Music Trade Review
Issue: 1923 Vol. 77 N. 4 - Page 13
J ULY
THE
28, 1923
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
SUBSTITUTING NEW MATERIALS FOR OLD
ONES IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PIANOS
Likelihood of Having to Discover New Materials to Use in Place of Some Types of Lumber Now
Used in Making Pianos Is Strong in Our Own Time-The Problems of Maple and
Chestnut-Conserving the Present Supply by More Economical Methods
It is the part of a wise man not to be alarm ed
at the imp endenc)' of changes; but it is equally
hi s part not to ig nor e the phenomenon.
Jt
"mild not be wise to worry undul y or prepare
to abandon busines s because the lum ber s itua
tion is a lready serious a nd likely in time to
beco[Ole critical.
Still less wi~e, however, it
wo uld be to ig nor e cheerfull) a ll the signs of
the times and rest comfortably in the b e li ef
that whatever happens will, at any rate, not
happen in ou r time.
For it is by no m ea ns· certa i 11 t ha t se rious
troubl e w ill not com e in our time. It is by
no m ea ns ce r ta in that we s hall not have, within
decade, to look very closely at th e question
of prO\'ielin, (· \"f (;·. in substitul.. , ior lumber;
w hile it is absolutely certain that our duty this
Y('C"
cla \' is to do all in our power to conserve
mI" u sc 01 e"c ry kind of woo d and take al l
possibl e s t e ps to redu cc our demand for eve r y
type and kind of '\ hi ch the s upply is alrea d y
be co ming scan t.
A fter all, when th e cri, is C0m es in each kind
of lumber 'we are now using, we s hall hav e to
cll ange to some s ub st itut e, w h ether wood or
sO!llet hin g else, and we lIlig h t llluch bettcr do
'he thinkin g and the worrying now bef ore the
" ,atter escapes fro111 teven th e limit ed control
we can now exe rt upon it.
The Maple Question
O ne of the most ser iou s difficulti es at present
l'xist in g in the Illl: lbcr trade refers to the s uppl y
0' "ue h kinds of maple a s are comm onl y u se d
in pian o makinv-. The s uppl y in the Easte rn
Sta tes is w i t h.in s ight of extinc tion, nor wou ld
even the mos t perfect and widesp read system
oi reforestation s uffi ce to restore: the old
; bllnd :: n cc llnt', ell ka'-'t li rl ) yea ,', had go n e by.
The Obstacle to Reforestation
:\01'/, i t is to be observe d in ciden tally that a
ve ry large part of the b y no mea ns negli g: ible
opp osition to any ~. nd all proposals for nati ona l
:ciorc<;["t ion a ri ,es from the co mpl aint by
owner s of c leared timb er la nds and by COI11
Illllnitie s ab utting upon s u c h land s t hat to re
plant i:i t o benefit th e n ext generation at the
('xpe nse of this o n e. They say, 1'01 wi lh o ut
'. rlllL, ,h", i, , h esc la llds ar c \'~,: erved for tre e
!,ro ,,·ing durin g the next fifty yea r s they w ill
be unable to realize upon their investments
there in . This is true enoug h, but it principally
ser ves to sho w that t h es e lan ds ought never to
h ave go t into private hands in the first place.
In the second place, howe\'er, it a lso shows
HA.RLEM PIA.NO & ORGA.N KEY CO.
IVOUY AND PORCELAIN CEMENT
FOR PIANO KEYS
This is a finc: white ivo ry co ld glue.
\Ve have spent 15 years perfecting it.
Pa rcel post paid anywhere in U. S. for $1 ,
121-123 East 126th Street
New York. N. Y.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Piano TlIDiol', Pipe aDd Reed Orean
aad PI.yer Piano. Yur Book Free.
27-29 Gain.boro Street
BOSTON, MASS.
th at to put thro u g h a complete policy of nation a l
re fore stat ion, w hil s t society is o rga ni zed upon
it s present basi" is probably to p ropose a n
impo ss ibl e tas k. Th e comp lete extin ction of Ollr
lu mber ;'esou rces is the r e fore not an imposs i
b ilit y. The in calcu lab le consequen ces of allow
in g this to h appen s h~1I n ot, lar ge ly becau se
they neecl not, b e descanted upon h e re. Th ey
a re too ob vious.
Maple and Piano Backs
Returning to our mapl e, it is certain tbat '\ve
mu st do so mething in th e near futur e to s ub
stitute ot h e r suitable mate ri a l for it in piano
construction. It s prese nt usc is m;,inly in back
f raming and it h as hitherto .b een regarded a s
indi spc nsable for bac k post s, top a nd bottom
back rail s (on upri g hts and upright play e rs),
o uter rim s (on grands) and wres t plank s.
Th ere i" n o do ubt at a ll that thc wood en ba c k
of the t:prig ht piano is an unnecessary lu xury. It
has becn prO\'c(\ at l east three diiTc rell l lilll es
th at· one can get a lo ng very we ll witho nt it.
The Steck pat ents of yea rs ago, th e st ill ea rlier
Germa n construction a nd the r ecent Dauer in
ventions, which have b een thoroughly success
ful, all s h ow that ther e is no esse ntial reason
for th e usc of ,.vood in form in g the structure
w hi ch s upport s th e soundboa rd and part of ~he
pull of the 5Ir in;';5. A s so on as the problem is
exam in ed it is se e n t ha t it is not so l11uc h that
of providing a great ma ss o f ir on or ot her sub
;;titute mat eria l, as of distributi ng the carr y in g
'l1c mbcr s in th e right wa y. For ilblance, o n e
co uld supp ort the stri ng str esses merely I)y th e iryn
plate, without a n y wooden back at all, hill for
the facl that the s hape of the plate, as a broa d,
s ha ll ow s heet, pre y-en t s it from ca r'- },i ll ;'; tl:c'
load wi thout bu ckling. If, on the othe r h and,
lh " p late \I'ere \Jllilt of I be",n s,
to be foun d in al\ or dinary p la te woul d, witl lOut
doubt, s u ffice to carr) th e ent ir e s tru cture of
th e piano.
About the Wrest Plank
The wrest plank is, of cour se, a maple prod
'le" :! l ro u g hout, "o r wi ll there \Je,:
,,1) ;->"o b
abi lil y , a ny c hancc to substitut e anot her ma
le' I'i ;, 1 I1lltil a 1l1 cc hallicc\ llinill g' p in
b een
in\' cntcd whic h th e tuner.s wi ll acccll·t.
\Vc
L now quite \\·ell t h a t such a tl111ill;'; pin is per
fcctly feasible , fa;' t he Mason &: I-LlI ,,: in - crcw
strin ger p r ove d th at lon g ago. The proh le m is
to get t h e tuner s to take up a new id ea an d
lIOl to prese ll t 10 it :1. i r o:,t o f un ited h o,:til it y.
I""
TUNERS
11
There is, however, one thin g which ought to
be said. Fo r reasons not easy to und e r s la nd ,
it is cuqomary to build the w rest plank co n
sid e rably wider th an is needed.
It cou ld be
built so as just t o g ive enough s pa ce for the
tunin g p in s and for th e fastening screws . Ther e
is usuall y a great deal of w aste, w hi ch often
rises as hi g h as 20 per cent of the total amount
of wo od u sed. M ore careful c utting, especially
in conneclion with grand w re st plank s, wo uld
he re b e very practi ca l.
Core Woods
VVh et her anythin g can be d one in the way
of s ub q itut es for the present core woods used
in cas e makin g is not easy to tell. T h e s uppl y
s ituation is unfortunately se riou s . T he woods
wh ic h were u<;ed twent y years ago ar e n ow
mainl y unava ilable and even the chestnut whic h
is no\\ s o much emp loyed i:i ill dan ger of ex
hausti on . Of co ur se, subst itute wood ;; w ill be
ava il ab le in imp or t for s ome till1e after the
v isib le supply oi c h est nut is exhauste d ; but
a lr ea dy it is necc ssa ry to ask ourse lves w heth er
we really need t o u se cxp e n s i\'c ancl SOOn to-be ..
scarce Itll nber for cores and other work of t h e
kind.
Th e use of fiber h a.s been sugges ted, but this
d oes not help matter s, s ince the drain upon the
sup ply oi suilable woo d is in this cas e e<1 ua ll y se ri
Oi lS. On ly certain woo d s are useful fo r fiber
II1 ' ''"I[; ' rll1r(' ;I'lcl 011ly " I~ C \' '01' th e woo d pulp
wh ic h m akes paper and w hi'ch can he cou ;..
pressed in to , heets rivalin g stee l in stiJ1n e
of the ulmo s t impor tan ce. It;s n cceso'a r y to
di scover some s ub s titut e for ch estnut woo d,
"o lnethin g whi ch will take a vene er of fa ncy
\",ood and otherwise w ill be as hood as th"
c1,v :-t l1u t or other IUlll!l!' r u seel.
Metal co n <;lruct ion for piano ac: ions has 1I0t
scr iolFl y been co n s idered sinn· t he disastrous
ex per ie n ce of the old C hi c kering hOIl"<' 111~, "· ·
yea r s ago. B ut it is certain t o com e up again
in so me form, and when it d oc s come up it
will ha\'c to be so lved. The r emarkab le s trides
(CulIlinned on jJoge 12)
Profits
- Prolits
More profits lor you
Our boole teJls you how to in
creaso y our pro fi ts.
How to
cut the damage d goods, losses.
Thi s v alu'lbl e bo ok tells you "How to repair
damage to varnished surfaces." If you are in
terested in r educing yo ur losses wri t e for your
copy. on your firm stationery, or send n ame of
fi rm , oth erwise e nclose ten cents to cover
l ,o:Aage.
FREE
Writ~
The M. L. CampbeH C{.l,
Kansas Cily. Mo.
23 Penn. Street
cr-'·"'·- -
In it's 10~),)lear
_iih upwards of
Here are
BASS STRINGS
~UNING
~
SU~~~~FUL
=
" GRADUATES
liPMla' attention alv.n t. lb. aNd_ .t till tuner and the deal.r
OTTO R. TREFZ, Jr.
Philadelphia. Pa.
21)0 Fairmount Avenue
The TUNER'S FRIEND
~I
AOOA.~"S
~
~
~COURTHOUSE
SQ.
VALPARAISO, IND.
Repair Parts and Tools of
Every Description
crt
Send for New Prices
Braunsdorl's Other Speclaltlee
Ne" style all leather bridle Itrap
BRAUNSDORF'S ALL LEATHER BRIDLE STRAPS
Labor Savina; Moust Proot: 8uaraAleed .11 ofte length
&end
tor 8am.,I...
F.III and Cloth. I"
PriM' en
QIlC/
Request
Quantltfa
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc.,
Paper.
Felt
and
Cloth
Puncbin«s, Fibre Wasberflil
and Brld~" for
Pianos, Or..ane and
Player Aedono
0 .... _ . ~:
UO _ _ u"s 8t.. 5 ...
y....
tllAIEMABIi.
THE
28, 1923
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
SUBSTITUTING NEW MATERIALS FOR OLD
ONES IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PIANOS
Likelihood of Having to Discover New Materials to Use in Place of Some Types of Lumber Now
Used in Making Pianos Is Strong in Our Own Time-The Problems of Maple and
Chestnut-Conserving the Present Supply by More Economical Methods
It is the part of a wise man not to be alarm ed
at the imp endenc)' of changes; but it is equally
hi s part not to ig nor e the phenomenon.
Jt
"mild not be wise to worry undul y or prepare
to abandon busines s because the lum ber s itua
tion is a lready serious a nd likely in time to
beco[Ole critical.
Still less wi~e, however, it
wo uld be to ig nor e cheerfull) a ll the signs of
the times and rest comfortably in the b e li ef
that whatever happens will, at any rate, not
happen in ou r time.
For it is by no m ea ns· certa i 11 t ha t se rious
troubl e w ill not com e in our time. It is by
no m ea ns ce r ta in that we s hall not have, within
decade, to look very closely at th e question
of prO\'ielin, (· \"f (;·. in substitul.. , ior lumber;
w hile it is absolutely certain that our duty this
Y('C"
cla \' is to do all in our power to conserve
mI" u sc 01 e"c ry kind of woo d and take al l
possibl e s t e ps to redu cc our demand for eve r y
type and kind of '\ hi ch the s upply is alrea d y
be co ming scan t.
A fter all, when th e cri, is C0m es in each kind
of lumber 'we are now using, we s hall hav e to
cll ange to some s ub st itut e, w h ether wood or
sO!llet hin g else, and we lIlig h t llluch bettcr do
'he thinkin g and the worrying now bef ore the
" ,atter escapes fro111 teven th e limit ed control
we can now exe rt upon it.
The Maple Question
O ne of the most ser iou s difficulti es at present
l'xist in g in the Illl: lbcr trade refers to the s uppl y
0' "ue h kinds of maple a s are comm onl y u se d
in pian o makinv-. The s uppl y in the Easte rn
Sta tes is w i t h.in s ight of extinc tion, nor wou ld
even the mos t perfect and widesp read system
oi reforestation s uffi ce to restore: the old
; bllnd :: n cc llnt', ell ka'-'t li rl ) yea ,', had go n e by.
The Obstacle to Reforestation
:\01'/, i t is to be observe d in ciden tally that a
ve ry large part of the b y no mea ns negli g: ible
opp osition to any ~. nd all proposals for nati ona l
:ciorc<;["t ion a ri ,es from the co mpl aint by
owner s of c leared timb er la nds and by COI11
Illllnitie s ab utting upon s u c h land s t hat to re
plant i:i t o benefit th e n ext generation at the
('xpe nse of this o n e. They say, 1'01 wi lh o ut
'. rlllL, ,h", i, , h esc la llds ar c \'~,: erved for tre e
!,ro ,,·ing durin g the next fifty yea r s they w ill
be unable to realize upon their investments
there in . This is true enoug h, but it principally
ser ves to sho w that t h es e lan ds ought never to
h ave go t into private hands in the first place.
In the second place, howe\'er, it a lso shows
HA.RLEM PIA.NO & ORGA.N KEY CO.
IVOUY AND PORCELAIN CEMENT
FOR PIANO KEYS
This is a finc: white ivo ry co ld glue.
\Ve have spent 15 years perfecting it.
Pa rcel post paid anywhere in U. S. for $1 ,
121-123 East 126th Street
New York. N. Y.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Piano TlIDiol', Pipe aDd Reed Orean
aad PI.yer Piano. Yur Book Free.
27-29 Gain.boro Street
BOSTON, MASS.
th at to put thro u g h a complete policy of nation a l
re fore stat ion, w hil s t society is o rga ni zed upon
it s present basi" is probably to p ropose a n
impo ss ibl e tas k. Th e comp lete extin ction of Ollr
lu mber ;'esou rces is the r e fore not an imposs i
b ilit y. The in calcu lab le consequen ces of allow
in g this to h appen s h~1I n ot, lar ge ly becau se
they neecl not, b e descanted upon h e re. Th ey
a re too ob vious.
Maple and Piano Backs
Returning to our mapl e, it is certain tbat '\ve
mu st do so mething in th e near futur e to s ub
stitute ot h e r suitable mate ri a l for it in piano
construction. It s prese nt usc is m;,inly in back
f raming and it h as hitherto .b een regarded a s
indi spc nsable for bac k post s, top a nd bottom
back rail s (on upri g hts and upright play e rs),
o uter rim s (on grands) and wres t plank s.
Th ere i" n o do ubt at a ll that thc wood en ba c k
of the t:prig ht piano is an unnecessary lu xury. It
has becn prO\'c(\ at l east three diiTc rell l lilll es
th at· one can get a lo ng very we ll witho nt it.
The Steck pat ents of yea rs ago, th e st ill ea rlier
Germa n construction a nd the r ecent Dauer in
ventions, which have b een thoroughly success
ful, all s h ow that ther e is no esse ntial reason
for th e usc of ,.vood in form in g the structure
w hi ch s upport s th e soundboa rd and part of ~he
pull of the 5Ir in;';5. A s so on as the problem is
exam in ed it is se e n t ha t it is not so l11uc h that
of providing a great ma ss o f ir on or ot her sub
;;titute mat eria l, as of distributi ng the carr y in g
'l1c mbcr s in th e right wa y. For ilblance, o n e
co uld supp ort the stri ng str esses merely I)y th e iryn
plate, without a n y wooden back at all, hill for
the facl that the s hape of the plate, as a broa d,
s ha ll ow s heet, pre y-en t s it from ca r'- },i ll ;'; tl:c'
load wi thout bu ckling. If, on the othe r h and,
lh " p late \I'ere \Jllilt of I be",n s,
to be foun d in al\ or dinary p la te woul d, witl lOut
doubt, s u ffice to carr) th e ent ir e s tru cture of
th e piano.
About the Wrest Plank
The wrest plank is, of cour se, a maple prod
'le" :! l ro u g hout, "o r wi ll there \Je,:
,,1) ;->"o b
abi lil y , a ny c hancc to substitut e anot her ma
le' I'i ;, 1 I1lltil a 1l1 cc hallicc\ llinill g' p in
b een
in\' cntcd whic h th e tuner.s wi ll acccll·t.
\Vc
L now quite \\·ell t h a t such a tl111ill;'; pin is per
fcctly feasible , fa;' t he Mason &: I-LlI ,,: in - crcw
strin ger p r ove d th at lon g ago. The proh le m is
to get t h e tuner s to take up a new id ea an d
lIOl to prese ll t 10 it :1. i r o:,t o f un ited h o,:til it y.
I""
TUNERS
11
There is, however, one thin g which ought to
be said. Fo r reasons not easy to und e r s la nd ,
it is cuqomary to build the w rest plank co n
sid e rably wider th an is needed.
It cou ld be
built so as just t o g ive enough s pa ce for the
tunin g p in s and for th e fastening screws . Ther e
is usuall y a great deal of w aste, w hi ch often
rises as hi g h as 20 per cent of the total amount
of wo od u sed. M ore careful c utting, especially
in conneclion with grand w re st plank s, wo uld
he re b e very practi ca l.
Core Woods
VVh et her anythin g can be d one in the way
of s ub q itut es for the present core woods used
in cas e makin g is not easy to tell. T h e s uppl y
s ituation is unfortunately se riou s . T he woods
wh ic h were u<;ed twent y years ago ar e n ow
mainl y unava ilable and even the chestnut whic h
is no\\ s o much emp loyed i:i ill dan ger of ex
hausti on . Of co ur se, subst itute wood ;; w ill be
ava il ab le in imp or t for s ome till1e after the
v isib le supply oi c h est nut is exhauste d ; but
a lr ea dy it is necc ssa ry to ask ourse lves w heth er
we really need t o u se cxp e n s i\'c ancl SOOn to-be ..
scarce Itll nber for cores and other work of t h e
kind.
Th e use of fiber h a.s been sugges ted, but this
d oes not help matter s, s ince the drain upon the
sup ply oi suilable woo d is in this cas e e<1 ua ll y se ri
Oi lS. On ly certain woo d s are useful fo r fiber
II1 ' ''"I[; ' rll1r(' ;I'lcl 011ly " I~ C \' '01' th e woo d pulp
wh ic h m akes paper and w hi'ch can he cou ;..
pressed in to , heets rivalin g stee l in stiJ1n e
of the ulmo s t impor tan ce. It;s n cceso'a r y to
di scover some s ub s titut e for ch estnut woo d,
"o lnethin g whi ch will take a vene er of fa ncy
\",ood and otherwise w ill be as hood as th"
c1,v :-t l1u t or other IUlll!l!' r u seel.
Metal co n <;lruct ion for piano ac: ions has 1I0t
scr iolFl y been co n s idered sinn· t he disastrous
ex per ie n ce of the old C hi c kering hOIl"<' 111~, "· ·
yea r s ago. B ut it is certain t o com e up again
in so me form, and when it d oc s come up it
will ha\'c to be so lved. The r emarkab le s trides
(CulIlinned on jJoge 12)
Profits
- Prolits
More profits lor you
Our boole teJls you how to in
creaso y our pro fi ts.
How to
cut the damage d goods, losses.
Thi s v alu'lbl e bo ok tells you "How to repair
damage to varnished surfaces." If you are in
terested in r educing yo ur losses wri t e for your
copy. on your firm stationery, or send n ame of
fi rm , oth erwise e nclose ten cents to cover
l ,o:Aage.
FREE
Writ~
The M. L. CampbeH C{.l,
Kansas Cily. Mo.
23 Penn. Street
cr-'·"'·- -
In it's 10~),)lear
_iih upwards of
Here are
BASS STRINGS
~UNING
~
SU~~~~FUL
=
" GRADUATES
liPMla' attention alv.n t. lb. aNd_ .t till tuner and the deal.r
OTTO R. TREFZ, Jr.
Philadelphia. Pa.
21)0 Fairmount Avenue
The TUNER'S FRIEND
~I
AOOA.~"S
~
~
~COURTHOUSE
SQ.
VALPARAISO, IND.
Repair Parts and Tools of
Every Description
crt
Send for New Prices
Braunsdorl's Other Speclaltlee
Ne" style all leather bridle Itrap
BRAUNSDORF'S ALL LEATHER BRIDLE STRAPS
Labor Savina; Moust Proot: 8uaraAleed .11 ofte length
&end
tor 8am.,I...
F.III and Cloth. I"
PriM' en
QIlC/
Request
Quantltfa
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc.,
Paper.
Felt
and
Cloth
Puncbin«s, Fibre Wasberflil
and Brld~" for
Pianos, Or..ane and
Player Aedono
0 .... _ . ~:
UO _ _ u"s 8t.. 5 ...
y....
tllAIEMABIi.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).