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Estey Electric Motor Driven Chapel Organ- 1930's (Georgetown)
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I purchased this organ from a Catholic Church in West Chazy, NY in 1979. The receipt from this transaction is pinned underneath the top cover. The local (Plattsburgh, NY) organ repair person, Mr. Belknap, told me not to buy the antique pedal organ I was looking at if I wanted to play more than a few hymns.
He said I would begin to feel like I was on a treadmill. On his advice I offered them their asking price as recommended by him based on its condition. Evidently he worked on the instrument since he signed a repair dated Mar 12, 1963 as written in pencil inside on one of the volume dampers.
The instrument was not playable when I purchased it. The Bodine motor worm gear was missing just enough threads to stop the bellows from turning. I initially replaced the missing threads with nails and that was sufficient for about ten years. When the gear did finally fail, I contacted Bodine and they referred me to a local store to buy a brand new gear. I installed it and from about 1989-90 till today the motor runs very quiet and steady with good power.
Over the years I restored the outside wood, replaced the fabric screens, the main electrical wiring, kept the motor lubricated, replaced the bellows leather, and kept the reeds as clean as I could. On one or two stops, there are a couple of reeds (maybe the same one) that do not sound, the bass register needs a little tuning but overall the instrument sounds good. The music light came with the instrument and it can be easily adjusted to fit any size hymnal, sheet music or notebook.
I have moved this instrument from upstate New York, to three homes in Connecticut, and two more homes in Texas. We are downsizing now and the next abode has only room for my primary instrument: a harpsichord.
I do not offer shipping or transportation: The interested party will be responsible for moving this instrument, which will likely require movers, as it's easily over 400 pounds.
Please visit the links below for videos of function and sound:
Transposable keyboard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KPV3jFu81k
Sound Example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yr8k6RKC6M
Transposable keyboard
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yZFCws4MwPbtlF91DPp5f5RRetRHEEiz/view?usp=drive_link
Sound Example
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MXNI-bWLLz6jv4EA2xF9OLnlvVBE5NCj/view?usp=drive_link