Music Trade Review

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THE
OCTOBER 18, 1924
MUSIC
TRADE
47
REVIEW
SUPPLY BRANCHES OF THE INDUSTRY
grain, the latter being more liable to crack than
the former. Cut hollows are the hollow portions
of the tucks or "teeth" with the solid point cut
off. Rhinoceros horns are chiefly used for mak-
Slotted Metal Block Proposed to Eliminate
The Marketing Route This Material Follows— ing handles for umbrellas or walking sticks.
The terms "tusks" and "teeth" used above
Drilled Hole and Lead Filling for This Pur-
Some of the Terms Commonly Used in the
refer to the elephant tusks, although in the trade
pose
Trade
the term "teeth" is used in certain cases. The
real teeth of the elephant are described by the
WASHINGTON, I). C, October 14. —Patent No.
Sonic interesting facts relative to animal ivory
1,510,663, for a balance weight for pianoforte
are contained in a recent trade report, and may trade as "grinders" and are, comparatively
keys and the like, was granted recently to
furnish a slightly different conception of this speaking, of little or no value.
The tusks vary in size from two pounds each
industry to buyers of finished ivory keys in
William Finnimore, London, England.
piano factories. Animal ivory is imported into to over 100 pounds each and are usually packed
In order to counterbalance a pianoforte key,
in gunnies or cases, and are not infrequently it is usual to drill a hole in the rear end of the
the United Kingdom chiefly from Belgium, the
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan,. the Belgian Congo, shipped loose with the address painted on the same and fill such hole with lead. This method
British India, Portuguese East Africa, France
tusk.
is a crude one and has the disadvantage that the
and Tanganyika. It is exported principally to
lead, owing to the shrinking of the wood, is
the United States, Germany, France, British
liable to get loose and hinder the key in its
India, Belgium, Japan and Hongkong. Ivory is
movement. Moreover, damage to the material
sold in London at public auction at the London
is often caused by the splitting of the wood
Commercial Sales Rooms, 30 Mincing Lane,
when the hole is drilled or filled, and overlooked
London, E. C. 3. Auctions are held every three Well-Known Hammer Maker States Demand Is splinters, shavings and cores may cause fric-
months, beginning in January, under the public-
Heavy—Scarcity of Skilled Workers Felt at tion.
sales conditions of the General Produce Brokers'
Factories
It has also been proposed to balance piano-
Association of London.
forte and like keys by means of a slotted metal
One of the busiest seasons in recent years is block which is guided by pins in a groove in
The usual spot contract form of the General
Produce Brokers' Association is used. Pay- being experienced by Vincent Vilim, Inc., at the key so that it can be adjusted along the
both piano hammer plants, located at 213 East
ment is made against warrants of delivery
latter and secured in adjusted position by means
order, interest being allowed on prepayments Nineteenth street, New York, and at Elmsford,
of a screw passing through the slot in the block.
N. Y. Mr. Vilim states that the business is less
before the date payment is due. The terms are
The object of the present invention is to em-
"prompt" one month (payment to be made "spotty" than it has been all year, enabling him
ploy a balancing weight in combination with the
to regulate production on a heavy but steady
within one month), discount 2^4 per cent, brok-
rod which transmits the motion of the key to
schedule.
erage x /z per cent for buying. There are no
the action of the instrument, in such a manner
terms of credit.
"There are no factors at the present time, that the two elements will mutually control one
The dock charges are paid by the importers, which will materially affect the price of ham- another and allow of being fixed by one screw
including rent up to the prompt day, after which mers," said Mr. Vilim to a representative of The and in a single operation. With this object in
Review, this week. "Good workmen are hard view an elongated balancing weight of soft
the ivory is held at buyer's risk. Delivery charge
to the buyer is about Is. per hundredweight. In- to find as usual, but we are getting around this metal is formed with a screw-hole and with a
surance is held effected by the sellers until the by working overtime at both plants. At present plurality of apertures in which to receive and
we are getting a lot of Christmas orders from
"prompt."
grip the milled lower end of the motion-trans-
the more far-sighted manufacturers, who desire mitting rod, the latter being adapted to pass
The ivory is reweighed on delivery, but if
to be properly prepared when the rush starts. through the block into the key so as to prevent
delivery is not taken before the "prompt" it is
reweighed two days previous to the prompt day. There is no doubt that there will be a real rush a rotary displacement of the block about the
this year, and we are advising all our customers screw whereby both elements are secured in
The ivory is put up for inspection at the London
to order in time for their own sakes."
docks a fortnight before the sale.
position. This arrangement allows the position
Certain terms are in use in the ivory trade.
of the block on the key to be varied while the
Pig iron production is seasonally inactive in rod, by being inserted in the most favorably
For instance: Bangle tucks are tucks of which
the hollows are suitable for cutting bangles, the Pittsburgh district, but heavy buying is re- situated aperture in the block, will remain in its
which are chiefly worn by natives in various ported from Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, New normal position relative to the piano action.
parts of the world. Billiard ball and bagatelle York and Philadelphia, which are the centers Intermediate adjustments may be effected by a
scrivilloes are small "teeth," the measurements of the piano manufacturing industry. An aver- shortening of the block, for which purpose the
of which are suitable for cutting the balls in age price for pig iron, based on the whole, latter is notched so that small portions of the
question. Soft scrivilloes are small "teeth" with
shows no change during the past two months.
same can easily be nipped off.
a soft grain; soft grain is preferable to a hard
Ry this arrangement the fitting up and bal-
THE HEART OF THE
ancing of the keys will be greatly facilitated,
while the mechanism will gain considerably in
appearance.
Balance Weight for
Piano Keys Patented
Ivory From the Jungle
to the Piano Key-Maker
Vincent Vilim Reports
Heavy Hammer Demand
PIANO
,A MESSAGE
Wool Prices Firm
Are you still wasting your time and
going to the expense of scraping off old
varnish and shellac to eliminate the
checks and cracks in order to secure a
smooth surface for refinishing?
Use Behlen's Varnish Crack Eradi-
cator.
It saves time, trouble and, incidentally,
expense, at the same time giving you as
fine a body surface for the new finish
as you could possibly wish for.
A sample can for trial awaits your
request.
Considerable interest on the part of piano
felt importers and hammer-makers in the New
York district was shown in the recent Colonial
wool auctions, which terminated in London on
October 9. Prices of all raw wools, and especial-
ly the high grade wools, from which piano felts
are made, showed a tendency to remain firm.
THE STANDARD ACTION CO.,
CAMBRIDGE,
Cxelusive manufacturers of
Stains
Fillers
10-12 Christopher St., New York
Near 6th Are., and 8th St.
Piano Renekes
and Musie Cabinets
GOSHEN
Manufacturers of
ORGAN AND PLAYER-PIANO
ARTNOVELTYCO.
H. BEHLEN & BRO.
Anilines
Shellacs
MASS.
WHITE, SON CO.
Writ* for catalog and details
INDIANA
LEATHERS
530-540 Atlantic Are., BOSTON, MASS.