Any Pipe Organ Experts Out There?

[Orlong]

I have been wondering for a while now how a pipe organ works, and I cannot seem to find the answers Im looking for online. All I find is how the blower fills the Chest which send air through the pipes when the stops are pulled. I pretty much knew that. What Im looking for is how the keyboards are physically connected to the rest of the components. They didnt have computers back in the early 1900s when many pipe organs were build so there would have to be mechanical linkages or something connecting the keyboards, stops, and pedals to the chest. I would think in a modern pipe organ everything would be controlled by a computer.

[Gamdwelf]

I have been wondering for a while now how a pipe organ works, and I cannot seem to find the answers Im looking for online. All I find is how the blower fills the Chest which send air through the pipes when the stops are pulled. I pretty much knew that. What Im looking for is how the keyboards are physically connected to the rest of the components. They didnt have computers back in the early 1900s when many pipe organs were build so there would have to be mechanical linkages or something connecting the keyboards, stops, and pedals to the chest. I would think in a modern pipe organ everything would be controlled by a computer.

Naw fuck computers.

Also wikipedia can show you how each key works to allow air for the note to be played.

[nextormento]

I'm no expert, but I've worked with them in historic documentation.

The windbox is arranged in a matrix, allowing for specific pipes to become active. It comprises two different mechanisms, one in each direction.

In this image you can see the key mechanism:

The key pulls on a string, which turns a roller, which pulls another string, which pulls on the valve, that is kept in the closed position with a spring. The keys return to their resting position automatically. Bigger, more complex ones may route the string through the floor with an additional lever.

The other mechanism is the sliding register, each engaging a family of pipes in the other direction.
In this image, you can see the mechanism that is outside the wind box (It's the thick bars; the thin ones are keys).

Here's another picture showing how the vertical roller connects to the slider.

It's activated through pullers. It doesn't have a resting position: it's either on or off. The puller engages a roller, which pulls the register in the windbox.


Here's a couple schematics that may make it easier to understand: 1, 2

[Rudkobing]

I have a few friends that are Pipe organ experts...... Oh wait, we're talking about something else.......