Pneumatic Soundboard Press

[David Love]

It's not so much the acreage of the board, it's storing a full sized deck
when not in use.  My thought was to have a press that you slide the panel
through (or move the caul along) to get to the different positions.  The
size of the press need only be 5' (or whatever length you might need
determined by the longest rib) x 12" high (the combined thickness of the
lower beam which holds the curved caul and the upper beam which hold the
pneumatic hose  x however wide the beams are, say 4".  The lower beam could
be designed to accept various cauls that you simply slide in and out and
secure in some way depending on the radius you need.   It could be easily
set up on a flat surface when needed and stored without taking up too much
room.   At 15 - 20 minutes clamping time per rib, you could easily glue up
the board in a few hours.

Now is this what I am looking at in these pictures people are posting?   Or
am I seeing only the end view.  Or am I missing something important?

David Love
davidlovepianos@earthlink.net


> [Original Message]
> From: Ron Nossaman <RNossaman@cox.net>
> To: <davidlovepianos@earthlink.net>; Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Date: 8/8/2003 8:57:59 PM
> Subject: Re: Pneumatic Soundboard Press
>
>
> >I'm looking at all these soundboard press plans and they all seem to be
> >designed to glue up the whole panel at once.  Thus, they require a large
> >platform (read square footage).  Could one have a single rib press that
> >glues one rib at a time?  The board would be supported on a table and
> >inserted through the press to the position of the rib that was being
glued
> >up.  The dimensions would be considerably less.  I realize it would take
> >longer, but since I am not a high production shop, I can afford a little
> >more time.
> >
> >David Love
>
> You don't need a "press" per se. You need at least a couple of pneumatic 
> cauls that you can move from rib to rib as you glue them on the panel. I 
> use five cauls, because I use five crown radii. Fifteen or twenty minutes 
> of clamping time is adequate before moving the caul to the next rib. The 
> acreage required is the size of the soundboard panel, and for a flat 
> surface of the required size, the ribbing can be done on top of the rim
of 
> the piano and a sheet of corrugated cardboard as a pad to protect the
rim. 
> If there is room in your shop for a piano, there's room for this kind of 
> "press". No, you don't need anything other then the surface they're
sitting 
> on to keep the cauls level, and no, you don't need to align the cauls on
a 
> "crowned" set of rails to build in a crown along the bridge as you
install 
> ribs. Nor do you need to have a "press" to install the bridges.
>
> Ron N