Spinning Antique Pump Organ Stool - Fixing It Up - Making Kids Fly

I shared a few weeks ago about this winding chair I found at a second hand store. 

I share that I got the chair for $5 but the winding piece was broken and the top of the chair would wind around but the chair top wouldn't go up and down.

I pulled the top off the chair by unscrewing the four screws in the bottom of the top wooden seat of the chair. 

It had a wedge type piece of metal hammered in that was supposed to block the top of the screw portion from spinning around so that when you turned the seat portion of the chair, it would wind the top seat up or down so that the person could get into a good height to play the piano or organ. 

These chairs were common "back in the day" for playing the pump organs and pianos but they were usually held together by wire at the bottom as the chair legs would eventually twist with the force of the person twisting, so many of them, even today, have wire holding the bottom of the legs in place. 

This chair doesn't look as old as those chairs so I think this stool was made a little later in the life of that type of chair as it has a better design and the screw section is inside the wooden carved section hanging down in the middle. 

So, it is a later chair but still old enough that they used pot metal and a wedge to try and keep the top section from moving when the chair was spinning. 


I took it to a welder and he hit it with a few "spot" welds and sent me home for no cost. 

I then brought it home, screwed that section in and sat on it and promptly it "popped" and the spot welds broke free on the pot metal. 

I thought perhaps my weight had something to do with it but took it back and they welded it all the way around on the top for free and I took them some treats later. They did warn me that pot metal doesn't weld well and that the screw shaft was steel but the top was pot metal and if it didn't hold, he said he could weld me a stronger top portion that should hold. 

When I got home, the weld was a bit "off" to one side but I figured the grandchildren would be using it most so wasn't worried about it. The grandchildren LOVED the chair. The back portion I thought about cutting off where the spindle back potion had been broken off was like a handle for them to grab and spin each other around. I took a picture of the first try they each had on the chair but throughout the holiday, they learned to spin themselves on it and I didn't get video of that. 

One of the girls sat on it for games and I heard the "pop" and a little scream from them as the weld broke but wasn't all that worried as the guy said he could fix it. 

Currently, it is at the welding shop and he said he would make me a new top section of the screw portion to screw into the chair and I am sure it will come out fine. He also said it wouldn't be very expensive, so I am happy about that. 

I decided NOT to cut off the wooden seat back section and sanded the broken dowel spindles flush with the wood seat and stained it. I am still looking for some wooden plugs to fill the larger spindle area as there are none in my town but haven't had time to find any when I am in a larger city just yet. I could probably order a few online but haven't take the time to look or measure for sure yet either. 


I was able to use a extender magnet to get any and all steel or pot metal shavings out of the shaft as when I got it, it squeaked a bit and once I got all the shavings out, I used garage door grease to grease the screw portion and spun it down and up many times to lubricate the entire length and it now flies around.

Nothing about fixing this was "hard" but just takes time. I stained all the scratches and dings and dowels I sanded even on the seat, and I think the chair is just beautiful. 

The kids and grandchildren loved it and I think it will become another "fun" thing to do at grandmas house! 

Have a Blessed and spinning day!