uprights: Schlz-Pllmn, M&H, Petrof, Essex...

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles Neuman" <cneuman@phy.duke.edu>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: January 30, 2001 9:04 AM
Subject: Re: uprights: Schlz-Pllmn, M&H, Petrof, Essex...


> Another question: The distributor representative said that the Ciresa
> sound boards are made with "finger joints" between the different planks of
> wood in the soundboard. This supposedly reduces the possibility of cracks
> later on. I dont' know anything about sound board construction. What is a
> "finger joint", and is this a unique thing to find in a soundboard?
>
> Charles Neuman
> Plainview, NY
>
> ------------------------------------------------------

By now you've learned that this is not a 'finger-joint.' In fact, it more
closely resembles a very small double tongue-and-groove joint.

It's purpose is not to prevent cracks -- which it will not do, despite what
the dealers may tell you -- but to make alignment of the boards easier
during manufacture. Typically when a set of boards is glued up in
production, they must be relatively thick to allow for misalignment during
the pressing and gluing process. The finished panel is then simply run
through an abrasive thickness planer to bring it down to its specified
thickness. The wood sanded away is all waste and is coming from trees that
are increasingly in short supply.

E. Ciresa & C. is one of the piano related companies we visited in northern
Italy a couple of years ago. It is located in the Val di Fiemme in the
Italian Alps. Wood production from this valley has been carefully managed
for wood quality and sustainable yield since 1100. While driving through the
forest it is difficult to tell that any wood cutting is taking place at all.
The violin blanks produced by Ciresa today are much like -- and surely as
good as -- those Stradivarius obtained from the valley when he was building
his instruments in the late 1600s and early 1700s.

I bring all this up simply to point out that Ciresa is very conscious of
making the most out of the wood they take from the forest. Wasting any of it
simply for production expediency is a repulsive notion. The little
tongue-and-groove joint allows them to cut the lumber to a thickness just
barely thicker than the finished panel. There is very little waste involved.

Whenever we purchase Sitka spruce lumber from a supplier that supplies the
piano industry, we have some difficulty obtaining lumber cut to less than 16
mm in thickness. Considering that most soundboard panels end up somewhere
between 8 mm to 10 mm, that is a lot of waste. Yes, I find it quite
maddening that our industry is still on a breakneck path toward extinction.

We also visited the Schultz-Pollman factory and no, they do not throw the
cut-outs from the panel back away. They are used in other parts of the
factory in many different ways. S-P is owned by GeneralMusic which makes a
variety of electronic instruments for a variety of customers. All but a very
small amount of waste ends up in these and in other parts of the pianos they
make. I was also told that they only supply the panel back to North America.
The pianos they make for the European market use a standard post, beam and
blocking back assembly. We saw both being manufactured.

Regards,

Del
Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Designer & Builder
Hoquiam, Washington  USA
E.mail:  pianobuilders@olynet.com
Web Site:  http://pianobuilders.olynet.com/