Do you know what tree a piano is made of? This tool is not so simple. To make it, you need a lot of time and effort. The sound of an instrument depends primarily on its design. Therefore, you need to know which tree the piano is made of before you start production, if you suddenly decide to do this business. You should know that there are so many different nuances.
What tree is a piano made of? Selection rules
So, more details. What tree is a piano made of? Both the country and the forest in which it grows are taken into account. For example, the Fazioli piano deck is made from expensive red spruce. It grows in the world famous Italian forest, in which even Stradivarius himself has been. Perhaps this is where the secret of famous violins lies. At the Fazioli factory, these spruces are cut into thin boards, which are then glued to each other. So the deck is made.
And what about the main part of the tool? What tree is the piano made of, or rather, its body? Options may also be different. This is usually mahogany or beech. The main nuance is that the body of eighteen layers of wood is glued together, after which it is given a characteristic shape. It happens that this procedure takes six months.
In addition, the tool contains many other details, including miniature ones. Each of them is made from different types of wood. The piano cover, for example, can be made from poplar; hammers beating on strings - from walnut or hornbeam. In principle, each company has its own secrets.
Whatever tree is chosen, it must first be thoroughly dried. Tools made of freshly cut material are not good. It takes about two years to dry. This takes time and fresh air.
Body building
And if the question is posed like this: what evergreen tree is a piano made of? The answer is simple: it is a red spruce, less often a pine. Although, as mentioned above, it can be a completely different tree - deciduous. Once it is selected, you can begin to manufacture the case. It is glued from eighteen layers (sometimes from twenty). The result is a familiar shape: a characteristic pterygoid shape. The body is formed manually. It takes a lot of time. Sometimes customers have to wait about six months before the craftsmen begin the subsequent processing. However, all these processes of working with a tree are not subject to logic and exact calculations. Much depends on intuition, vast experience and, of course, simple luck.
Finish
The same goes for the question “What kind of conifers make violins?”. Pianos, pianos, guitars (cases) are made from different breeds of it. But there is another important point - the finish. Each tool can differ significantly from its other “brothers”. It all depends on the imagination of the master. For decoration, walnut, cherry, yew, pear, lemon, beech, maple, oak are often used. Less common are red and ebony or rosewood. In the rarest cases - Babylon, plane tree, sycamore, sequoia, red elm and myrtle. For the manufacture of the most sophisticated specimens, materials are brought from all over the world. Even from Africa and Southeast Asia.
The surface of the tool can remain dull, polished or varnished. Many firms have their own “recipes”. And for some tools even separate types of varnish are created. Sometimes a piano is encrusted with precious stones or mother of pearl.
Deck
The soundboard is one of the most important parts of the piano. Without it, the instrument would have sounded very faint. A wooden shield glued from individual boards is placed above the strings in a vertical position in the piano, in contrast to the piano, in which it is located above the strings horizontally.
By the way, the deck not only enhances the sound, it also forms the timbre of the instrument. And it’s not mainly strings that are heard thanks to it, but the sound of the tree. It is made from pine or resonant spruce. The tree is selected with great care: with narrow straight layers and without knots. Of course, it must also be aged and dry.
Interesting fact
It would seem that every master-producer knows about what tree violins and pianos are made of. But that is not all! In the 1870s, furniture made of bamboo became very popular in Europe. Gardinieres, tables were made of this material ... As a result, even a piano was made! In a word, a tool can be made not only of wood, but even of grass!