The Osceola times., 1884-09-06
ALL ABOUT PIANOS
How They Make instruments Of Pleasure
and Torture.


Boston Globe.
How mary parts ar. there TO q pi-
amor was asked a large manufacturer
yesterday.
That is difficult question to answer
literally; but the making can, suppose,
be divided into four parts: the case, the
framing and sounding board, the string.
ing the keys and action. The case is the
lost expensive part of the instrument,
ut has nothing to do with its value from
a musical standpoint. Atfirst cases were
made, almost without exception, of rose
wood, but now nearly every variety OF
wood is used. You must not imagine,
however, that cases are made entirely OF
The more expensive woods. The case
proper is made of white wood, and the
appearance OF the most expensive wood
is given by ehin veneering."
"How about the framing?"
For sixty years or more il has been
made, wholly or in part. of iron, on ac-
count Of the immense strain produced by
| the strings. This strain Of tension, by
the way, amounts to from seven to ten
tons. Then spruce is used for the sound
| ing board, and th G strings are ofiron wire,
covered sometimes with copper or steel
wire. Ivory, white wood and felt are
used for forming the action and keys.
Come with me, and / will show you how
some If the work is done.
This, continued the gentleman, lead
ing the way into long, low.studded
room. "is the polishing room. The pol
ishing Of piano is long, laborious task.
Four or five successive coats Of varnish
are rubbed down, when dry, with pum-
milestone and water. Other finishing
coats are applied and sand-papered pre-
vious to the application of the final pol
ishing coat making-in all, nine or ten
Lcoats."
Another large room was visited.
Here is where the cases are made"
said the guide. As you see, wooden
clamps are used to hold them together,
and when finished they are taken apart,
numbered and sent to another room to be
polished. Here is the veneering. This
very thin sheet of mahogany is glued to
to the inch-thick piece of white wood, and
they are both subjected, at a high temp
erature, to an enormous pressure, which
makes the veneer almost part of the
white wood. These oddly. shaped pieces
of iron are the frames which we have cast
for u.s."
"How many men does il require to
make a single piano' This is not a
conundrum."
"Oh! great many. Each man has his
own line, and never departs from it
There are key-makers, hammer-makers
hammer-leatherers, stringers. case-mak- :
ers and finishers. sound-board makers
tuners, etc. The tuners are the highest
paid OF all. II takes one little over a
day to put piano i'm shape. The CON-
pleted piano, ready to give either pleas.
ure or pain, and more frequently giving
the latter, finds its way to the warerooms
about six months after it is commenced ,
what is the cost of a good piano" was
asked another gentleman Interested in
pianos, but not a manufacturer. He was
certainly very candid.
such uano," he said, "as manufac
turer might charge you 5000 for can get
you on easy teams for 800 or less. The
cash price ofa piano to anyone connected
with the business is 80 ercent, less than
the catalogue price"
"A iirst-class instrument" hecontinu-
ed, after long and very careful calcula.
ton, costs the manufacturer about $500,
all told. 1t leaves fair margin of profit
when a customer pays $500 or 81 900 for
i'll For all that, frst-class manufacturers
do not make fortunes rapidly. Compe-
tition is immense, and very large capi-
! tai is required. Then, too, the market is
flooded vita cheap instruments, some OF
which-worse than useless to my mind
sell as low as perhaps $780,