Christian Greinacher is looking for details of the small organ
pipe within a singing bird [110322 MMDigest]. The best reference
is the book 'Mechanical Singing-bird Tabatieres' by Geoff Mayson,
Hale, 2000. This is a beautifully illustrated book showing the
inner workings of all varieties of singing bird, from the early
fusee type to the later going barrel type, right up to the modern
day Griesbaum still being made by Wendel. The photographs are in
colour and show the workings in exceptional detail.
Although it doesn't include detailed drawings of the whistle, it
does show enough to allow a competent mechanic to duplicate these
parts. A knowledge of the acoustics of organ pipes and cam and
linkage design will allow any birdsong to be duplicated. I'm sure
that in truth there was always a lot of empirical development of a
birdsong and this should be expected by an enthusiast maker today.
Good luck to Christian.
Nicholas Simons, GB
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