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Building a New Console for Myself

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dw154515

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Building a New Console for Myself

PostTue Oct 15, 2019 10:13 pm

I recently bought myself a Shapeoko3 XXL CNC router. I've had a lot of fun playing with it and getting to know it, as well as learning the basics of CNC machining - it's a new world to me. So far this week I've been experimenting by building key cheeks for my 6 "new" (to me) Fatar manuals.

I practiced with some scrap pine 2x4's today and will be heading to a local lumber company in the morning to pick up my new curly maple 2x4's to start building the real deal. I'm thinking about how I want to do the console top. I am really wanting to do that "live edge" look. Why not? I don't recall that ever being done on an organ console before, so it sounds fun.

Something like this:
https://images.app.goo.gl/H23CR5jsoNRztAzYA

I've also seen a beautiful modern-looking Hauptwerk console made mostly from brushed stainless steel, maple, and glass. I LOVE that look. I'm not sure if I want to close in the base to hide everything, or go for that sleek modern look.

Anyway....

I figured I'd share this with the community in the hopes that someone will get some inspiration from it.

Also, I would like to mention that it takes about 30 mins for me to make a pair of key cheeks for Fatar TP6/TP60 manuals. If anyone is interested, I might be willing to make them for folks for a reasonable price if time and resources are available.

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Here is a link to a video that should be available to the Public.
https://www.facebook.com/composerdrewworthen/videos/10100980744987512/
Drew A. Worthen
Master of Music in Composition - Butler University
http://www.drewworthen.com
Director of Music & Website Admin - Greenwood UMC
http://www.greenwoodumc.org
Design Engineer - American Sound and Electronics - Indy
https://americansound.cc/
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voet

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostWed Oct 16, 2019 11:38 am

Nice work, Drew. Be sure to post pictures when you have the live edge work done. I think this could result in a really unique and stunning design.
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1961TC4ME

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostWed Oct 16, 2019 2:29 pm

I think the live edge would be neat and give a very unique look!

CNC is very cool! I assume you picked up an entire package, CNC table and gantry, or did you buy just the gantry and make the table yourself? From the pics I can see, it looks like you got both which is the best way to go so everything works correctly. I've been looking at doing the same but am very interested in a CNC table and plasma cutter (which is also very cool!) I'd imagine with a bit of ingenuity a person could adapt a router to it as well like you've got.

Do you have it connected to a lap top with a program where you can plot out the pieces with? If so, which software?

Marc
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johnstump_organist

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostThu Oct 17, 2019 6:56 am

My experience with maple is that it chips and splinters easily. You may want to be sure to go slowly and make several shallow passes at first in order to avoid chipped edges.
John
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dw154515

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostThu Oct 17, 2019 8:54 pm

1961TC4ME wrote:I think the live edge would be neat and give a very unique look!

CNC is very cool! I assume you picked up an entire package, CNC table and gantry, or did you buy just the gantry and make the table yourself? From the pics I can see, it looks like you got both which is the best way to go so everything works correctly. I've been looking at doing the same but am very interested in a CNC table and plasma cutter (which is also very cool!) I'd imagine with a bit of ingenuity a person could adapt a router to it as well like you've got.

Do you have it connected to a lap top with a program where you can plot out the pieces with? If so, which software?

Marc


I built the table and plexi-glass enclosure myself, as well as the motorized lift/hood. I spent the first couple weeks learning how to use the machine by building little mods and add-ons for it - including an adjustable laptop stand, etc. The plexiglass enclosure helps keep the noise down and dust under control (with the vacuum dust boot helping in that area as well). To my understanding the Shapeoko seems to be quite "hackable" in that you can really use the gantry to do pretty much anything you want - lasers, etc. I don't know if anyone is currently using it for plasma. I have considered the laser options, though. That could come in really handy for engraving. As for software, I did these in the free software that comes with the machine from Carbide Create. Their CAD/CAM software is very basic, but for the sake of making some keycheeks and stop jambs, it will work just fine. I do have Fusion360 but haven't gotten into learning it yet, though.

johnstump_organist wrote:My experience with maple is that it chips and splinters easily. You may want to be sure to go slowly and make several shallow passes at first in order to avoid chipped edges.
John


Thanks for the tip. Luckily the Shapeoko will auto-calculate feeds and speeds based on a few parameters - such as wood species, bit size, etc., so that takes a lot of the guesswork out of making sure I don't ruin a good piece of wood. (Still, though, I made sure to buy extra! Mistakes are inevitable.) I grew up doing a little bit of wood working - certainly nothing "furniture grade" so working with some exotic woods is very new to me. True, Maple isn't really "exotic" but it is new to me for sure. The lumber company I like going to (Northwest Lumber Co. in Indianapolis) has EVERYTHING from California redwood to Zebra wood, curly cherry, mahogany, Bolivian rosewood, Cocobolo.... you name it. They have a lot of bare slabs to chose from too, including a 4" thick, 96" tall, 48" wide slab of California redwood (for $9,000!), but oh my it is BEAUTIFUL! I looked at a lot of their live-edge Maple slabs and told them exactly what I was looking for - something that curves INWARD SLIGHTLY near the center, rather than outward. They said they would call me if they got anything in that fit the description. I told them I was making an organ console, and one of the ladies showed me a bunch of old wooden organ pipes that she recently found at a flea market that she was quite enamored with.

Here are some pictures of the new maple key cheeks. They came out BEAUTIFULLY!

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Hi Res versions:
https://i.ibb.co/nBPcbzm/IMG-1428.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/P6YpLhk/IMG-3795.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/gRYwc8B/IMG-3902.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/TrR3Zck/IMG-5468.jpg

The first set of cheeks got a coat of high gloss Waterlox today, which requires 24hrs of dry-time between coats. That should give it a nice bright sheen. It really makes that maple POP!
Drew A. Worthen
Master of Music in Composition - Butler University
http://www.drewworthen.com
Director of Music & Website Admin - Greenwood UMC
http://www.greenwoodumc.org
Design Engineer - American Sound and Electronics - Indy
https://americansound.cc/
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dw154515

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostSun Oct 20, 2019 2:31 pm

More pictures:

Already practicing how to do the piston rails.
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All the new maple cheeks. The one on the bottom has a couple of coats of Waterlox, which they will all get eventually.
Image

Links to hi-res pictures:
https://ibb.co/7Q03fnc
https://ibb.co/w6D0tZQ
https://ibb.co/pK9cFNp

So I discovered that not all Fatar 10P6/60 manuals are exactly the same - this was news to me. I should have measured ALL 6 of them. I purchased 2 sets of 3 from two different people, and never took all of them out of the boxes to make sure they were all the same. Come to find out, one set of three is ever so slightly different from the other three. One is the heavier tracker-feel. And the other is a bit cheaper feeling. It appears the Fatar chassis is the same on each, but the key thickness, and dimensions are slightly different, so back to the drawing board on those, I suppose. (Top most manual in the four manual stack, pictured.)
Drew A. Worthen
Master of Music in Composition - Butler University
http://www.drewworthen.com
Director of Music & Website Admin - Greenwood UMC
http://www.greenwoodumc.org
Design Engineer - American Sound and Electronics - Indy
https://americansound.cc/
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dw154515

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostMon Nov 25, 2019 8:11 pm

Slow progress is being made....

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The Fatar keycheeks work well. I think I have finally settled on the right design to fit my needs. If you ever need some made for yourself, PM me. I will be glad to help folks out as time permits. I also made a template for the frame that will hold and hinge all 5 manuals. Currently it is made of plywood (since it's cheap and just a template at this point), but the final will be made of something much more solid.

The lower two manuals are more of a "tracker touch" than the other 3. I have no practical reason for having 5 manuals other than, "because it's cool." I can barely handle 3.

Danny B. (Magnaton) has given me some great ideas of other things to make for the Hauptwerk community using my Shapeoko. More to come on that in the near future.

I am staying away from all of the Haupwerk V threads - way too hot right now for my tastes.
Drew A. Worthen
Master of Music in Composition - Butler University
http://www.drewworthen.com
Director of Music & Website Admin - Greenwood UMC
http://www.greenwoodumc.org
Design Engineer - American Sound and Electronics - Indy
https://americansound.cc/
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engrssc

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostMon Nov 25, 2019 9:16 pm

dw154515 wrote:I am staying away from all of the Haupwerk V threads - way too hot right now for my tastes.


and miss all the (sometimes spicy) "fun" ? :lol: That's really what it is at this point. :roll: I haven't seen anything (yet) to get a serious reaction. :shock:

'spose I'll get some negative comments?

Where's your sporting, adventure part? Probably your "energy" is "ported" to that, so far, great looking organ project. 8)

Rgds,
Ed
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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostTue Nov 26, 2019 5:27 am

Did your Fatars come with that metal bar on the bottom or did you have to make that? None of the TP60s I've had have had that, and they need some sort of support underneath to stop them bending.
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magnaton

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostTue Nov 26, 2019 9:42 am

dw154515 wrote: I have no practical reason for having 5 manuals other than, "because it's cool." I can barely handle 3.

They make great photo ops! Years back in the Diapason and American Organist magazines it seems most of the head shots of advertising concert artists was shown with a 5 manual console in the background. 8)

Danny B.
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cham-ed

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostTue Nov 26, 2019 1:36 pm

Since you are the builder with CNC think about this. Skinner carved the ends of his key checks into a S shape. Other builders have done the same with their initial. But a W might be a challenge. Maybe you could engrave it some way. But think about it. It would make the organ unique.
The rest of what I've seen looks great. And the more you use the CNC the better you will get with it, but it seems like you're already in control.
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dw154515

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostWed Nov 27, 2019 7:13 pm

ppytprs wrote:Did your Fatars come with that metal bar on the bottom or did you have to make that? None of the TP60s I've had have had that, and they need some sort of support underneath to stop them bending.


Three of them did. I bought them second hand. I don’t know what these came off of (Johannas, Rogers??? No clue). They don’t have them red micro match connector either - it’s a flat ribbon cable.

magnaton wrote:
dw154515 wrote: I have no practical reason for having 5 manuals other than, "because it's cool." I can barely handle 3.

They make great photo ops! Years back in the Diapason and American Organist magazines it seems most of the head shots of advertising concert artists was shown with a 5 manual console in the background. 8)

Danny B.


True, but I doubt you’ll ever find a photo of me posing as an “organist” anywhere. Lol.

cham-ed wrote:Since you are the builder with CNC think about this. Skinner carved the ends of his key checks into a S shape. Other builders have done the same with their initial. But a W might be a challenge. Maybe you could engrave it some way. But think about it. It would make the organ unique.
The rest of what I've seen looks great. And the more you use the CNC the better you will get with it, but it seems like you're already in control.


Yes, I debated carving the ends of the cheeks - I do like the Skinner “S” but, in the vein of the contemporary look I’m going for, straight lines are more appealing to me, and consequently much easier. The ornate console carvings are more than I’m capable of. The drawback of the current squared-off style is the sharp corners. I have sanded them a little - which gives a very slight rounded edge on the corner, but it’s still painful if you hit it with your wrist.

Once all the Hauptwerk V fanfare dies down, and the Thanksgiving holiday passes, I’ll be sharing more pictures. MGB is having a Black Friday sale, so this looks like the prime time to buy all the MIDI gadgets.
Drew A. Worthen
Master of Music in Composition - Butler University
http://www.drewworthen.com
Director of Music & Website Admin - Greenwood UMC
http://www.greenwoodumc.org
Design Engineer - American Sound and Electronics - Indy
https://americansound.cc/
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engrssc

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostWed Nov 27, 2019 7:30 pm

Presume touch screens?

Did you see the FCCLA thread/posts?

Rgds,
Ed
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dw154515

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostThu Nov 28, 2019 10:24 am

engrssc wrote:Presume touch screens?

Did you see the FCCLA thread/posts?

Rgds,
Ed


Yessir. I will chime in after I see what V has to bring.
Drew A. Worthen
Master of Music in Composition - Butler University
http://www.drewworthen.com
Director of Music & Website Admin - Greenwood UMC
http://www.greenwoodumc.org
Design Engineer - American Sound and Electronics - Indy
https://americansound.cc/
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engrssc

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Re: Building a New Console for Myself

PostThu Nov 28, 2019 10:28 am

FCCLA makes the case for touch screens, maybe 4? 8)

Rgds,
Ed
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