Pianorama,a 1950s black-and-white promotional fil

[Music] [Music] [Applause] when tinnitus ice-cream your fav kind well it begins for the sea I'll give you that much of a hint careth ice cream maybe I'll bet mr. Hendrickson he knows about everything please mom can't we be excused now I've seen everything it might as well have been carrot ice cream Martha especially since we seem to have a couple of rabbits on our hands what I'm gonna do is hop next Dora - mr. Hendricks well I just hope they aren't making nuisances of themselves well maybe we'd better rescue mr. Hendricks early tonight rescue sure you don't want to get in on one of those stories yourself the trumpets sounded king's cavalry fell back five but every castle the beautiful princess and found the dungeon where the enemy had locked up the prince with the rusty old key she and the prince had about it his Arabian steed to lead the charge excuse me for not getting up of course forgive us for interrupting not at all come on in and sit down well we just came over to pick up our two little truant I hope they haven't been bothering you too much oh the pleasures been all mine you see with my own grandchildren living so far away I have to have Joanie and Dick here to take their place come on in sit down it's early it was just about finished anyway dick the king of the prince drove the enemy away and they never came back [Music] I'm happily ever after if we just had a pier here we go again the whole family's been after me for months to get a piano but well Martha needs a new refrigerator and I've sort of had my eye on a new car it just so happens you can't keep food in a piano or ride to work in one trade we're not rich enough for all the luxuries I mean different from the everyday things of life besides they had mr. Henriques isn't rich and he has one well his is an heirloom son you know something it's been in the family for years and years as a matter of fact it isn't an heirloom but it's going to be you didn't see me that's me thank you thanks that's ok dick and you're right sometimes I do need a magnifying glass to find my bank balance but that's the wonderful thing about being alive today now with modern production techniques being combined with old-time craftsmanship almost anyone anyone but the Lawrences well I didn't realize that anything so artistic could be put on a production basis yes not only can but has since the piano is the basic instrument for all music classical and popular they've had to streamline production to keep up with the demand at the same time keep the costs down the way they make pianos today well it's quite a story quite a story I'd like to hear myself the story really opens in the dense jungles where they get the raw materials so I did excuse me well once upon a time pianos were made by hand and it took an awful lot of money and an awful lot of time to turn one out but today with our improved methods the same job to be done in a matter of minutes and done better to why even the wood they work with is more carefully chosen special woods for special purposes sawed and graded only the choicest lumber is shipped to the factory where it is stick piled for ventilation and preliminary seasoning in the storage yards unseasoned or wet lumber would warp and ruin the finest cabinet no matter how perfectly made so to prevent this the wood is dried and huge kills to remove the moisture and prevent further shrinkage of course during the drying period special gauges and recording instruments carefully keep track of conditions going on within the kill after the moisture content has been reduced to the proper amount the Lord is sent to the mill room where it encounters one of the whirling stock saws that quickly cuts the boards to length [Music] all imperfections are cast aside an end piece that might have been damaged in transit for instance or have a twisted grain well it's lost its right to be part of a fine piano and now sod two lengths and graded the boards are stacked to be passed along to the next operation claiming this machine is automatic once the boards are fed into its hungry jaws the planer gobbles them up as the spring-loaded claws drag the wood through the machine sharp knives attached to a roller revolving a tremendous speed playing the underside of each board as it is pulled along over the whirling blades [Music] as the board's emerge now satin-smooth along the underside they're fed into another similar machine to complete the planing operation on the topside now sawed and planed the pieces are of uniform length of thickness and are again stacked awaiting further treatment this time they are passed through a machine known as a multiple Ripper it's job is to rip the boards into strips so they can be glued together again does this sound ridiculous well actually it's quite essential you see naturally wide pieces sometimes have a tendency to warp even when perfectly seasoned so to prevent this special steps are taken to neutralize the internal stresses causing the warp here's how it's done the strips are rotated a quarter turn from the way they were when sawed apart and are glued together edge to edge instead of side to side this brings new surfaces together and completely rearranges the original grain structure thereby neutralizing the internal stresses and producing a wide piece completely free from warping tendencies and now for another planing to remove all excess glue from the surfaces this time both sides are planed at once as it makes a single pass through the machine so that the new form piece may be smooth and clean it is now known as a core as it will become the inside center section of a veneered cabinet panel first comes the veneer to pieces followed by the core and topped off with two more pieces of veneer and forming a sort of a5 decker sandwich a number of panels are made up at the same time and piled together as a batch or a load to be placed in this special multi jog press which holds the pieces together under heat until the glue is firmly set slowly the great jaws of the press like a giant accordion squeeze together soon extra strong and warp proof the wood will be ready for the cabinet shop but before we build a cabinet it must be designed ever hear of a two dimensional piano well this is what they're like but still on paper the piano comes to life first on drawing boards where engineers position every string and curve of the plate and designers map each line and sweep of the cabinet from the graceful legs to the lacy loveliness of the music rack and that's only half the job the important other half lies ahead masterminding the most efficient way to build the instrument before any new piano goes into production a full-scale working model is made the men in this shop live and breathe pianos proud graduates of the old school of craftsmanship they hand fashion the models that will later go on a production basis but before production often designing and building of special precision tooling is required such as the development of the automatic bridge driller the only one of its kind in existence without such a creative approach to piano manufacture bridges would still be drilled by hand a tedious and less accurate way to get the job done with this mechanical brain the Machine intricately maneuvers the bridge past the tireless twin drills from the looks of things the machine appears to think for itself as it slowly inches its way along but before any new tooling is built the pilot model gets a thorough going-over in the sound laboratory where it stone is analyzed and perfected the tone hits Peaks a rich initial volume with a second wave of vibrant overtones the graph records the intensity of the vibrations a visual pattern that gives the lab technicians just the information they need from these graphs special forms are made known as profiles of performance only after such analysis does the piano go into production where machines can turn out in numbers what the artists and engineers have built by hand only by such methods can the piano be put within the reach of all the router does this intricate carving with hairline accuracy producing well what do you know two at a time and we'd have to wait a month of Sundays for a piano if each leg had to be turned by hand but with this mechanical wizard a leg can be turned in a minute flat without even hurrying just watch the speed with which this machine tackles the job how does it do it well the trick is all in this nasty set of whirling knives each knife is carefully shaped and slanted at just the right angle to cut a particular suite or curve so as the turning piano leg slowly feeds into the spinning knives a formally columns e stick is quickly transformed into a graceful but sturdy stem sanding is also done on a multiple basis where special machines handle each part quickly and efficiently as each leg is placed in position it is automatically picked up by the spinning Arbor of the rotating turret which carries the leg up and around passed a series of sanding surfaces let's follow a specific operation and see how the backbone of the piano is built this double end tenon er is a miraculous machine that fashions both ends of a piece of wood at the same time cutting it to length and forming 210 first a saw lops off the end then a pair of cleaners cuts the tenon as the post is carried along the same thing being done simultaneously at the other end of the post now cut to length and a toad the back posts are ready for assembly and are passed along to this crew quickly fit them into place in this special jig with a precision that's something to see 24 pieces are used in all each piece carefully coated with just the right amount of glue in just the right places so as to bind all pieces together in a firm and rigid section this is built in insurance that the piano will really have a rugged Constitution for backs are built up at once being held in special forms after which they're trundled over to a giant press which will hold the pieces together during the time it takes the glue to set the press exerts tons of pressure as it squeezes the pieces into rigid alignment retaining clamps are then placed in position to hold the pressure so that the press may be released for further operation this makes it possible to use the press over and over again for other backs while these are rolled aside for the period of time it takes the glue to dry while all this is going on other men are fashioning the sounding board the heart of the piano opening one of the many presses a finished sounding board is removed in preparation to starting another first come the ribs coated with glue they're placed in position these will impart the crown or curve to the board much like the curve on the back of a violin next come the bridges the base and then the treble with its special calibrated element that augments and distributes the sound over the entire area they are placed in the upper half of the press and lastly the sounding board itself is inserted and the press is locked as the cycle continues only the choices spruce is used for this purpose so choice in fact that only 5% of the tree is worthy of becoming a sounding board next it will be fastened to the back another press is used this one designed especially for the purpose again glue is applied working it carefully around the edges to ensure firmness and permanence then the sounding board is lifted into place followed by a protective frame so that when the retaining clamps are swung into position and tightened they will in no way Mar the surface now with everything in place a new cycle is started and another assembly having finished its drying period is removed it's come a long way and it still has a long way to go but first it gets a special grooming on this automatic shaper there are still raw edges to be trimmed where excess glue has been squeezed out and a couple of notches to be formed this shaper does the job quickly accurately and automatically and it's a good thing to stay clear up unless you'd like your manicures close [Music] [Applause] [Music] this man is not beating on this piano plate to see how much punishment it could take he's driving in the hardrock maple plugs which later will be drilled to form the bushings for the tuning pins this is a job requiring both skill and rhythm a job wherein it's best to let the left hand know what the right is doing and now the back in sounding-board assembly is ready to receive the plate or harp as it's sometimes called this plate is made of special high-strength cast iron since it will carry over 200 taut strings the combined pull of which is nearly 40,000 pounds here too is teamwork where one man sets the anchor screws that will hold the plate rigidly to the back assembly while the other sinks them deep into the hardwood frame holes are then drilled to receive the tuning pins which hold the strings this requires the drilling of some 216 holes through the wooden bushings and down deep into the hard rock maple pin plank which was glued into the back for this express purpose when the back was formed now with back sounding-board and plate assembled we're ready to give the piano its voice for the strings are truly the speaking chords of this fine instrument this is one of the most vital operations in piano building and requires the greatest of skill each string is wound round a pin and driven home three strings each are required for the notes of the treble section since these shorter strings are no match in volume and would be snowed under by the resonance of the stronger fuller tones of the bass notes these longer and heavier strings are made of the same quality steel as the treble but are softer and of lower tensile strength they're wrapped round and round with copper wire in order to increase depth and mellowness of their tone all strings are made of the finest steel those of the higher notes being pulled from reels and snipped to length they vary in diameter depending upon the note for which each is intended although each pack is individually Strunk there are times when teamwork is required the piano is beginning to take shape now and is ready for the first of the five tunings it will receive before leaving the plant and so off it goes for the first of these tunings known as chipping this is done by plucking strings while an instrument known as an oscilloscope electronically registers the vibrations as long as the pattern on the scope drifts to the left the note is flat to the right it is sharp when it stands still it is just right while all this is going on other craftsmen are busy guaranteeing that the piano will be a thing of beauty spray staining is the first of the finishing operations and is done after the cabinet components have been sanded to silken smoothness next comes filling an operation to seal the pores and prepare the surface for final finishing lavishly applied so that no tiny pore will be overlooked the excess is later wiped off and blended with a stain to bring out the rich tapestry of the grain the pieces are then spray lacquered to ready them for the final finishing operation several coats of quality lacquer are given for durable protection each coat being allowed to dry thoroughly and then given a light standing before the next one is applied finally the pieces are passed along to the last of the hand finishing operations for there is nothing like hand rubbing to bring out that smooth satin like finish so desired hand rubbing by men whose credo is in the great tradition of fine furniture craftsmanship seems to bring out new dimensions in the grain which proves again that nature is the greatest artist of them all and if you've ever wondered how this beautiful matched graining is done here is the man who is largely responsible for it this takes an artist's eye to carefully select and match the pieces to be used and now for one of the neatest tricks in the plant gluing the very edges of the veneer it seems unbelievable but just watch here they go end on one side as two separate pieces and out on the other as one wide section welded down the center so perfectly that the veneer is actually strongest at the seams since the piano is the star performer in any home its gleaming cabinet must be the most beautiful thing in the house and there are styles that did any type of furnishings modern as fresh and exciting is tomorrow's newspaper provincial charming focal point in any house and stately tradition always appealing a universal favorite in lustrous mahogany or walnut and for unusual decorative appeal here is a piano in a plastic fabric covering that won't stain or scratch and speaking of appeal this is the way the business end of the piano is groomed to meet its public this is the beginning of the cabinet assembly known as side gluing these are carefully fitted glued and clamped in place so as to become an integral part of the piano here as elsewhere precision and uniformity result in a degree of perfection that is seldom equal finally after other cabinet components have been added it's ready to move along to the next station and there you have it now it's really beginning to look like a piano but it still needs a lot of doing before it will play like one the mechanism which activates the hammers is called the action this is now lowered into position as a unit screws are placed a few adjustments and the action will soon be ready for its team mates the Hammers tipped with glue they are deftly fitted into place this really takes time for there are 88 notes to be accounted for and in such small space only one pair of hands can work not all notes are struck at the same angle so the proper striking point must be ascertained as well as allowing enough clearance so the Hammers won't hit each other even their stems are glued in and turned at the right angle for greatest strength just as a baseball bat has held so as not to strike against the grain next comes the keyboard the magic 88 from who infinite combinations all sorts of music can be created this is now laid in place and carefully adjusted this man specialty is seeing that the keys are on the level his straight edge tells the story at a glance if one key is lower than the others it's deftly built up with special inserts if it were too high if we'd be playing down a few thousandths of an inch this operation is known as leveling the keys pebbles are also checked and adjustments carefully handled laying touch is important too when you consider that in one single musical selection a note may be struck hundreds of times it's not hard to see the reason for all this care one more operation and our piano has reached the end of the line the trim pieces are attached and the piano which has been so many weeks in the making stands complete as a thing of beauty these men are truly of the old order of craftsmen men who feel a deep sense of pride in the beauty there are many skills have produced from the time the first rough lumber enter the factory until the last bit of trim is fastened to the instrument all that remains is a final inspection and tuning this time by ear the piano is also voiced a final blending of tone for richness and beauty the man who does this is the last of a long line of artists engineers and batsmen who worked on this piano men who worked to make it an instrument that's that's well I can't exactly put my finger on it an instrument that's truly the heart of the home a heart that beats with the mood and warmth of the family well that was a wonderful story mr. Hendricks it certainly was and I see now what you meant by modern methods the piano goes where that fatty well I'd have to look at my crystal ball to find that out oh I see a boy and a girl at home practicing pieces that are fun to play but the time is moving swiftly and and [Music]