ORDER XX.—WORKERS IN MIXED OR UNDEFINED MATERIALS (not elsewhere enumerated)

Sub-order 1.—Makers of Musical Instruments (not Piano, etc., Case Makers)

642.—Action Makers, Fitters and Assemblers

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action assembler

takes completed sections of piano action, e.g. butts, from covering department and screws, them down on to action beam; also screws down dampers to damper rails; action is then ready for action finisher (pianos) q.v.

action finisher (concertinas)

see action maker (concertinas).

action finisher (pianos)

receives piano action from action assembler q.v. and takes "travel" or bias from working parts, i.e. makes them work true; loosens or tightens setting of hammers by screwing or unscrewing parts; bends spring wire in butts, with his fingers, and finishes action generally, i.e. satisfies himself that it works properly, and is ready for use in piano making; cf. finisher (pianos) (648).

action fitter (pipe organ building)

an organ builder (648) q.v. who assembles and connects together, keyboxes, drill stops, and other component parts of organ actions, i.e. all mechanism between keys and pipes; sometimes also makes one or more parts himself; in new work, bolts down, couples up and rivets parts together, taking care to place and to space them correctly; in fitting up old work, examines old action and notes parts requiring renewal; makes, or directs to be made by other workers, new parts required and fits together old and new parts; work sometimes involves jointing and soldering of pipes; in most factories is usually known as an organ builder q.v.

action maker

general term covering all workers engaged in any process of making or assembling piano or organ actions or parts thereof.

action maker, bottom (player pianos)

makes main bellows of player pianos, glueing "tosh" (flexible rubberised canvas) on to sides of bellows, which are usually made with top and bottom of ply wood; makes reserve bellows for certain types of player pianos; fixes pedals and controls.

action maker (concertinas) ; action finisher (concertinas)

assembles keys, levers, springs, pallets, and bellows to make complete actions; places keys in holes bored in body and screws them into position; places levers in position,' inserting springs and pallets under levers, screwing whole together where necessary; screws bellows to body of instrument, action maker, French (pianos); an action maker q.v. fitting up actions working on a French principle.

action maker, top (player pianos)

fits pneumatics (small bellows, one to each note) and connects up all pneumatic action in player pianos; fits music-roll winding gear.

action part maker (pianos)

general term for workers who make wooden, wire and felt parts of piano actions by hand or by machine, including check maker, damper maker, lifter maker, small work maker q.v.

checker (pianos)

connects with wire, by machine, two small wooden parts of piano action known as checks or piano levers; places wooden checks and wire in position in machine, and operates levers which set in motion mechanism making joint.

check maker

cuts out of wood the two parts of a check used in check actions; connects the two parts with wire, see checker.

damper maker (pianos)

cuts felt or cloth, by hand, and glues it on to small pieces of wood (called damper woods) to make dampers for pianos.

lifter maker (pianos)

cuts and shapes lifters, or pilots, from wood in machine room, and covers them with felt.

player assembler (player pianos)

assembles manufactured parts of pneumatic interior player action, and makes them into complete actions, using screw drivers, and other hand tools, and, if necessary, glue, in readiness for action fitter q.v.; see action maker, bottom (player pianos) and action maker, top (player pianos).

regulator, action regulator (pianos)

makes final adjustments of action, after piano has left hands of finisher (pianos) (648) q.v.; brings keys into exact alignment, and makes space between keys and key-board correct and uniform, by tightening or untightening screw which holds each key in position; regulates balance of keys by adjusting screws at either end of spring affecting key balance; examines position of hammers, and adjusts position of relative levers and couplings to correct the position of any hammer that may be too far advanced; strikes notes in turn, to ensure that hammers fall back on to rest after striking strings; remedies faulty action by uncoupling, examining, pivotting parts, and easing their action where necessary, or by shortening levers, etc.; regulates, i.e. adjusts, dampers in same way; goes over whole mechanism in detail, making adjustments necessary to make it work with perfect ease and correctness; is usually a promoted finisher (pianos) (648) q.v.; sometimes also acts as toner (643) q.v.

small work maker, small worker (pianos, organs)

an action part maker q.v. who cuts small pieces of wood, by machine, to required shape, for use as piano or organ actions, and bores holes in them with machine drill- sometimes also makes other small parts (wooden or metal) of piano or organ actions, by hand or by machine.

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From: A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016.   This text is in the Public Domain.