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MMD > Archives > February 2004 > 2004.02.10 > 01Prev  Next


Seek Deal Softwood for English Barrel Organ
By Craig Smith

Hello,  I am restoring an old English Barrel organ from about 1800.
One pipe is missing.  Fortunately, I have access to another similar
organ and I have discovered that the one pipe I need is identical to
the one in the second organ.  So, from some old sources and by
comparing it to samples, I have determined that the pipe is made from a
wood that is called "deal".  It was a fairly common English softwood in
that time period and is still known today -- a friend recognized that
his father used to mention it.  The botanical name is Pinus Sylvestri.

There is a yellow deal and a red deal -- depends on whether it comes
from the north or south.  It is also called redwood (not the trees
in California) or Scots pine (not the Scotch pine that is used for
Christmas trees in the states).  I am hoping that one of the members
might suggest where I can get some of this wood.  I only need a small
amount but it needs to be 1/4" thick by at least 5-1/4" wide and at
least 18" long.  I need at least 4 pieces.  I can resaw it if
necessary.

I also need a small piece 3/4" thick but I can glue that up from the
1/4" pieces if necessary.  One important factor is the grain structure.
I can get clear white pine (similar) in the right size but the new
growth wood is coarse grained -- sometimes only 3-4 grain lines per
inch and usually with the grain lines parallel to the surface of the
board.  I need at least 12 grain lines per inch and the grain lines
roughly perpendicular to the surface (quarter cut).

If you know a source in the USA or England, please send me some contact
information or a web site.

Thanks for your help

Craig Smith
Rochester, New York, USA

 [ See "Wood for Mechanical Music Instruments", compiled by
 [ Hans van Oost, at http://mmd.foxtail.com/Tech/Wood/index.html
 [ -- Robbie


(Message sent Mon 9 Feb 2004, 22:05:11 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Barrel, Deal, English, Organ, Seek, Softwood

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