New-York tribune., 1911-02-19

sible for anyone to build his own piano in
New York without owning plant or factory
of any kind. He can order the separate parts
direct from the specially manufacturers, and
then. if he possesses the necessary skill, he
can assemble them in his own home and call
it his "home made piano.
Difference Is In Wood Used
nNE of the great differences between a
" hundred-dolar and five thousand
dollar piano is the wood that goes into its
manufacture and the final polish or finish.
All sorts of wood are used for pianos; but,
whatever variety is employed, it must be
carefully seasoned. Usually the rough lum-
Der stands a year outdoors to be seasoned
properly, and then two or three years under
cover, after which it is put through process
of artificial drying to make sure that every
particle of moisture is out of it. The wood
is even baked and rebaked. Wood for the
sounding boards is subjected to a series of
Turkish baths, and then passed through dry
ing rooms, where the temperature is often
maintained for weeks up to one hundred and
twenty degrees Fahrenheit.
Altogether the wood is treated and manip-
ulated for months and months, and when it
polished in the most elaborate manner, No
quick, ordinary treatment with brush and
varniSh will do for your piano, which is built
to last for years in all sorts of climates and
temperatures No less than eight and nine
coats of varniSh are applied, and between
each coat experts rub down the surface and
dry the wood IN special atmosphereS. The
different coats of varniSh are rubbed down
with powdered pumiceStone, with soft mud
stone or rottcnStonc, and with oil. Finally,
after days and weeks of rubbing, driving, and
vanishing, the surface is rubbed to a finish
with the palms of the hands of experts who
Go nothing else than rub from morning till
night
Stock pianos are made of nearly all our
common and uncommon hardwoodS; but if
YOU wish any particular wood the manu-
facturcrS will please you. 1t is rarely that a
piano is made of solid hardwood. Nearly all
of them are Vcneered with mahogany, rose
wood walnut, or anyone of the dozen or two
domestic and imported woods of special
beauty The vencered surface is less likely to
crack and warp than the solid wood, and more
beautiful grain effects can be obtained there
by. These hardwood veneerS are laid on
croSswiSe in several layers, and when finished
there is no possibility OF warpng or cracking
The forests of South and Central America,
and the junglcS of Asia and Africa, as well
as the mountains and SwampS OF the islands
of the Pacific. are searched for fancy woods
for American piano manufacturers, and tons
of these rare and sweet woods come to this
land every week TO be sliced up by the big
veneer machines But so far no rare or i'm
ported wood has been found to excel our
native spruce for the sounding boards. and
ninc-tenthS of these are made of the best
Adirondack spruce trees.
One OF the improvements made by Amer
lean piano manufacturers is the frame or
plate over which the strings are stretched.
These frames must give perfect resonance,
and still be 50 strong that they will withstand
immense strain. In the best American pianos
the frame will sustain a tension of thirty tons.
The same is true of the fine piano wire,
which IN some instances may have a tensile
strength exceeding twenty tons. The great
increase in the tension OF the wire reacts
upon the durability of the sounding boards
and screws, and consequently there is limit
Ia. nj. - IA Of h.,