The project
The organ was tonally and mechanically sound overall, but the church's organist had noticed several notes beginning to cypher intermittently (sounding without a key being pressed) and a general slowing in note repetition speed — both classic symptoms of leather nearing the end of its service life rather than a design or voicing problem. Every windchest pouch and primary valve was releathered using leather matched in weight and finish to the original specification, without disturbing pipework, casework, or the tracker action itself. Scope was deliberately limited to exactly the failing component, at the church's request, to keep the project within a modest maintenance budget.
Leather life on a windchest of this type typically runs 25-40 years depending on climate control consistency; this instrument’s original leather had lasted just over 30 years before symptoms appeared.