Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Mar 1932)

48 Better Theatres Section February 13, 1932 STAGE EQUIPMENT ASBESTOS CURTAINS BELAYING PINS BLOCKS— RIGGING CHANDELIER WINCHES CLEATS— SCENERY COUNTERWEIGHT SYSTEMS CYCLORAMA FITTINGS DRAW CURTAIN TRACKS DRAW CURTAIN OPERATORS GRAND PIANO TRUCKS KEYSTONES AND CORNERS LOCKING RAILS PIN RAILS PIPE BATTENS RIGGING— ALL TYPES ROLLER CURTAINS ROPE AND CABLE STAGE BRACES STAGE SCREWS STEEL CURTAINS TRIM CHAINS WINCHES 223-233 West Erie Street CHICAGO NOW $450.00 ACT COMPLETE ALL AC SOUND ON FILM EQUIPMENT For Powers or Simplex WBBERS SOUND HEADS* used, including exciter lamps, photoelectriL cells, optica! lens systems, complete drive assemblies, all mounting brackets, pulleys, etc. All Complete for Installation. COMP1.I5TE AJLL AC THEATRE AMPLIFIER, In steel cabinet. CONTROL PANEL includes master volume control, exciter lamp filament meter and rheoBtat, changeover switch, photo-ceil controls, etc. MOUNTS BETWEEN PRO.TBCTIONS. WRIGHT. DECOSTER Stage speaker with baffle. Dynamic Monitor speaker for lionlh willi baffle. TWO General Electric 'A H.P. drive motors. ENTIRE SYSTEM PERFECTLY MATCHED ABSOLUTELY NO BATTERIES USED EASY TO INSTALL Write or Wire Associated Engineering Laboratories BUFFALO, N. Y. NO MORE LOOSE CHAIRS FIrmastone fastens loose theatre chairs to concrete floors permanently. Simple to use. Chemical cement — Set! In ten minutes. For further Information, write us. GENERAL SEATING COMPANY 2234-36 Fullerton Avenue Chicago, III. Theatre Equipment NEW AND USED Sound K(iuinnioiit, Movlns ricturo Machines, Scrceni, Opera (!halr«, BnntllKliU, Sleri'optlconii, Ocneralor Sctx, IlellcrllnK Arc Lamp*, C'arbonH, TIckfl.i end Suppllc*. Projection Machines repaired and overhauled. Everything (or the Theatre Write (or Catalog "H" MOVIE SUPPLY CO. 844 So. Wabaih Ave,, Chicago Modern Seating and Chair Maintenance {Continued from page 23) where children attend unaccompanied by parents. This type of seat construction will withstand abuse to which chairs are often subjected. In a box spring seat the springs are usually fastened directly to the box bottom, and the top of the springs should be fastened to the burlap covering. It is important that the springs be properly tied in place. Box spring seats are chosen for use in a great many very good houses. It is better policy to have a good box spring seat than to have a cheaply designed spring edge seat. For the theatre that is built on a sumptuous scale a spring edge or deluxe type seat is more appropriate. The classification "spring edge seats" covers that type which has a free standing border wire around the edge of the unit. The springs are not directly fastened to the frame. This type of seat is for those who want a luxurious seat at an economical price. The deluxe type spring seat differs from this only in that its design and construction are more expensive and consequently its use somewhat more limited. The deluxe seat is generally reserved for those very luxurious chairs having spring backs. As the spring construction becomes more luxurious it becomes more necessary that the construction be good. It is natural that the higher the seat structure the greater the strains and thrusts to which it is subjected, and the more flexing it must Avithstand. Consequently, to attain the same length of service or life the construction is highly important. Properly designed, spring edge seats make the most desirable seat. From the standpoint of elimination of maintenance costs in spring edge seats, the spring unit is very important. It must be so designed that the springs will be properly held in place. On a spring edge seat the springs are fastened at the bottom to steel strips and at the top by links which run between coils, and between the coils and border wire. These connecting links should be of such a design as to permit the necessary flexibility and yet fulfill the function of holding the springs in their proper place. All coils should be so designed that no turn of the spiral can come in contact with another, thus causing a clicking noise. Excessive "shimmy" and softness should be avoided. If the padding over the spring unit is not sufficiently resilient and is not properly placed the seat will become lumpy and uncomfortable. Part of the duty of the padding material is to protect tlie cover from tlie spring. In any seat there is motion between the seat and tile cover; and if the border wire, the spring, or the connecting links come in contact with the cover or are only separated from the cover by a thin hard substance, they will cause the upholstering material to wear out in its backing. In velour and plush fabrics this consists of wearing the pile tuft through or of working the pile fibres out through the backing. An obscure but important item in seat construction is the bottom board or cover for the underside of the seat. The increase in the general use of a steel seat bottom has eliminated what was once a common source of annoyance and expense. The old wooden seat bottom boards were a constant hazard to clothing, particularly silk stockings. This was also true of slotted head screws. The modern seat incurs no such annoyance or liability. The seat of a theatre chair is subjected to constant slamming up and down. If maintenance is to be reduced to a minimum the fastening between the seat arm and the seat should be secure. Usually upholstered seats are fastened to seat arms by means of wood screws ; these should be of a sufficient number and length to insure against loosening of the seat from the brackets or seat arms. This possible source of trouble will be mentioned more fully under hinge construction to be discussed in an article soon to follow. With the trend toward more luxurious seats, demand has also been for more comfortable backs. There are, broadly speaking, four types of backs: plywood, inserted panel, full upholstered, and spring back. The plywood back is gradually disappearing from use in theatres because of demand for better furnishings and because of its ruinous effect on acoustics. The inserted panel back is quite popular in the smaller, less elaborate theatres. The first cost is somewhat less than that of the full upholstered back, while a greater range of upholstering materials can be satisfactorily used with it. Inasmuch as this back has a wood edge, the upholstering material is not subjected to the severe wear which comes along the top of the back by the people rubbing along the top of the back in passing in and out of the row. The fully upholstered back gives more the appearance of a household chair and is gaining in favor because of its finer appearance, greater comfort, and reasonable price. Experience has shown that the most practical fully upholstered backs are those having a rear facing panel of wood or steel. Upholstery covered back panels have been used very satisfactorily where the covering material is of a character assuring long wearing life; but unless material of that character is selected, it is better to confine backs to those in which the covering is carried over the edge of the back but is