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Degradation of Organ Pipes and of Brass Instruments

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Handbook of Materials for Wind Musical Instruments

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Abstract

One of the most destructive agents of historical pipe organs is the “tin pest” of organ pipes. . It is generally recognised that the tin pest of pipes made of high lead composition alloys can completely destroy organ pipes in less than 30 years. Usually the tin pest was observed where the metal is in contact with the pipe support or on the foot of the tip where the pipe is standing on the toe board. Another common location of degradation is in the blocks in reed pipes. Pipes organs are degraded by atmospheric corrosion. Atmospheric corrosion of lead and lead alloys is influenced by a complex variety of factors determined by the geographic location of the historical organ, environmental conditions including air temperature and relative humidity, condensation in the pipes, emission of different corrosive substances from materials inside and outside the organ, and possible combinations of these conditions. Pipes organs are degraded by atmospheric corrosion. Atmospheric corrosion of lead and lead alloys is influenced by a complex variety of factors determined by the geographic location of the historical organ, environmental conditions including air temperature and relative humidity, condensation in the pipes, emission of different corrosive substances from materials inside and outside the organ, and possible combinations of these conditions. Pipe organs are also degraded by biological agents like mice, fungi and insects. Fire is also a major danger for historical organs, which can be prevented, in most of cases, by maintenance and housekeeping. The degradation of brass instruments is affected by atmospheric corrosion, dezincification and stress- corrosive cracking.

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  1. School of Science, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, 3001, VIC, Australia

    Voichita Bucur

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Bucur, V. (2019). Degradation of Organ Pipes and of Brass Instruments. In: Handbook of Materials for Wind Musical Instruments . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19175-7_18

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