QUERY:YAMAHA GRANDS BUILT FOR JAPANESE MARKET

[Farrell]

I have the same question: >"how is the wood helped to acclimate itself to
this range just by controlling the moisture content in the drying kiln?<  I
suspect that drying the wood to lower moisture contents helps it be stable
at lower atmospheric humidities. Does anyone have a technical background in
this area???

It's pretty easy to understand that soundboard drying during manufacture and
environmental humidity for the piano's lifetime would be critical to the
longevity of the soundboard. Are the case parts like rim, frames and
pinblock glued together at this kiln-dried low moisture content? Is that
what would make them more stable (just like the soundboard)? How would this
affect action parts and pinning? Will drying new wood to various moisture
contents then affect the amount they will contract or expand when subjected
to various environmental humidity levels?

In short I can identify three dyring/glueing situations, the last two of
which I have questions about:

1) The soundboard - obvious - the board is dried to an optimal MC and then
glued into the rim at that MC. This will provide (ideally) for appropriate
range of swelling and contracting in anticipated room RH ranges.

2) Case parts like rim, frames, pinblock - the wood is kiln dried. Is it
then assembled at the dry state - much like the soundboard to prevent
cracking/delaminating, etc.? Or is it allowed to acclimate to room
conditions and then glued or assembled and the kiln drying process somehow
magically makes the wood more long lasting in an environment of changing RH?

3) Action parts and pinning. How does kiln drying affect the longevity of
pinning in various RH environments?

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: <Maxpiano@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2000 6:42 AM
Subject: Re: QUERY:YAMAHA GRANDS BUILT FOR JAPANESE MARKET


> I service a couple of Yamaha grands that were sold by a dealer whom I know
> trades in gray market pianos.  My biggest problem is not with the quality
of
> the pianos but the disreputable quality (read: character) of the dealer.
I
> was contacted before the purchase and advised extreme caution for reasons
> that have been aired on this thread.   The customers elected to go ahead
> anyway.  So far, no problems.
>
> My question is, when our humidity ranges from 70% (or even 80% plus) in
> summer to 30% with the heat on, how is the wood helped to acclimate itself
to
> this range just by controlling the moisture content in the drying kiln?
> Knight used to post notice in their pianos that they were "manufactured
for
> the American climate."  Just what IS the "American climate?"
>
> Bill Maxim
> South Carolina