The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1884-08-29
ALL ABOUT PIANOS.



"HOw many parts are tuere to a piano"
was asked a large manufac urer yesterday.
"That is a difficult ques ion to all, wer,
literally; but the making can suppose 10
divided into four parts; the case, the
framing and sounding board, the string
ing, the keys and action. The case is tho
most expensive part of the instrument,
but has nothing to do with its value from
a musical standpoint At first cases were
male, almost wholly without exception,
of rosewood, but now nearly every varie-
~ of wood is used. You must not imagine,
| however, that cases are male entirely Of
the more expensive woods, The case
proper i made Of white wuot. and the APP
pearance of the mot expensive wood is
given 10y thin veueering."
"How about the traming2"
"For sixty years or more it has beeh
made, wholly or in par Of iron. on ac-
count Of the immense strain produced by
the strings. This strain of tension, bv the
way, amounts to from seven to ten tons
Then spruce is used for the sounding
board, and the rings are OF iron wire,
covered sometimes with copper or steel
wire. Ivory, white wood and felt are
used for forming the action and keys.
Come with mo and | will show you how
some of the work is done.
This continued the gentleman, lead
lug the way into II long, luw-stuide room.
"is the polishing room. The polishing of
piano is a lonS, laborious task. Four OF,
five successive coats OF vLrn.- n are rubbed
down, when dry, with pummlce-stone and
water, Other finishing coats are applied
and sand papered previous to the applica-
ton OF the final polishing coat IN iking in
all, nine or ten coat"
Another large room was visited.
Here is whore the cas- IS are made !"
said the guide. "As You see, wooden
clamps are used to hold them together,
and When finished they are taken apart,
number and sent to another room to be
polished. Here i, the vcueerin,. This
very thin sheet of mahogany is glued to
the inc4.thick piece OF wntewood, ami
they are both subjected, at high tenn.
peraturr, to an enormous pressure, which
makes tue veneer aim - part of the
wildwood. These % Idly. shaped pieces OF
iron are the frames which we have cas-
for MS"
How many men does it require t.
make a single piano: Til, j., not rYnuu.
drum"
"Ol! a erra' many. Etch man has hi
own line, and never d'pirt- from II. Their
are key. makers, hamm .r-uah rs, hammer.
lea'herers, striu gers, case-.uaGerS ii tin
ishers. sound.boarl makers, tuners. etc,
The tuners are the highest paid II all. |
takes one littl over "A day to put plan
in shape. The completed piano, ready to
give either pleasure or pain, and NOR ire.
queut.y wing the iattcr, find, it, way I,
the warcro ms aOou- six months after IL
is commenced"
"What is h cost of Il good piano." va,
asked another gentleman interested IN
pianos, but not a manufacturer. lie wa,
certainly very candid.
"Such piano." he said, "as a manu-.
fac,urer might charge you 9Gji ;or | can
get you on easy terms for 100 or less.
The cash pric. Of a piano t any one con-
nectel with thu business is tity per cent
les, than the catalogue price"
"A frst.clas, ns.rum n =" he continue /,
after loIg and very careful calcula ion,
costs tue manufac urer about 500, all
told. II leaves fair nargiu OF prof
when a custom pay 500 or II, % for il
FIR all tina iigSt-class manufacturers Il,
not make fortunes rapidly Competition
j. immense, and very large capital is re-
with cheap in ,trumeuts, some of which
worse than uselasS to my mind sell as
low AS perhaps 800"