Something new and a wooden bicycle

[pianoman]

Hi Historian Brethren,
	Being interested in origins I remember that Torakuso Yamaha did not build
pianos in 1887.  He liberally copied a Mason & Hamlin reed organ that he
was dispatched to repair for his employer.  Torakuso is what you could call
cross trained or multi-talented in his skills. Like some of you, I have
learned, he was trained as an engineer and learned in mathematics and was
an eager seeker of knowledge.  He also studied watchmaking but was not a
success at it. He was almost a jack of all trades.  After repairing the
reed organ, he went home and decided to try building them himself (talk
about a workaholic.)  By 1888 he had 7 people employed to help him build
his reed organs and employed a division of labour to build them
systematically and efficiently and in large numbers.  By 1890 he had 100
people working for him and built 250 reed organs that year.  He came into
an agreement with the Niki Musical Instrument Co., who promoted the use of
the reed organ in schools.  By the year 1895 he was building over 2,000
organ a year..
	By 1897 Yamaha noticed that the introduction of the upright piano had over
taken the sales of reed organs in America and he laid the groundwork for
morphing into piano building.  It was this year that he changed the name of
his company to Nippon Gakki Co.  He built a larger plant, sold stock and
developed tooling for going into piano production.  He came to America and
went through the Chickering and Mason & Hamlin factories among others. 
Upon his return to Japan he met this fellow named Koichi Kawai, who had
successfully built a wooden bicycle.  The ingenuity of Kawai impressed
Yamaha and he hired him to be in charge of building Yamaha's' pianos.  In
1902 they built 2, in 1903 built 23, and in 1908 they built their first
grand piano.  One of his pianos was sent  here to St. Louis to exhibit it
at the Worlds Fair in 1904.  Alas, I have never seen anywhere a picture of
this piano published, but he did receive an honorary prize for it.  
	Torakuso died in 1916 and a great void came over the company.  Evidently
by 1925 Koichi became dissatisfied and left to begin the Kawai Piano
Company.  The rest is history.  Both firms have went on to be producers of
the finer pianos in the world.
	So, you wonder why I wrote all this today?  Here is the reason:  Last week
while buying some wood at my local woodstore I was looking at the magazine
rack.  Right at the top was a magazine called "The American Woodturner,
Fall,1998"  What was on the cover was a wooden bicycle, the first I have
ever seen.  This bicycle was the cumulative effort of 24 woodturners who
each turned a piece of what would become a wooden bicycle.  Each
participant was given a piece to turn for the project.  When the time came
for assembly not too many parts had to be tweaked in order to get it all to
fit into a bicycle, "The Roughrider", they called it.  Co-operation is what
fueled this project just as we all co-operate to make this list valuable
and educational , and yes, controversial.  In the end we all learn from one
another.  Most of us are single person companies and being part of this
pianotech group solves the problem of being out there by ourselves. 
Whether our opinions are right, wrong, or redundant it can strike up an
idea that can cause someone to rethink a process that they have been doing
a long time.  Our education is not static but ongoing and the influx of
newer participants fuels the fire of interest in what we do everyday.
		May it continue....
If anyone would like me to scan this wooden bicycle picture let me know and
I can attach it to a private post to you
James Grebe
R.P.T. of the P.T.G.
 St. Louis, MO.
Competent Service since 1962
 Do what is right and do no harm
 Creator of  Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups and Practical Piano  Peripherals

pianoman@inlink.com