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MARCH 14,
THE
1925
MUSIC TRADE
49
REVIEW
SUPPLY BRANCHES OF THE INDUSTRY
Conditions in the Supply
Trade Are Reported Fair
Tendency, However, Is Shown Among the
Manufacturers to Buy Their Materials on
Hand-to-Mouth Basis
A survey this week of the piano supply
trade in the New York district afforded a
Review representative some distinct impres-
sions of existing conditions in the piano indus-
try, and of the manner in which manufacturers
are preparing themselves for meeting an aver-
age volume of business this Spring. As a mat-
ter of fact, the buying of piano materials from
supply merchants is in some sections good, es-
pecially in the Middle West, and in many sec-
tions fair. There is again, however, that ten-
dency creeping into transactions of buying from
hand-to-mouth, which is caused in most cases
by an attitude of mind, and not warranted by
actual conditions.
In the case of buying piano hardware, felts,
piano actions, plates and the like, where particu-
lar specifications for the individual manufac-
turer are complied with, it is obvious that the
practice of holding off on orders until the stock
is needed in the shop is an unwise one. The
main thing the manufacturer is interested in is
to have supplies available when he needs them,
and with car loadings running at a maximum
throughout the country, as they are at present,
deliveries on specified dates can never be
counted on.
The main reason for ordering in quantity lots
in an advance schedule, however, is the saving
per piece that comes to the manufacturer with
such orders. The large manufacturer always
realizes this and has this year, and is thus cut-
ting down his annual overhead by a consider-
able fraction, by quantity buying.
The supply men report a strong tone in the
primary markets, in which they do their own
buying, with no indication that prices will fall
before Summer. Lumber buying in the world
markets has picked up remarkably of late, but
is still below production rate in the North
Pacific where short time schedules are being
worked. The close-to-peak rate of operations in
pig iron production has made for the softening
of prices of this product, while scrap material
is still weak. Raw wool, pneumatic leathers,
veneers, metal and wire products are at present
holding their own.
Expecting Too Much From
New Machinery Installed
A Piano Manufacturer Who Expected That a
New Planer Must Necessarily Pay for Itself
in One Year to Be Worth While
cent each for planing, he could only estimate
the saving at a little over $200 a year, which
of course would not pay for an up-to-date
planer.
"One point 1 tried to place before him was
that the sanding, which they now do on all
case parts before they lay the veneer on them,
could probably be eliminated. He holds, how-
ever, that it is necessary to sand them in order
to roughen up the surfaces so that the glue
will hold better than it could be expected to
hold on a perfectly smooth surface. If I am
not mistaken, very few up-to-date factories sand
their corestock after it comes from the planer.
As I have not been closely in touch with piano
factories for some time I am unable to say
definitely.
"The planer these people now have is quite
an old type machine, with a solid roll and
ordinary square cylinder, and I am of the opin-
ion that a more modern machine, with sectional
roll and round cylinder, with high-speed steel
knives, would help them in their effort to lower
the cost of production. Just how to present the
matter to the owner, however, in order to con-
vince him, is the point that is worrying the
superintendent. The plant in question needs
more in the way of modern machinery than a
planer, but the planer was the machine the su-
perintendent enumerated first, and, not meeting
with much success in that direction, did not
have the heart to bring up any others."
An interesting attitude of a piano manufac-
turer relative to the installation of modern
equipment for the purpose of reducing the fac-
tory overhead is set forth by a writer signing
himself J. A. B. in the current issue of Veneers.
The anecdote has to do with the replacing of
an old-fashioned wood-planer with an up-to-
date machine. The piano manufacturer, confer-
ring with the machinery salesman and his own
superintendent, insisted that unless it could be
shown him that the machine would pay for it-
self within one year it was not a worth-while
investment.
"All the men in the particular factory were
working piece-work, including the man running
the planer, the rate for running stuff being one
cent for some pieces and one and one-half cents
A. K. Gutsohn, factory superintendent of the
for others, and so on. The schedule they pro- Standard Pneumatic Action Co., New York,
posed to put in force was eight pianos a day, spent three days in Baltimore, Md., last week,
and, figuring on this basis, about the best saving March 5-7, lecturing to piano repairmen and
the superintendent could figure for a planer was tuners attending the Danquard School activities
about $200 a year, which, of course, put the in that city. Mr. Gutsohn spoke in an authori-
matter of a planer out of the owner's mind tative way on the construction of Standard
altogether, if no greater saving than that could player-actions, and on the proper treatment of
be effected.
this mechanism by tuners. The meetings were
"The way the superintendent figured it out held in the Emerson Hotel of Baltimore.
was that there are only a few pieces in a piano
case, and the cases were all that were under
consideration at the time, these pieces being,
top door, bottom door, two gables or ends, fall
CORDELL, OKIA., March 9.—A general music
boards pedal, rail, top, key slip or lock rail, two
store
has been opened by J. E. Bennett and
toe blocks, two arms, key bottom and four
pilasters. Those are the parts as nearly as I E. I. Simmons, both of Gage, in the Jones
can recall them. The highest price paid for Building, on the south side of the square. They
planing any one of these parts was one and one- will handle pianos, phonographs and small
half cents, and some of the prices for the goods.
smaller pieces ranged as low as one-quarter
George L. Koenig, secretary and treasurer of
cent. Therefore, when the superintendent fig- Wessell, Nickel & Gross, New York, returned
ured out about 21 pieces, averaging them at one to his desk recently after a week visiting the
mills of the company in Vermont.
Gutsohn in Baltimore
New Store in Gordell
The man who uses Behlen's Varnish
Crack Eradicator can afford to figure
lower, yet makes more profit on a re-
finishing job, than the man who does
not use it.
The reason—he saves the time, trouble
and expense of scraping off the old var-
nish and shellac and the finished job is
just as satisfactory, too—if not more so.
Send for a sample can today and
try it.
PHILIP W. OETTING & SON, Inc.
213 East 19th Street, New York
Sole Agenti for
WEICKERT HAMMER AND DAMPER FELTS
GRAND AND UPRIGHT HAMMERS
Made of Weickert Felt
WHITE, SON CO.
Manufacturers of
ORGAN AND PLAYER-PIANO
ARTNOVELTYCO.
H. BEHLEN & BRO.
Anilinaa
Sh.lUc.
Cxclutive manufacturers cf
Stains
FilUrs
Piarvo Beivekes
and Musie Cabinets
10.12 Christopher St., New York
Near «th Aw:, and 8th It.
GOSHEN
Write for catalog and details
INDIANA
LEATHERS
530-540 Atlantic Arc, BOSTON, MASS.
For over 25 years Specialists
in high grade Piano Cases
^
Paterson Piano
Case Co.
PATERSON, N. J.