my own Soundboard

Greg Newell gnewell@ameritech.net
Sun, 13 Jan 2002 16:41:26 -0500


---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment


Ron Overs wrote:

>>     I thought that tongue and groove might be a good idea long
>> before I heard about it here. Lately I've been day dreaming about
>> finger joints. Any feelings on how that might work in a soundboard
>> situation? It seems that a finger joint would offer more surface
>> area than a tongue and groove.
>
>  Finger joints are fine, but there's no real benefit in having such a
> strong joint since we are only dealing with spruce. The real benefit
> of the tongue and groove is the improved alignment of the boards when
> gluing up the panel - which allows for the boards to be sawn closer to
> the finished size. The smaller the tongue and groove the better, since
> less wood will be wasted when machining the joining surfaces. The
> total loss for each joint will be double the tongue size.
> Will not strength in the joint help to prevent future problems with
> separated glue joints? I live in an area where the humidity swings can
> be great from summer to winter. It seems like this might be an
> important thing to consider, no? What thickness stock do you start
> with when glueing up panels? How are you planing down to the finished
> thickness? are you tapering the board?
>
>
>>  Call me a ponderer.
>
>  Some of us ponder, then some of those carry through that-upon-which
> they've pondered, then the hind-sight thing sets in. Its a good idea
> to ponder and plan long and hard before you take the plunge, but not
> for too long or you'll get put in a box first.
> Now Ron, you don't even know me and you figured that out? Man, I must
> be really transparent or something ;-)
>
>
>>     I would love to here from you any tips, ideas, or pitfalls to be
>> aware of as I begin to prepare for this job. If you have an idea of
>> a supplier for Sitka or opinions about other woods I would love to
>> hear that too!
>
>  Uncle Ron N did a very good job in his post. If you look again at the
> three gluers image (http://www.overspianos.com.au/3glrs.html), you
> will see that there is a plywood piece cutout to match to inner
> rim/sound-board-panel contact area (it also has a bass-corner-section
> to cover the sound board cutoff, and with a special deeper throat
> clamp made for it). This continuous plywood piece ensures that the
> clamping pressure is distributed evenly to the sound board panel. This
> piece is made from an 8' x 4' x 18mm thick plywood sheet with the
> cutoff back-right corner scarf jointed to the right hand side (to
> cover the entire board with a single sheet).
>
> How practical do you see this to be since i'm not doing production
> instruments and each one will likely have a different shped rim?
>
> This idea came to me directly from uncle Ron N before I glued in no.
> 003 sound board. We undercut the outer-lower edge around the perimeter
> to prevent any excess glue-squeeze-out from gluing the former to the
> sound board. This single piece device allows for clamping up much
> faster than using individual blocks for each clamp. Regarding solid
> verses laminated panels, I had intended to build the next two pianos
> (004 and 005) with one solid and one laminated panel for an A-B
> comparison. But we're so satisfied with the results of no. 003 that I
> am beginning to wonder if there is any point in using a solid panel
> again. The laminated panel has better resistance to checking and it
> seems to slightly improve tuning stability.
>
> #3 was a laminated panel? Was it a ready made product or did you
> laminate it yourself? Of what is it made? We're there any difficulties
> glueing ribs to it? No matter which direction you go you are alway
> crossgrain top one of the layer right? Any trouble gluing to the rim?
>
>
>
>> though I was not fortunate enough to hear your piano this past
>> convention I hope to this time around in Chicago. I certainly
>> respect your opinion and value your input to "the list".
>
>  Thanks Greg but I can't see myself getting to Chicago this year
> unless some miracle happens.
>
> My loss! I'll just have to be patient I guess.
>
> I am currently designing three new grands, a 185, 230 and a 280 (top
> elevations can be seen together one behind the other at
> http://overspianos.com.au/cases.html). We are building just two more
> pianos based on the undrilled Samick 225 plate. These pianos will be
> very similar to no. 003 (the Reno exhibit piano), but with a larger
> bass corner cut-off. We've had such a big (read expensive) couple of
> years developing these instruments that I'm going to have sit tight
> for a bit. However, I am looking forward to returning to the US as
> soon as we get another serious new product up and running - either the
> 230 or 280.
> What is the purpose for the bass cutoff? Are you hoping to stop an
> energy loss to an otherwise useless area of the board? what form does
> the cutoff bar take? Is it both above and below the board? Are there
> any braces going out to the rim from the cutoff bar?
>
>
>>     The three gluers thing was cute! How is your efforts going in
>> getting your piano used at the concert hall? Is this a battle with
>> Steinway or the hall?
>
>  Recently we had a battle with certain folks in a management capacity
> who wanted the new Stuart piano to be used for all concerts in a
> certain chamber music recital series for the Sydney Festival -
> regardless of the wishes of the pianist. However the pianist (for one
> of the four concerts) requested our no. 003. Miraculously after some
> arm twisting we got permission to supply it for David Bollard's Jan 20
> concert. At this time, since we only manufacture a 225 cm grand piano,
> we will be at a natural disadvantage over other makers who have a full
> concert piano. Regardless of how good or bad our piano may sound, it
> is visually inferior from a length perspective.
>
> It's not enough to have the best product on the market you have to
> sell it too! That's the part I hate!!! If I ever got far enough to
> build a piano I would have to hire out for sales people to do those
> things for me. I wish you the very best.
>
>
>
>> The longer I'm in this business the less respect I seem to have for
>> Steinway. They do some things well but the most successful thing
>> they do is their marketing. well, this is nothing new to serious
>> technicians is it?
>
>  Yes they're great marketers but innovation has been almost completely
> non existent for over a hundred years. This time our problem was not
> with Steinway (wasn't always thus), but again it was an entrenched
> manufacturer - in this case very recently entrenched. Best
> regards, Ron O.--
>       OVERS PIANOS
>        Grand Piano Manufacturers
> _____________________________
>
> Web:    http://www.overspianos.com.au
> Email:  mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au
> _____________________________

Really enjoy your website BTW
--
Greg Newell
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net


---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/d3/45/dd/5c/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--



This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC