wave.jaco Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Hi everyone Is there anyone on this forum who has experience in making their own electromagnets for use as pallet/chest/E-P magnets in organs? I am contemplating making some of my own and would appreciate any advice someone might have on this topic. In particular, what wire size is typically used for these magnets that are used in organs? This of course would have a direct impact on the length of wire used to wind a coil of the correct resistance compared to those that are available in the organ building industry. Perhaps another question on this - why would there be magnets of different resistances available for organ builders? Does this have to do with the voltage the organ is powered at, to limit the amount of current flowing through the electromagnets, or is there some other reason to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Pykett Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 After several days nobody has replied to your queries even though there are several (mainly professional organ builders) who are eminently qualified to do so. I have wondered whether to reply myself, since I have to say that I cannot for the life of me imagine why you would want to conceive of making the hundreds of electromagnets that would be required for an organ action! The matter is not simply related to designing and making the magnet coils, as your post seems to imply, because the associated issues of the magnetic circuit of a magnet are important as well as the electrical one, together with the formidable mechanical engineering problems of fabricating the complete magnet assemblies from scratch. Having said this, you might find the following to be of interest: http://www.colinpykett.org.uk/electromagnets-and-solenoids-in-electric-actions-design-issues.htm and http://www.colinpykett.org.uk/HJ_OrganActions1889-1903.pdf (see the section entitled 'Magnet design' starting at page 14). I have to ask why you apparently do not wish to buy the magnets from a trade supplier, as your questions suggest that you are not yet at all close to being able to make them successfully yourself. I hope you will forgive the tenor of this message, as it is intended to dissuade you from embarking on an enormous exercise which could easily prove fruitless and disappointing. Please be assured that I have your best interests at heart in saying this. And yes, to answer your first question, I do have experience in (trying to) make my own organ electromagnets. The scars (and you do get scars, believe me!) rapidly persuaded me of the folly of ever attempting it again ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic car man Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 On 25/01/2024 at 06:50, wave.jaco said: Perhaps another question on this - why would there be magnets of different resistances available for organ builders? Does this have to do with the voltage the organ is powered at, to limit the amount of current flowing through the electromagnets, or is there some other reason to this? In short, different resistances means different strengths. You don't always need a sledgehammer to crack a nut so lower strength magnets (which are generally cheaper (always an important factor for organbuilders)) can be used depending on the particular requirements. Lower magnet strength also reduces the load on the transmission which is very important. As Colin says, making magnets is no mean feat and one which I would not undertake. There are a number of supply houses around the world and so if finances permit, I would go for a ready made solution. If finances are tight, many organbuilders have boxes and boxes of secondhand stuff lying around - I certainly have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wave.jaco Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Thank you very much for your replies. May I start off by saying "thank you" Dr Pykett for the invaluable organ knowledge treasure that is your website. I have spent countless hours of reading pleasure on your website over the past few years, finding deep insights on pipe organs on a technical level. As an engineer myself, I truly appreciate these articles on your website. To answer the question on why I would want to attempt this - being based in South Africa, importing these electromagnets from abroad presents a significant challenge in terms of the costs involved. Although there are local organ builders that have stock available (both new and secondhand), it still sums up to a rather high cost to buy enough for a hobby project. Being an engineer and filled with inspiration from others who have successfully done something very similar on a rather large scale for an individual, I am at the very least curious to explore this prospect, even if it results in the proverbial "burning of fingers" (hopefully not literally in any case!). Nevertheless, the option of purchasing these magnets always remains an option, albeit a relatively expensive one. No hard feelings on the tenor of your message 😀 On 27/01/2024 at 23:54, Classic car man said: In short, different resistances means different strengths. You don't always need a sledgehammer to crack a nut so lower strength magnets (which are generally cheaper (always an important factor for organbuilders)) can be used depending on the particular requirements. Lower magnet strength also reduces the load on the transmission which is very important. This makes total sense and is what I suspected the reason would be. Having not yet read through Dr Pykett's articles referenced in his post in great detail, I believe there is more to this than only the resistance and resulting electrical current drawn by the electromagnet. But yes, your sledgehammer analogy makes perfect sense. I have a number of old organ action electromagnets, of which I am planning to dismantle one or two to study its construction and learn a few things from it. If I have some appreciable feedback on that, I will share my experience and findings here. What an intricate, yet fascinating field organ building is! I have great respect for organ builders and the work they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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