F. C. Billings
piano tuner
inventor
Biography
F. C. Billings, a piano tuner, invented a metal flange to replace the commonly used wooden flange in piano actions, along with a metal frame fitted with steel angle rails designed to prevent the warping and twisting suffered by ordinary wooden rails under changing atmospheric conditions. Max Richtsteig adopted these inventions, testing and improving them until satisfied that they eliminated the warping of rails and loosening of flanges that had long troubled piano manufacturers.
Highlights
- Invented a metal flange to replace the standard wooden flange, and a metal frame with steel angle rails to prevent warping
- His inventions were adopted and improved by Max Richtsteig for the Gram-Richtsteig piano
Source
Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. II (1913), p. 98.
Public domain.