THE USES OF WOOD 



WOOD FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 



BY HU MAXWELL 



MANUFACTURERS 

 of musical instru- 

 ments select wood 

 with several objects in 

 view, depending upon the 

 kind of instrument and the 

 particular part of that in- 

 strument which the wood 

 is to supply. The maker 

 of one kind may want a 

 wood of extra strength and 

 unusual stiffness in order 



to give the necessary rigidity. Another may desire a 

 kind that behaves well in joinery and is not inclined to 

 excessive shrinkage and warping. Sometimes a wood is 

 wanted which possesses high resonance. Or, perhaps, the 

 maker of veneers intended for use in the bodies of large 

 musical instruments, looks for a wood for the cores or 

 inner sheets of built-up panels, and he selects one which 

 holds glue well 

 and is not much 

 inclined to warp 

 and check dur- 

 i n g changing 

 conditions due 

 to heat and 

 moisture. 



Beauty of fig- 

 ure or attractive 

 color maybe the 

 chief quality 

 sought by the 

 maker of the 

 outer parts of 

 i n s t r u ments, 

 the p o r tions 

 which are seen 

 and by which 

 many purchas- 

 ers judge the 

 merit and value 

 of the instru- 

 ment. If this 

 is the manufac- 

 turer's purpose, 

 he is interested 

 in none but 

 beautiful woods 

 and selects 

 those which are 

 most pleasing. 



Few indus- 

 tries are more 



m 



KIND WORDS FROM THE MAKER OF THE 

 FAMOUS STEINWAY PIANO 



"We desire to become life members of the American 

 Forestry Association and hand you herewith our check 

 for $100.00 in payment of dues. 



"As manufacturers in wood products of the highest 

 quality, we feel that you are doing a splendid work 

 towards the preservation of our trees and forests and we 

 sincerely hope that the splendid propaganda that you are 

 making in this good cause will eventually bear good 

 fruits." 



WILLIAM R. STEINWAY. 



exacting in choice of ma- 

 terial, yet many qualities 

 and kinds are employed. 

 Some are rare and costly, 

 others cheap and common, 

 but each has its proper 

 place to fill for the manu- 

 facturer of instruments 

 ranging in size and scope 

 from the piano to the har- 

 monica, utilizes something 

 from nearly every part of 

 the forest. One wood may be highly colored and richly 

 figured, another as plain as basswood. Those strong, 

 like maple and birch, are in demand, and next to them 

 such weak species as buckeye and white pine may find a 

 place, and it cannot be justly claimed that the one is 

 more essential than the other. Those which transmit 

 sound and are known as resonant woods, like spruce and 



southern white 

 cedar, are em- 

 ployed in the 

 same work with 

 dull - sounding 

 woods like oak 

 and gum. 



Select ion 

 goes much far- 

 ther even than 

 this in the 

 choice of ma- 

 terial for the 

 manufacture of 

 musical instru- 

 ments. The an- 

 nual demand by 

 all makers -in 

 the United 

 States exceeds 

 2 6 0,0 o 0,0 o 

 feet, and if all 

 the species were 

 carefully set 

 apart and 

 counted, the 

 number would 

 probably ex- 

 ceed one hun- 

 dred. In sta- 

 tistics the 



ONE OF AMERICA'S FINEST CABINET WOODS WOOds are gen- 



An ordinary observer would probably pronounce this piano to be of Circassian walnut, so nearly is that erallv GTOUDed 

 wood resembled. It is, however, red gum from the forests of the South. Its grain and figure are so J S tr 



much like those of Circassian walnut that one often passes for the otber. Some insist that red gum iccordin? tO 

 is America's finest cabinet wood. If not the finest, tew surpass it. 



