Bethany Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, NY This was another instrument that had been called "unsalvageable" by the pundits (and by at least one other organ builder). Universal Restorations was contracted to undertake the refurbishment of Bethany Lutheran Church's early 20th century pipe organ. The organ started its life as the brainchild of the church's long time music director who was also a pipe organ technician. Constructed mostly of MP Moller windchests, the organ was expanded several times during its creator's tenure. Like many similar installations, the organ performed admirably when its maker played it, but began to fail when it was turned over to others not as familiar with its unique intricacies. As the organ began to degrade, Bethany Church was ultimately faced with a difficult decision - repair or replace the faithful old instrument. Universal Restorations was not the first restoration house to look at the organ, but we were perhaps the first to recognize its merit. We compared the cost of restoring this instrument to the cost of replacing it with a pipe organ of similar size and quality or a fully electronic instrument. Based upon our analysis, Universal Restorations and Bethany came to a mutual decision that breathing new life into the old instrument was both the most cost effective and musically satisfying solution. Step 1 A "diagnostic visit" in which we examined all systems in the organ - windchests, relays, pipework, console, bellows, and so on. We made some immediate repairs that returned most of the organ to usable service and were then able to project realistic cost for the rest of the project. Step 2   Repair of windlines. It may be said that the bellows and windlines in an organ are analogous to the cardio vascular system in a living thing - so the very first step was to stop the instrument from hemorrhaging air!  Old leather was replaced as well as leaking valves replaced. The bellows was rebalanced, making for a steadier supply of wind.