The Washington times., 1925-01-19

One of the most elegant things
in modern home is the stately
form of a grand piano. Imagine
dozens of these forrns-the outer rim
Of the big music box-spread over
the floor, as ones first glimpse be-
hind the scenes where the famous
Knabe piano is being made.
Some hundreds a month is the
Knabe grand piano output, so the
bewildering array of curved shells
may be imagined. Many layers of
framework, which can be discerned
by looking at the various grains
in the finished rim.
They are put into great rim
presses, these grand piano forms,
on metal plank of brass called
a .'caul," one inside and one out
side the wood. Here they are held
until the perfect pattern is secured,
with not a blister or an Irregular
ity where the narrow woods fit to-
gether.
The veneer of the outside is then
put on, chiefly in Mahogany, though
there are some in American burl
walnut Many of these narrow
veneers are In two layers with an
important element in the fact that
they are in opposite grains OF the
wood.
Then comes the drying process.
The finished parts are put into
driving rooms, with heat at 12O de-
grees and 81 degrees of humidity.
Here they remain for seventy-two
hours.
Sounding Boards Sun Kissed.
Do you remember the thrill at
dvnio ~
Oh, the mystery OF 1t all! The
shining. satiny sheen of the natural
beauty of the wood: the long, long
clustering strings; the lovely curves
of the frame upon which the strings
are fastened!
Choosing the wood for piano
sounding 1boards-wlfich next fit
into the grand piano--is most Inn
portant. It is surprising to learn
that sounding boards are made OF
the wood of trees grown only on
the south side of hills, in a certain
way in certain localities. Spruce
of a very special quality is used.
The wood is seasoned from four
to six, even to ten years. A pre-
liminary work Of about six months
gets them ready for the steam boz"
where they are kept three weeks.
Following this the cribs" are,
glued on. And that is most I'M
portant, even primitive hand pro-
cess" no modern invention has
brought in a machine-made improve
inent here. The ribs are held in
place by upright sticks Of a certain
wood, that are driven in against
a sort of ceiling. They stand like
a group Of tiny trees, holding the
ribs firmly while they dry and
meanwhile giving to the sound
board itself that slight curve that
makes for perfect acoustics. This
is undre the side of the board.
Those long arched racks for the
tuning pins are next placed on the
top of these sounding-boards and
the piano is ready for the strings.
Strings, Hammers and Keys.
Wire of a very peculiar combi-
nation of metals must be used for
piano strings. 1t must be OF the
same tension" throughout. Often
piano wire is used for other things
because of it's excellence.
The winding Of the wire to make
the outer part of. the deep bass
stretches of wire are coiled in a
moment, broken off and fastened.
for the various strings. Every
detail of the mysterious inner parts
of piano that go to make up
the action" were here being
made.
The felt that makes the ham
mers comes from England. Sew
eral forms of the felt are glued
and then shaped, in a long solid
piece, before they are cut apart
like lamb chops!
The. ivory of the keys, too, go
on to the wooden foundation in q
solid piece and are then sawed
apart.
Assembling these parts becomes