It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 12:00 am


Fatar TP/60 mounting

Building organ consoles for use with Hauptwerk, adding MIDI to existing consoles, obtaining parts, ...
  • Author
  • Message
Offline

ppytprs

Member

  • Posts: 175
  • Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 4:07 pm

Fatar TP/60 mounting

PostFri Jan 26, 2018 4:01 pm

To those of you using Fatar keyboards.
I'm just fitting up the mounting of these and am wondering what people do about the bendyness of them. So far I've mounted them in cheeks and stacked them up, but I'm worried about the amount of flex when you press in the middle of the keyboard. Do people tend to support them underneath or just not worry about it?

Thanks.
Offline

Frank_VTPO

Member

  • Posts: 60
  • Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 2:32 pm
  • Location: Germany

Re: Fatar TP/60 mounting

PostFri Jan 26, 2018 6:01 pm

I have mounted a steel rail (L section) directly to the lower front edge two the lower two of my FATAR keyboards and connected them to the black plastic support by several screws, because I am planning to install 2nd touch to these keyboards somewhen in the future. For normal playing (with normal key pressure) the bending is not nice, but will not damage the FATAR keyboards, I assume. Mounting a supportive metallic rail, however, is not a big effort.
Regards,
Frank.
Offline

GrahamH

Member

  • Posts: 618
  • Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 6:39 am
  • Location: Near Manchester, England

Re: Fatar TP/60 mounting

PostSat Jan 27, 2018 2:30 pm

The TP60 keyboards on their own are far too flexible for building a satisfactory stack.
I recommend you make your key cheeks 66 mm high, then use 9 mm plywood to make trays on which to mount the keyboards.
Cut grooves in the plywood (with a router) 5-6 mm deep to accommodate the keyboards' plastic feet and screw through the plywood trays into each of the plastic feet. Glue key-slips or piston rails to the fronts of the plywood bases. After attaching the keyboards to the trays, fasten the trays to the key cheeks.
There are some photos here:

(You need to download the zip file and extract the folder containing the photos).
https://www.dropbox.com/s/w6uigon9bspsu9x/Fatar%20keyboard%20mounting.zip?dl=0

I got this idea from a professional organ builder.

Graham
Offline

ppytprs

Member

  • Posts: 175
  • Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 4:07 pm

Re: Fatar TP/60 mounting

PostSat Jan 27, 2018 3:57 pm

That looks a good way to do it. Might try that next time.
Where did you get the 16 pin cable mount socket? I've been wanting those for ages!
Offline

GrahamH

Member

  • Posts: 618
  • Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 6:39 am
  • Location: Near Manchester, England

Re: Fatar TP/60 mounting

PostSat Jan 27, 2018 4:55 pm

Where did you get the 16 pin cable mount socket?


I get most of my stuff from here:
https://www.rapidonline.com/

But, depending on where you are located, any good supplier of electronic components should stock them. You might even find them on eBay. Search for 16 way IDC Chassis Mounting Plug.

Graham
Offline

ppytprs

Member

  • Posts: 175
  • Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 4:07 pm

Re: Fatar TP/60 mounting

PostSun Jan 28, 2018 3:53 am

Thanks. Knowing what they're called is always the issue. I normally use CPC. Will see if they've got any.
Offline

Organorak

Member

  • Posts: 685
  • Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2009 6:55 am

Re: Fatar TP/60 mounting

PostFri Feb 09, 2018 7:51 am

I didn't use the plastic mounts for my (four manual) console but instead built my own solid oak cheeks, hollowing out the profile of the end projection of the TP60 so it would fit. That also enabled me to bring the keyboards slightly closer front-to-back than would have been possible with the Fatar spacers and all four keyboards are level rather than the upper ones being angled, which I prefer. The advantage to me is that I can with relatively short arms very comfortably reach all four keyboards.

With hindsight a wooden support of some description halfway between each keyboard might not have been a bad idea for the three upper keyboards (the lowest keyboard is mounted on a 36mm thick MDF board) as there is a small amount of flex but it isn't nearly bad enough to want to take the instrument to pieces to fit.

More of a problem were the thumbrails which had to be built from thin MDF to allow enough space for keys to be depressed and piston wiring to be run. They began sagging in the middle of the keyboard compass as soon as they were fitted, and black notes had an annoying habit of striking certain pistons as they were a fraction of a mm too low. The solution was surprisingly simple - I shoved a length of thick piano felt, a couple of inches wide, under the thumbrails from left to right, pushed sufficiently far under so as not to be visible as you look at the keyboards, and that was sufficient to keep the thumbrails from sagging in the middle.

Cutting the profile for the thumbrails was something else altogether - there is a reason why you can expect to pay about double the cost of a basic TP60 if you want one supplied with pistons!

Return to DIY organ consoles / MIDI

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests

cron