with the Farman and started the walk to the Expo Center. Once inside I picked up my tickets at the Will Call window and headed off to enter my plane.
I glanced at the other entries, beautiful and large RC planes, and chucked to myself when I thought about the peanut Farman I held in my hands. Aware I wasn’t going to set the world on fire with my model I was simply happy to support the event and participate. I was greeted by two nice gentlemen at the entry table. I removed my model from the box and placed it on the table. “Wow! You already filled out the entry form.” one of the men said, “You checked Post World War I, that’s not the correct category – that one is for scale. Not quite sure what category yours should be.” One of the men stood up and walked to ask the man in charge.
How many RC planes use Rubber motors?
When the man returned he said, ” You can’t enter your plane, it’s not RC.” The other gentleman said, “Well, can’t we just put it on the table to offer inspiration?” “No. It can’t be entered. Sorry.” I thought to myself, “But I could enter a BOAT or a CAR as long as they’re RC – at the Model Aeronautics Expo.”
Back in the shoe box and into the car you go.
I know if my type of plane was permitted in the competition it would stand little chance of winning. There are much better modelers out there than me. My beef with the AMA is how little they care about the very types of model craft that started the whole hobby! Model shops are closing, clubs have all but disappeared and all the information the AMA provides is written for the handful of master modelers that are still around. Where does someone new to the hobby learn the basics? The AMA provides the simple die cut balsa and rubber band models to children, and the old timers that know what they’re doing can make these simple models fly. Most children (myself included) have a lot of trouble trimming the planes to fly well.
The AMA forgets all of the intermediate steps between the simple die cut planes and the beautifully crafted RC masterpieces. Look no further for reasons why membership is diminishing.
Speaker Series East 2018
The AMA Expo East included three different speaker presentations. The first, How To Make A Spaceship. Start By Building Model Planes, presented by Author Julian Guthrie and Space Ship One Structural Engineer Dan Kreigh was an inspiring for all ages look at the history of Spack Ship One. The second Designing And Building Scale Models From Scratch, presented by Mr. Top Gun Dave Wigley, would have been more aptly titled Here’s A Few Extremely Complicated Parts I’ve Built For My Beautiful Masterpieces. I was one of a handful of people to sit through the entire lecture. When Mr. Wigley concluded and asked for questions he addressed each person with a question by name. The third and final presentation, Building A Flying Football Field, An Insider’s Scoop on Stratolaunch, presented by Mason Hutchison from Scaled Composites, was an very interesting look at building the world’s largest plane and an inspiring company. It was refreshing to see innovative and open minded companies like Scaled Composites still existed.
Exhibitors
There was a wide variety of exhibitors / vendors at the 2018 AMA Expo East. Just about every aspect of scale models was represented. I spent the most money at the National Balsa booth. They were very helpful with finding everything I needed. I had a nice time speaking with the good people at Micro Fasteners and I picked up a few miscellaneous bits and bobs I needed around the workshop. In my opinion the best booth was Stevens Aeromodel, their kits were beautiful and well packaged all around. I’m not interested in RC planes (yet) so I didn’t make any purchases from Stevens Aeromodel, but I was very tempted.
My Take Away from 2018 AMA Expo East
I wasn’t allowed to enter my flying stick and tissue airplane model into the airplane model contest. I only attended the event on Friday, even though I purchased a two day ticket. Several times I overheard vendors speaking about how turnout is low, membership is down and the only people at the Expo were other vendors. The first and third speakers in the series were interesting and inspiring. The vendors were friendly and helpful, although there wasn’t much along the lines of my primary interest, old fashioned stick and tissue rubber powered planes. The Society of Antique Modelers had three or four stick and tissue planes on exhibit which were interesting to examine.
It’s a shame that the AMA has all but forgotten where the hobby started. There is a charm to the old fashioned rubber planes and they provide a platform to affordably explore and experiment with little risk of damaging the plane or something else. Rubber powered planes are quiet and can be flown just about anywhere without causing a disturbance. I suppose the AMA goes where the money goes, and it seems the new thing is drones. Drones are fun, but in my opinion they are the exact opposite of building something beautiful that flies on its own power. Perhaps when the old fellers running the AMA retire from the organization someone will come to their senses.
If anyone is interested in my remaining one day pass, for collecting sake, I’ll be happy to mail it to you.
Installing The Feeder Bellows Hinge Cloth and Valves
This is a continuation of my previous post about replacing the bellows of The Gem Roller Organ. At this point the all the bellows cloth has been removed and the wood surfaces have been sanded completely clean of previous debris.
To begin installing the feeder bellows cloth, start with the hinge cloth. The hinge cloth is cut about 1 1/2″ longer than the length of the gap (the width was about 1 3/8″). The extra material must be cut to create two tabs at each end in order to fold over the feeder bellows cloth after it’s installed (see image above). I used a piece of bellow cloth from a previous project to create the hinge, not the material from the repair kit I purchased. The repair kit cloth will work just as effectively.
Using a double-boiler I combined about two tablespoons of dry hide glue and water in a small jelly jar. Once the glue reached 160°F (I monitored the temperature with a candy thermometer in the water of the double-boiler) I went to work. A disposable craft brush was used to apply the glue both to the centered hinge gap in the wood and the area of the cloth that’s inside the gap. The hinge cloth was installed with the help of a butter knife to push the cloth to the bottom of the gap.
New leather valves were cut from the leather from the kit and installed with hide glue. Remember, only the ends of the valve leather are glued! Be sure to keep the leather tight against the wood, for an air tight seal, before moving onto something else.
I added a little surprise for someone to find in a hundred years when they’re replacing my bellows cloth. It’s a photo of Lana Wood (Natalie’s sister) from a 1961 Playboy magazine. I made sure it was fastened good with spray mount.
The image to the right (above) is me adding shellac to the hinge cloth. As I mentioned in the previous post, shellac helps to seal up little leaks that most certainly will occur.
Installing the Feeder Bellows Cloth
Installing the feeder bellows cloth is fairly straightforward. Use the cloth you removed as a template for cutting the new material or download the pattern I created from mine. I recommend making a template out of paper to test the fit before cutting the replacement cloth.
Working one small area at a time, I applied hide glue to both the edges of the bellows wood and the cloth. I used some push pins to hold things in place while I worked, and while the glue set. In the end I used many more pins that are in the image above. The possible leaks the pin holes create are minuscule compared the leaks they’re preventing. I used a butter knife (image above) to press the cloth against the platform wood.
One word of caution. There is a finish applied to the wood in the push rod hole on the platform (red rectangle above) where the bellows attach. The original bellows were not stuck in this area, and it was very hard to make the new cloth stick as well. I permanently attached a few tiny tacks, applied with needle nose pliers, through the cloth and into the wood to keep the bellows sealed in this area.
When the cloth is completely attached remember to glue, fold over and tack the little tabs from the hinge cloth (red circles above). Leave the pins in overnight to allow the glue to cure. Resist the temptation to “test” the bellows until you’re sure the glue is set. I also sealed all the seams with a few coats of shellac.
Installing the Reservoir Bellows Cloth
Replace the reservoir bellows cloth following the same technique used to replace the feeder bellows cloth. Start by installing the hinge cloth. The hinge cloth for the reservoir bellows does not have tabs that wrap around the sides like the feeder bellows do. Instead, the main reservoir bellows cloth has tabs wrapping around the hinge cloth. Use plenty of pins to keep the cloth in place until the glue is cured. Use a razor blade to trim any access cloth protruding over the top edge of the lid.
Assembling the Gem Roller Organ Cabinet and Push Rod
Now would be a good time to inspect the reeds. With the reed block detached from the front of the cabinet gently blow on the reeds. It’s not a trumpet, you’re lips shouldn’t need to touch the block to sound each reed. I forgot to make certain all the reeds were in working order before assembling my Gem, and a few don’t sound. Reviewing some photos of my reeds, it is clear some are bent out of position. One day I’ll go back and adjust them.
Use bellows cloth, or I used black craft foam, to create a gasket for the front of the cabinet (photo above). Install the front of the cabinet and attach the mechanism. Then guide the wooden push rod from under the platform and attach it to the crank. Tighten the screw, then attach the other end of the push rod to the feeder bellows. With the push rod installed, attach the platform to the four sided base.
A note about the push rod. The original push rod on my organ withstood several attachments and detachments. During one assembly it broke (#1 in photo above). I crafted a new one out of random black walnut and it broke while being attached (#2). Next I tried a piece of Douglas fir (#3). It broke as well.
It was then I looked closely the wood grain of the original. The grain was tight and quartersawn, meaning the grain was parallel to the block (green check mark above). The red X in the image above shows bad wood grain for the push rod. The gran is bad because cracks occur with the grain.
A scrounged around my stockpile of wood scraps and found a suitable piece of black walnut. The resulting push rod (#4) installed with easy success.
Replacing the Valve Pads
Replacing the valve pads was an easy task. I used a dental hook to remove the old pads, they basically fell off. I used Q-Tips soaked with denatured alcohol to clean the metal surface. My patience was wearing thin so I decided to use CA glue (super glue) to fasten the new pads. Nothing stressful or unpredictable to report about the process.
The Gem Roller Organ Performance
With The Gem Roller Organ fully assembled (and somewhat adjusted) it was time for its first performance! I put on one of the cobs that shipped with the organ and started cranking. Strong and clear music filled the room. As I mentioned earlier, some of the reeds aren’t adjusted, so they sound weak or not at all. Regardless, the melody was clear and very familiar.
After sharing this video with my parents they immediately knew the name of the song, “Nearer, My God, to Thee”. My parents also knew this as the song the band played as the Titanic sunk.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve found my posts about The Gem Roller Organ helpful. I know it’s far from comprehensive, but it’s a lot more information than what’s on the internet. If you’d like me to post other specific information, or if you’ve found any errors in the text please let me know. I had a fun time restoring my Gem Roller Organ. If you decide to restore a Gem on your own, take your time, don’t rush or set any deadlines. It’s a slow process that’s best suited for deliberate and careful work.
I’ve been enchanted by The Gem Roller Organ for many years. I’ve scoured the web for every nugget of information I could about this mechanical marvel and I’ve learned just about everything there is to know. The two things that fascinate me most about The Gem Roller Organ are:
1. The bellows create a vacuum to pull air through the reeds (as opposed to pushing pressurized air through reeds, whistles or pipes).
2. The drive mechanism not only rotates the cob, but slowly offsets to the left. This increases the duration of a tune to three rotations of the cob. When the tune is complete a spring loaded release mechanism pushes the cob to the right, which resets the cob to the start of the tune. It’s amazing how much is going on in such a small mechanism! (more on that at John Wolff’s Web Museum)
Loaded with everything I’ve learned about the Gem, it was time to get one of my own! I purchased mine on Ebay for a handsome fee, even though the listing clearly stated the unit didn’t “create much sound”. Examining the images of the Ebay listing I knew the mechanism was complete and in undamaged condition.
It was clear, however, someone tried to repair the unit by gluing the sheepskin valves on the feeder bellows completely closed! Knowing full well that there was certainly an underlying problem that caused this repair, I suspected fixing the valves would not return the unit to its original glory. Long story short, the bellows cloth and valves needed to be replaced.
Things to Consider Before Starting a Restoration
Restoring my Gem Roller Organ required about twenty hours of effort using the CONCERT ROLLER ORGAN REPAIR KIT from Roller Organ Restorations for eighty dollars. This company will restore a Gem for as little as $255. The repair kit includes an instruction sheet that, personally, I found confusing and of little use. I say this because it is assumed the reader already understands the name and function of every part and there are no illustrations. If you aren’t comfortable with working with tiny parts, hot hide glue and tight spaces with awkward bits you may want to seek the help of a professional.
The cotton based bellows cloth included in the kit functions well, but looks like neoprene and nothing like the original cloth backed black rubber of the original. I prefer the aesthetics of the original cloth and there are other downsides to the kit’s cloth which I’ll explain later. However, it’s great that someone provides a quality kit to replace the bellows and pallet valve pads in one kit.
If you decide to replace the bellows I recommend carefully disassembling the unit, storing screws and small parts small labeled Ziploc bags and record the order in which the unit was dismantled. When all the parts are clean, the original bellows material is completely removed and the wood surfaces are sanded clean the unit should be assembled in reverse order.
Hide glue is the way to go when working with bellows cloth. If you’ve never worked with hide glue before, it can be intimidating at first. It’s not as complicated as it seems and I find hide glue much easier to use than any other suggested replacement adhesive. I purchased my hide glue from Tools For Working Wood. The site has a clear explanation of the various strengths, I use 315 gram strength. While your shopping for supplies I recommend picking up some shellac flakes as well. Dissolve the shellac flakes in denatured alcohol (not rubbing alcohol) and you’re good to go.
“Good to go where,” you ask? Shellac works well for sealing up any leaks that unavoidably occur between the bellows cloth and the wood it’s attached to. A few coats around the perimeter helps keep leaks to a minimum. Shellac is not mentioned in the Organ Repair Kit Instruction Sheet, and with good reason. Shellac discolors the cotton based material, so care must be used when applying shellac. The discoloration of the cloth on the feeder bellows (under the cabinet) doesn’t matter much because it’s hidden. The shellac needs to be applied to the reservoir bellows from inside the cabinet to prevent discoloring the outside of the fabric.
Opening the case of the Gem Roller Organ
Opening the cabinet is fairly straightforward. The feeder bellows push rod is attached to the crankshaft by the springiness of the wood and locked into place with screw #1. Loosen screw #1 enough to gently release the push rod from the crankshaft. Well done! The hard part of opening the cabinet is complete.
Now remove screws #2 and #3 to detach the crankshaft bearing from the case. The crankshaft assembly can be removed by gently guiding it out of the bearing in the rear of the mechanism. Remove screws #4-8 in no particular order. The front panel can now be removed by sliding it forward.
A Look Inside the Reservoir Bellows
We’re finally getting a view of things my internet searches failed to reveal! The top half of the image is the inside of the reservoir bellows. The springs hold the bellows open against the vacuum created by the feeder bellows below. When the vacuum compresses the reservoir too much the lid touches the relief valve push rod which opens a valve on the underside of the cabinet, temporarily allowing air into the reservoir to reduce the vacuum.
The lower half of the image shows the reed block attached to the front panel. The reed block can be detached and gently cleaned. To do so, remove the two remaining screws on the front panel to the left and right of the palette valves. A word of caution: In my haste to attach the reed block after cleaning, I mistakenly attached it upside down. The resulting music was not very good.
Remove The Gem Roller Organ Reservoir Bellows
Using a heat gun (top left) to remove the bellows cloth.
Notice the little tabs on the large, three-sided bellows cloth that wrap around to the front at the corners and cover the “hinge cloth” across the front of the unit. These tabs are important to include with the replacement cloth.
I started the process of removing the reservoir bellows cloth by gently poking, prodding and cutting at the tabs with and x-acto blade and small dental hook/pick. This process worked well where the glue was compromised. However, the bellows cloth was stuck extremely well on the corners and a few other areas. That’s when I got out the heat gun.
With the heat gun on a low setting the flow of hot air was swept side to side on the areas that were stuck solid. To my surprise just as the temperature of the wood got almost too hot to touch, the bellows cloth easily peeled away from the lid and cabinet.
Be careful with the heat gun. Too much heat will ruin the finish of the wood cabinet! A heat gun, after all, is a great tool for doing exactly that, removing paint and finish. Those uncomfortable using a heat gun should start with a hair dryer with low heat.
Remove the two valve leather strips as well.
Accessing the Feeder Bellows
Accessing the feeder bellows of The Gem Roller Organ was something that had me stumped. After a brief study of the construction of the cabinet I believed the feeder bellows were simply glued to the underside of the platform. “Perhaps a sharp downward drop would knock the bellows loose?” was the general theme of my thinking.
This is NOT the reality, so please don’t try it! The bellows do not disconnect from the underside of the platform, the platform disconnects from the sides of the cabinet. The image above has four red circles highlighting the screws to be removed to accomplish this. I suppose these screws were invisible to me because the construction of the unit was not as I originally expected.
Removing the Feeder Bellows Cloth
Building on the experience you’ve gained by removing the reservoir bellows cloth, removing the feeder bellows cloth is mostly an easy task. Start by removing the spring and the three tacks to remove the relief valve (already removed in image). Next remove the two screws on the wooden feeder bar and remove the bar (a little heat should loosen the glue. Remove the eight feeder bellows tacks (four on each side), I used needle-nosed pliers for the task.
Notice the tacks are binding down tabs connected to the hinge cloth. This tab configuration is opposite of the reservoir cloth. Remember, the tabs on the reservoir cloth cover the hinge cloth, the tabs on the feeder bellows stem from the hinge cloth and cover the side of each feeder bellows. This must be replicated with the replacement cloth.
I removed the bellows cloth using heat, x-acto blade and small dental hook/pick. The hinge cloth is the most problematic to remove. I ended up using a rotary tool with tiny diamond burrs like these. The hinge cloth and glue need to be completely removed down to the wood! It took me two hours to remove the hinge cloth down to the wood.
The two valve leather strips should be removed as well.
Make sure all of the old bellows cloth and glue is removed on all surfaces! I will admit I used this Sanding Disc Kit quite a bit to accomplish the task. Don’t be fooled, these little sanding discs are hungry little buggers! A careful and gentle touch is all that’s required, slow and steady wins the race. A little side note about the sanding discs, I use them all the time on countless things. I’ve owned the set for more than ten years and I still have most of the discs. They last forever before they need to be replaced.
My next post How to Replace The Gem Roller Organ Bellows Part Two coming soon. I will provide downloadable patterns for the replacement bellows cloth. And yes, I’ll share the experience of replacing the bellows cloth and reassembly. If I’m feeling ambitious a video performance will be included as well!
My “Summer of Free-Flight” has been a lot of fun! It’s been a learning experience, not always smooth going, but always fun! I’ve built and flown a few really fun balsa wood stick and tissue paper airplanes this summer. The latest plane added to my fleet of planes is Rob Peck’s classic design, the Prairie Bird.
Peck Polymers Prairie Bird Airplane
A friend recommended I build the Prairie Bird because of its reputation as a great flyer. He was correct; more on that later. I searched around on the internet and downloaded the plan. The plan was formatted to print nicely on 11″x17″ paper – so I uploaded the file to Staples and had them print me a few on some quite nice card stock. I believe five copies cost me under $3 total. I pinned the plan to my building board, covered it with Saran Wrap and got to work.
Carved balsa wood exhaust pipes and a front shot of the assembled fuselage.
I really took my time on this project making certain everything was as perfect as could be. The straightforward design of the plane made it easy to construct a straight and square fuselage. I practically glued the cross-braces one at a time and waited for the glue to set before I adding the next one.
Adding tissue paper was a snap because there isn’t too many compound angles and curves to the parts. The tissue on everything except the rudder and stabilizer was shrunk with 50/50 water/alcohol mixture. Following the shrinking I added a three coats of 50/50 SIG Lite-Coat/Thinner. The windshield is made with clear plastic from a salad container. I used plastic Peck wheels, a Peck Nylon Bearing and Peck propeller. The propeller was balanced by gently sanding away material until an even balance was achieved (a lot more sanding than I expected).
The Prairie Bird over Watsessing Park.
My test flights were a great success. At first I was flying with approximately 300 turns on the motor, eventually increasing to about 600. Many more turns are possible, but I didn’t have a helper or a stooge to help me stretch wind the motor. I didn’t want to press my luck.
The Prairie Bird performed wonderfully and was a champion at catching thermals. One of the flights concluded in a tree. Lucky for me it was low enough to the ground that I whacked it loose with a six foot long stick.
The thrill that is achieved from flying these little beauties is beyond words. The careful work and attention is forgotten – and happiness consumes me when they take to the air, and when they land where they can be easily retrieved.
My recent interest in building old fashioned balsa wood and tissue model airplanes inspired me to visit a local estate sale featuring model building and model train supplies. I immediately focused my attention of a few stacks of magazines of all sorts. Lucky for me I found a few issues of Universal Model Airplane News spanning from 1932 to 1935.
The magazines are in “less than ideal” condition. Several of the magazines crumbled into pieces during the process of flatbed scanning their contents. Also, these magazines were owned by someone who enjoyed scrap-booking, resulting with square holes of missing information and photos. With that said, plenty of useful information and plans remain in these little gems. Each magazine has regular columns such as: The Aerodynamic Design of the Model Plane (by Charles Hampson Grant), Aviation Advisory Board, Model Kinx (by J. G. Marinac), “Whats” and What Nots” of Model Plane Building (by Howard G. McEntee) and Air Ways – Here and There.
Even if you’re not interested in model airplanes, you should download them and give them a read – for history’s sake!
The summer of 2017 is flying by! Pun intended. I’ve been busy building free-flight rubber powered Peanut Scale airplanes (and some other styles as well). Sadly I haven’t been spending much time flying them – it’s either windy or dark outside when I find time for actually flying! For relaxation and inspiration I took a long weekend road trip to the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) Museum in Muncie, Indiana, the National Museum of the USAF as well as the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio. I highly recommend all of these destinations!
The Labor Day 2017 weekend bring the Long’s Park Art Festival in Lancaster, PA. I don’t present any of my work at the festival, but I always look forward to seeing the various crafts on display. My favorite, without a doubt, is the great stuff Lohr Woodworking Studio showcases! For the past few years they’ve been kind enough to allow me to help pack up their trailer at the end of the show. It’s my once-a-year workout.
Speaking of the awesome folks at Lohr Woodworking, I’ve been invited (okay, I invited myself) to be a teacher’s assistant during the Sold Out Sept 18-23, 2017 Practical Woodworking Course. The kind hearts of Jeff, Larissa, Rob and Eoin provide me a relaxing getaway, to be surrounded by big power tools and reeling minds excited about learning the craft of furniture making. For the most part I catch up on my woodcarving projects quietly in the corner.
The plan was to attend the Barron Field Air Races in Wawayanda, NY Oct 22-23. I was going to try my hand at entering a few of my peanut planes into some friendly Flying Aces Club contests for the very first time. However, on one recent evening as I nodded off to sleep I was thinking “October. October… When is the…?” Instead of racing planes I’ll in Wayne, NJ at the North Jersey Woodcarvers Woodcarving & Art Show Oct 22-23 2017. It’s been a few years since I’ve had a table at the show – and I really miss the gang from the club and the American Woodcarving School.
Attending the show will give me an excuse to complete some of the carvings I started with enthusiasm several years ago. I guess I’ll be putting the planes on hold until November. I have a lot of carving to do if I stand a chance at finishing two or three of those carving projects!
Sorry it’s been a while since I posted on the blog. I have been keeping my status up to date on Instagram if you’re interested. Until next time!
The Prairie Bird performed wonderfully and was a champion at catching thermals. One of the flights concluded in a tree. Lucky for me it was low enough to the ground that I whacked it loose with a six foot long stick.
