January 12, 2016; Pipe maker Erik McLeod prepares the sand casting table. Most workshops don’t make their own pipes, but the Fritts company has been refining its method since 1984, and with the Murdy organ — destined for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in 2016 — becomes the first known U.S. organ builder to use sand-cast metal. Sand sucks heat out of the metal maybe 10 times faster than cloth, Paul Fritts says, which makes for smaller crystals, a more efficient resonance, a...
more »

January 12, 2016; Pipe maker Erik McLeod prepares the sand casting table. Most workshops don’t make their own pipes, but the Fritts company has been refining its method since 1984, and with the Murdy organ — destined for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in 2016 — becomes the first known U.S. organ builder to use sand-cast metal. Sand sucks heat out of the metal maybe 10 times faster than cloth, Paul Fritts says, which makes for smaller crystals, a more efficient resonance, a smoother pipe speech, a more beautiful sound.(Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)
« less