In MMD 010926 Dean Smith asked about some molded musical trim to
put on his calliope.
I recently built a band organ and spent quite a bit of time looking
for some designs or patterns to put on the front of the cabinet.
I found a few sources, such as Van Dykes restorations, that supplied
these molded trims, but the size was not correct and the price too
steep for me.
I finally solved the problem by purchasing a book by Patrick Spielman
entitled "Victorian Gingerbread Patterns and Techniques". This book
has many patterns that are suitable for band organs and calliopes.
I sized the patterns I wanted using a pantograph (you could also use
an enlarging copy machine), cut them out and then applied them to the
band organ case using a low tack adhesive. After masking the rest of
the cabinet, I spray painted the patterns in gold paint. You could
also cut them out of plywood which would give them a somewhat "molded"
appearance.
A simple and inexpensive solution to my problem.
Paul Vickberg
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