Reuter Organ Company

     

Reuter Organ Company

Since 1917, Reuter Organ Company has been making, reconditioning, refurbishing and upgrading custom pipe organs in Lawrence, Kansas. Every part of these organs are made and put together in one warehouse, making it one of only four remaining organ companies worldwide to do the same. Reuter makes organs of many sizes for churches, schools and concert halls. Each organ consists of 61 pipes      (made out of copper, zinc, tin and led) as well as exterior and interior wood ( poplar, basswood and whatever the customer wants). Reuter goes through 12,000 pounds of led and tin a year for their more common smaller organs. It was interesting to find that the keys are made out of cow bones and the valves either used goat, sheep or kangaroo skin. Pipes were first cast on a stone table that would then be shaped and cooled. They also had a high-tech CNC router that could be programmed to cut difficult and large shapes. The only thing that Reuter has assistance with is all the electrical components that are installed towards the end of development. The average organ takes about 12 weeks from start to finish. This was a great experience for me. It is the first time I have been able to observe a complex product in production from start to finish

.