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MMD > Archives > March 2025 > 2025.03.11 > 01Prev  Next


Restoring a 20-note Celestina Music Box
By John Hupcey

I have read all the MMD entries on the Celestina. They give some
clues about restoration. It would be great if someone has done
a write-up on this, but I doubt it.

My main questions have to do with what materials to use. There are

- the bellows,
- the flap on the bellows,
- three exhausters,
- the flap on the exhausters,
- 20 tiny pallet pneumatics.

I assume the bellows is normal player piano and reed organ rubberized
cloth. But which type and thickness?

On the restoration of my Estey Style T, I used:

- double textured black drill cloth with rubber center and fleece back
0.050" thick for the bellows

- double textured black drill cloth with rubber center and cloth back
0.030" thick for the exhausters. Both were obtained from OSI:

https://www.organsupply.com/product-catalog/ 

This may be too thick for this little Celestina. Should I maybe use
OSI 6315 double textured cloth with rubber center, 0.016" to 0.018"
thick, for both?

I also found this 0.015" thick and whitebellows cloth for sale:

https://organetterepair.com/index.html#!/Organette-Bellows-Cloth/p/477671856 

Could some sort of leather be used here?

The flaps on the exhausters look really thin. The stuff I used on the
Estey was very thick and stiff.

For the tiny pneumatics, various MMD people over the years have
suggested:

- fine kidskin 0.005" -0.008" thick,
- fine bovine leather 0.008" thick,
- zephyr skin.

Where does one buy that? Some MMD posts caution to stay away from
zephyr skin!

What I find in the OSI catalog is 6200.01 extra thin fine grain tan
Havana leather 0.010"-0.014", which is too thick.

Or from Columbia Organ, "CPL Thin" pneumatic leather 0.009"-0.012"
-- maybe too thick.

MMD posts suggested "Leather Supply House" which doesn't seem to
exist anymore!

Thanks,

John Hupcey


(Message sent Tue 11 Mar 2025, 20:46:55 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.)

Key Words in Subject:  20-note, Box, Celestina, Music, Restoring

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