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TECHNICAL»SUPPLY DEPARTMENT
William BraidWhite,7M/w«?/Editor
This means that the "crown" of the sound board
becomes higher, that the strings are more
tightly stretched and that in consequence the
pitch rises. It will, however, rise irregularly,
owing to differences in the tensions exerted by
A Letter From E. U. Will, Portland, Ore., With a Request for a Selling Talk and the the strings in different parts of the scale, and
to other causes of the kind.
Selling Talk Supplied—When Will Owners Know More About Pianos?
On the contrary, when the heat is put on
during
the colder months, the air in the in-
H E following letter from E. U. Will process of crowning or arching is undertaken
teriors
of
rooms becomes much drier, owing to
raises questions which every reader, I by which the board is artificially raised along
the evaporation of moisture and the common
think, will find interesting. The points the line of the main bridge by a fraction of an
failure to keep on hand open vessels of water,
he brings up have been covered before, but there inch, so that the strings where they cross over
flowering plants and other moisture retainers
is usually something new to say upon them each that bridge are at a somewhat higher level than
or
evaporators. Consequently the moisture in
they are where they are wound round the tun-
time they emerge from obscurity.
ing and the hitch pins. The result of this arti- a sound board, which has been keeping it
Says Mr. Will
swelled up, rapidly evaporates, the board
"Will you kindly write a brief article for the ficial arching of the board is to put one of its shrinks, the crown falls, the strings slacken
>urfaces
into
a
state
of
compression
and
the
Technical Department on raising the pitch of
down, and the pitch drops. Of course it drops
pianos; an article which a tuner can carry with other into a state of tension, so that the whole also irregularly and for similar reasons.
board
becomes
something
like
a
highly
elastic
him to show to owners of pianos which have
Now it must be perfectly evident that, even
been neglected and not kept up to standard spring. The more elastic it is the freer and where conditions are not extreme, even in
the
more
agreeable
will
be
the.
tone
emanating
pitch.
climates which have only a comparatively short
"I find this one of the hardest points to get from the piano.
range of thermometric and barometric gradi-
Sensitiveness to Atmospheric Changes
the public to understand; that is to say, why a
ents, the process outlined above- is continually
Unfortunately, however, this very construc-
piano will stay in tune only a short time after
going on. Every change of a degree in tem-
the tuner has tried to raise pitch by from one- tion is extremely sensitive to all changes of perature or of one-tenth of an inch in
third to one-half a tone. Many teachers of temperature and barometric pressure, as can barometer has its effect. The sound board of
piano are careless about keeping their own readily be understood. The downward push the piano, then, is always slowly rising and
pianos in tune and up to pitch and when I am upon the board exerted by each wire may be falling through short distances, and constantly,
called to attend to these instruments and am as much as ten pounds or as little as five therefore, suffering variations in its ability to
expected to bring the strings up to pitch I find pounds. In any case there will be anywhere hold the strings up to the proper pitch. In
that too much is expected of me. For if the from half a ton to more than a ton of pressure point of fact, of course, many of these slight
piano goes out of tune again within a short time always distributed over the board and centered changes cancel each other. On the other hand,
the blame is usually put on the tuner, that is, on along the line of the main bridge. Now,"the if the piano be neglected," unless it be tuned at
ribs on the other side of the board help to
me.
least once with every change in season, say four
"I usually spend from two and one-half to take up this stress, or at least to brace the times a year, during Spring, Summer, Autumn
board
against
it,
but
in
no
case
can
the
board
three hours upon such pianos and go over the
and Winter, it will not stand decently in tune.
be made stiff enough to resist that pressure
tuning two or three times.
The Truth About Standing in Tune
without
any
giving
way.
If
it
were
stiff
enough
''Kindly say what you deem a fair charge for
From the layman's standpoint, four tunings
such service. In booklets on the care of the to do so it would be too stiff to be of any
per year should be sufficient. The tuner knows
piano, no matter whence issuing, this point value as a sound board.
well, however, that if he had time to tune his
Summer and Winter
should be elaborated, for the benefit of both the
Moreover, wood is extremely sensitive to own piano as often as his ear tells him it
owners and the tuners of pianos. E. U. Will,
changes in the moisture content of the air should be tuned, he would tune it once a month.
Portland, Ore."
All right. Brother Will, here goes, and if you and in temperature. Thus, in Summertime From the strictly scientific point of view, it is
can make use of the statement which follows throughout the greater part of the country the probably true to say that no piano ever made
among your customers, so much the better. barometric pressures are low, there is much has stood in tune, without a drop or a rise,
Perhaps, too, some other readers will find sus- moisture in the air most of the time, and for more than twenty-four hours, unless it were
rain is frequent. Wood, in these conditions, maintained at constant temperature and at con-
tenance and help.
swells
up, nor will any kind of coating protect stant barometric and hygroscopic conditions,
In order to understand why a piano goes out
a
wooden
sound board from these influences, in a laboratory.
of tune it is first necessary to remember that the
So much, then, for the frequency and need
whole instrument is always under a varying save only one of such thickness and con-
sistency
as
to
destroy
in
large
measure
its
stress. The 230-odd strings are stretched at an
average tension of from 150 to 200 pounds value as a vibrator. Thus, it is plain that, save
apiece, so that the iron plate of the instrument, in extremely dry climates such as we find in
together with the heavy wooden framing, car- small areas throughout the Southwest and to
ries a strain totaling from eighteen to twenty some slight extent in the Pacific Coast valleys,
Associate, American Society of Mechanical
tons. That is the first point to be considered. the sound boards of pianos remain in a highly
Engineers; Chairman, Wood Industries
Division, A. S. M. E.; Member, American
Now this stress is not constant. It cannot be swelled-up state during the Summer months.
Physical Society; Member, National Piano
constant, for the reason that the steel wire is
Technicians' Association.
highly elastic, and furthermore is supported
"MARKDOWNS"
partly by the wooden bridges which run across
ARE UNNECESSARY
the soundboard. Through a certain fraction of
EALERS
everywhere are finding it
its length, in fact, each of the more than 200
easy to repair damage to varnished
strings rests upon a wooden bridge, which in
surfaces—consequently making big sav-
Tonally and Mechanically Correct Scales
ings through the elimination of the
turn rests upon the wooden soundboard. This
Toaal and Technical Surreys of Product
necessity for mark-downs. Our little
Tonal Betterment Work in Factories
soundboard is merely a thin sheet of spruce,
booklet "How to Repair Damage to
averaging only three-eighth of ari inch in thick-
Varnished Surfaces" tells how you, too,
References to manufacturers of unquestioned
ness but large enough to fit quite tightly all
can do this. A copy of this will be
pMltlom la Industry
sent to you free upon request.
around the case of the piano. Moreover, in
order to furnish this soundboard with the neces-
For particularn, mddrtu
sary ability to fall into the forms of vibration
209
South
State Street, CHICAGO
1OOS W. 8th St.
Kansas City, Mo.
which are impressed on it by the strings a
Why a Piano Goes Out of Tune and How
Tuners Can Explain That to Customers
T
William Braid White
Consulting Engineer to
the Piano Industry
D
The M. L. Campbell Co.
Punchings
Washers
Bridle Straps
5814-37th Ave.
George W.
Braunsdorf, Inc.
Direct Manufacturers of
Piano
AIBO—Felts and
Cloths, Furnished
In Any Quantity
Tuners
and
Technicians
are In demand. The trade needs tuners, regu-
lators and repairmen. Practical Shop School.
Send for Catalog M
Y. M. C. A. Piano Technicians School
TUNERS' TRADE SOLICITED
Woodside, L. 1., N. Y.
16
"
1421 Arch St.
Philadelphia, Pa.