getting to heart (lungs) of the matter

It turned out the combination bellows had holes in it and the fabric covering the reservoir had dried out with age and the seal is compromised.

In this picture the soundboard is still attached to the bellows assembly. It was joined with both screws and a generous application of glue. During disassembly the soundbaord broke on the short side of the wind slot. Not worried about it; it's fixable.

Disassembly and examination

The following are pictures taken during the disassembly and initial cleaning:

Here the cover under the key/reed set has been removed.

Foot pedals with straps exposed. Straps were not from the original mfr. Looks like a previous owner tried using piece of firehose to attach one of the pedals to a bellows.

Rear view. The key/reed sets are lighter colored. The wind chest/reservior back board (with hole, missing leather strap) is immediately below the key/reed sets.

Another full view

So I bought a reed organ at a yard sale

I waited for the sale to pass and then dropped by the next day to see if it was sold; it was still there. So I made a lowball offer and they guy accepted. The posts that follow will track the progress of the restoration project, complete with photos.

At this point the organ has been disassembled into components. I had to get to the "lungs" firstly as the organ in its current state cannot produce any sounds. The bellows is a combination-type, with two foot controlled feeders and a single reservoir behind the middleboard. The reservior needs to be resealed with a fresh application of rubberized canvas, which must be bonded to the middle-and backboards with a hot animal-based glue. The reservoir is going to be challenging as two springs inside must be clamped in order to bond the replacement rubberized canvas; it is going to be tricky for sure. Nothing like getting the hardest, dirtiest jobs out of the way first!

Materials required at this point are:
-rubberized canvas (about 4 feet by 6 inches)
-two straps to connect the pedals to the feeder bellows
-animal-based glue

The keyset and reedset will be carefully cleaned and re-felted afterwards.

Praying that the reeds will be intact and fully functional.