IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANO-FORTES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANO-FORTES" to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates to pianos and comprises the improvements hereinafter
described.
In the manufacture of pianos designed for exportation to hot or wet countries,
I use, in place of a wood framing in upright vertical and oblique pianos, as well as
in grand pianos, a framing of wrought iron or cast iron or of any other suitable:
metal, having abutting arches for resisting the tension of the strings. The string
plate and wrest plank to which the strings are connected are likewise of metal, and:
the wrest pins turn in the metal without the employment of wood and can be
inserted and removed freely.
The said pins upon which the ends of the strings are wound and which serve for
tuning can be of ordinary construction, for instance they can be made with;
shoulders that is to say the portion of each pin which enters into the inetal wrest
plank is thicker than the portion upon which the string is wound. The said pins
may have screw-threads and consist of any suitable metal.
The holes in the wrest-plank for receiving the said pins can be made by drilling
or punching, or they can be formed therein in casting.
When the metal of which the wrest plank is composed is liable to become rusty,
for instance when wrought iron or cast iron is used, I employ bushes of copper or
other suitable metal, one of which bushes I place in each hole in the wrest plank,
so as to protect it and to serve as a casing for the wrest pin therein, thus protecting
the latter from the oxidizing action of the air.
It is necessary that the strings should be on the wrest pins at a distance of from
eight (8) to twelve (12) millimeters from the wrest plank in order that the tension
of the strings should cause sufficient friction between the wrest pins and the wrest
plank to prevent the pins from turning.
The pressure created upon each pin is equal to the tension of the string attached
to it. It is easy to vary the pressure between a pin and the wrest plank by
removing the string from, or causing it to approach, the wrest plank in such a
manner that the said pin offers more or less resistance to rotation and cannot turn
in the wrest-plank without the aid of the key.
It is easy for a tuner to turn the wrest pins in one or the other direction as
required, the friction being always the same even if the holes in the wrest plank
should wear oval by reason of the constant tuning.
The advantages of this construction are that there is no sound-board or sheathing
to unfasten, no wood which is liable to damage, no holes are made too large for the
I

page_text: pins, and a pin, if broken, in the hole (which pin it is very difficult to get out of
the wooden wrest plank) can be readily removed by hand, as they are quite free.
The ordinary wood wrest-planks, can be replaced by a wrest-plank of wood
having the grain in the longitudinal direction of the strings, and having on one or
both sides a metal plate of from 3 to 5 millimeters thick serving as a support or
bearing for the wrest pins. The hole in the plate or plates and the wood must be
drilled in order that the pins enter freely and can be removed by hand, the
application of the pin being the same as in the metal wrest plank.
The bridge which is likewise of metal is made in a single piece, cast or fastened
on the wrest plank, and running its entire length. The bridge can be a false bridge
having a breadth of from 10 to 20 millimeters, and a rabbet or groove for receiving
the bridge proper which is a semi-circular piece or projecting portion upon which
the string bears. The bridge proper is held upon the false bridge by the pressure
of the strings. For ensuring regular distances between the strings, grooves are
made in the semi-circular or projecting piece for guiding the strings of each note.
In sounding boards as ordinarily constructed the joints sometimes become loose
through dryness and moisture. For obtaining greater solidity I glue plates, one
upon the other, 2 or 3 centimeters being the breadth of the glue surface, which is
thus doubled. By this means the wood is better connected and the vibrations are
transmitted over the whole extent of the sound-board. The joints can be carfed,
thereby doubling the breadth of the glued portion, and barred at each joint. With
the employment of ordinary joints, a bar can be glued above and below, thus
consolidating and preserving the joint from dampness and also from becoming too
dry. The whole sounding board must be well varnished.
The piano-forte action constructed according to this invention has a jointed
hopper and operates either in a vertical or horizontal position and has the
advantage of causing repetition and of serving as a double action although it does
not move away from the end of the hammer. The shank of the hammer is a wire
for replacing the wooden shank now in use; with this metal shank there is no
liability of breakage and a flexibility is obtained, which throws the hammer with
much force, and provides purity in the sound of the high notes.
The metal shank can be fixed in various manners, into the head; it can be
screwed or forcibly driven or inserted by forming two holes and bending the wire
or shank and causing it to enter the two holes.
The shank can be fixed in the hammer block by screwing or driving by means
of a set screw in the face of the block, which set screw exerts pressure upon the
shank and fixes it very firmly. It also serves for changing the length of the
shank.
In pianos with oblique strings and the bridges of which are formed of copper
ribs along the entire length, thus dispensing with the grooves and causing the
strings of the same note not to be struck at the same length, I arrange the hammer
heads by piercing the block for receiving the handle or shank at right angles, as
for the vertical strings, and give to the narrow side of the head an oblique cut, so
that the stroke of the hammer is of the same length upon the three strings of the
note.
I point out in concluding that the improved piano can be arranged in such a
manner that it can be transformed from an upright piano with vertical strings
into a grand piano, and vice versa.
In this double piano I use an arrangement of bars of wood which replace the
stretchers having iron shanks. This construction can be used for any kinds of
piano and has a great advantage by reason of its lightness, sonority and great
resisting force.

page_text: I WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to pianofortes and comprises the improvements hereinafter
described.
In the manufacture of pianofortes designed for exportation to hot or wet
countries, I use in place of a wood framing in upright and oblique pianos as well
as in grand pianos, a framing of wrought iron or cast iron, or of any other suitable
metal, having abutting arches for resisting the tension of the strings; the string-
plate and wrest-plank to which the strings are connected are likewise of metal, and
the wrest-pins turn in the metal without the employment of wood and can be
inserted and removed freely.
The said pins upon which the ends of the strings are wound and which serve for
tuning can be of ordinary construction, for instance, they can be made with
shoulders, that is to say, the portion of each pin which enters the metal wrest-plank
is thicker than the portion upon which the string is wound. The said pins may
have screw threads and may consist of any suitable metal. The holes in the wrest-
plank for receiving the said pins can be made by drilling or punching, or can be
formed therein in casting.
When the metal of which the wrest-plank is composed is liable to become rusty
for instance when wrought iron or cast iron is used, I employ bushes of copper or
other suitable metal, one of which bushes I place in each hole in the wrest-plank
so as to protect it and to serve as casing for the wrest-pin therein, thus protecting
the latter from the oxidizing action of the air.
It is necessary that the strings should be on the wrest-pins at a distance of from
eight (8) to twelve (12) millimetres from the wrest-plank, in order that the tension
of the strings should cause sufficient friction between the wrest-pins and the
wrest-plank at the front and backs of the holes to prevent the pins from turning.
The pressure exerted upon each pin is equal to the tension of the string attached
to it. It is easy to vary the pressure between a pin and the wrest-plank by
removing the string from, or causing it to approach, the wrest-plank in such a
manner that the said pin offers more or less resistance to rotation and cannot turn
in the wrest-plank without the aid of the key.
It is easy for a tuner to turn the wrest-pins in one or the other direction as
required the friction being always the same; even if the holes in the wrest-plank.
should wear oval by reason of the constant tuning.
The advantages of this construction are that there is no wrest plank or sheathing
to unfasten, no wood which is liable to damage, no holes are made too large for the
pins and a pin if broken in the hole (which pin it is very difficult to get out of the
wooden wrest-plank) can be readily removed by hand, as all the wrest-pins ara,

page_text: quite free, and replaced by another without damaging it by hammering as is
necessary in inserting pins in wooden wrest-planks.
With this construction accidents are not liable to occur through moisture.
The ordinary wood wrest-plank, can be replaced by a wrest-plank of wood having
the grain in the longitudinal direction of the strings, and having on one or both
sides a metal plate or plates of from 3 to 5 millimetres thick serving as a support
or bearing for the wrest-pins. The holes in the plate or plates and in the wood
must be drilled, in order that the pins enter freely and can be removed by hand, the
application of the pin being the same as in the metal-wrest plank before described.
The bridge which is likewise of metal is made in a single piece, cast or fastened
on the wrest-plank and running its entire length. The bridge can be a false bridge
having a breadth of from 10 to 20 millimetres, and a rabbet or groove for receiving
the bridge proper which is a semi-circular strip upon which the strings bear. The
bridge proper is held upon the false bridge by the pressure of the strings. For
ensuring regular distances between the strings, grooves are made in the semi-
circular strips for guiding the strings of each note.
In sounding boards as ordinarily constructed the joints sometimes become loose
through dryness and moisture. For obtaining greater solidity at the joints I glue
plates, of two or three centimetres in breadth one upon the other, which plates
double the thickness of the board at these points and serve as a bar for resisting
the weight; by this means the wood is better connected and the vibrations are
transmitted over the whole extent of the sound-board. The joints can be scarfed,
thereby doubling 'the breadth of the surface for gluing, and barred at each joint.
With the employment of ordinary joints, a bar can be glued above and below,
thus consolidating and preserving the joint from dampness and also from becoming
too dry.
The whole sounding board must be well varnished in order to render it
impermeable.
The pianoforte action constructed according to this invention and illustrated
in the drawing has a jointed escapement A engaging with the block B, and
operates in either a vertical or horizontal position, and has the advantage of
causing repetition and of serving as a double action although it does not move
away from the end of the hammer. The shank C of the hammer D is a metal
wire, replacing the wooden shank now in use; with this metal shank there is no
liability of breakage and a flexibility is obtained, which throws the hammer with
much force, and provides purity in the sound of the high notes.
The metal shank can be fixed in various manners into the head, that is to say,
it can be screwed or forcibly driven, or inserted by forming two holes and bending
the wire or shank and causing it to enter into the said two holes.
The shank can be fixed in the hammer-block by screwing or driving, or by
means of a set screw in the face of tlie block, which set screw exerts pressure upon
the shank and fixes it very firmly. It also serves for changing the length of the
shank.
In a piano with oblique strings and the bridge of which is formed of a copper
rib along the entire length, thus dispensing with the grooves and causing the
strings of the same note not to be struck at the same length, I arrange the hammer
heads D by piercing the blocks for receiving the handles or shanks C at right
angles to the vertical strings, and give to the narrow side of the head an oblique
cut, so that the stroke of the hammer is of the same length upon the three strings
of the.note.
I
I would point out in concluding, that the improved pianoforte can be arranged
in such a manner 'that it can be transformed from an upright piano with vertical
strings into a grand piano and vice versa.
In this double piano I use an arrangement of bars of wood which replace the
stretchers having iron shanks. This construction can be used for any kinds of
pianos and has a great advantage by reason of its lightness, sonority and great,
resisting force.
.!

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
First. Improvements in the manufacture of pianofortes as herein before described
and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Second. In a pianoforte, a frame constructed of wrought or cast iron or of other
suitable metal and provided with abutting arches; with a metal wrest-plank, or a
wooden wrest-plank having a plate of metal on one or both sides; and with metal
wrest-pins, as described.
Third. The method of arranging the metallic pins serving for adjusting the
tension of the strings, these pins being adapted to be readily inserted into, and
removed from, the holes in the metal wrest-plank; the said holes in some cases
being lined with bushes of copper, bronze or other suitable metal substantially as,
and for the purposes described.
Fourth. The metallic bridge cast or forged on the wrest-plank or fastened in a
groove therein and arranged as above described.
Fifth. The method of forming the joints of sounding-boards consisting in
superposing strips of wood; or in scarfing, with the object of augmenting the
surface for the glue and consequently the solidity of the sounding board, as
described.
Sixth. The escapement jointed near the hammer substantially as described with
reference to the accompanying drawing, and for the purpose specified.
Seventh. The improved hammer provided with a metallic shank for imparting
to it great flexibility and resistance.