How long would it take to build a pipe organ? Pipe organs are made of thousands of highly specialized components. The instrument our organ committee would like to see built, God willing, would contain almost 4,000 pipes, some as small as a pencil, some so large that five 6’ tall people could stand inside the pipe one on top of the other! The pipes and thousands of other components must be hand-crafted by highly trained craftsmen.
If God makes a way for a specification and visual design to be settled on and a contract signed, the Fisk Co. would create a 1/16 scale model of the St. Joseph Church interior with the organ built into the model. Fisk is the only organ builder in the world that takes this extra step. Creating a scale model takes about three months. Once the scale model is completed, the organ committee, church leadership, and/or anyone with a special interest in the project visits the builder to inspect the model. The scale model is amazing. The model sits on a raised platform making it possible for any average-height individual to walk up and rest their chin on the floor of the model. It is as if you are stepping into the church and seeing the organ in its actual environment, to scale. All of the interior features of the church, pews, paint color, columns, ceiling rafters, windows, everything is meticulously detailed in the model. This enables decisions to be made regarding any changes that might need to be made in the placement or visual design of the organ. Once the model is approved, it would take about 12-15 months to build the organ.