an analysis of downbearing, etc.

[David Skolnik]

List-

In rereading the posts from the recent downbearing thread, I noticed these 
two statements by Mark Kinsler.

At 08:28 AM 2/2/2004 -0500, you wrote:

>Could the sounding board have a negative crown (like a dish), and the 
>downbearing be "upbearing?" From a physical standpoint, yes.  There would 
>be no difference in the behavior of the system, though the bridge would 
>peel off the sounding board pretty quickly and the design of the bridge 
>pins would be interesting.
>
>Or, in another possible configuration, could the sounding board have a 
>negative crown and the downbearing still exert force downward?  Again yes.
>(The bridge would have to be rather high.)  The sounding board's wood 
>would be in tension and the rim of the sounding board would tend to be 
>pulled away from the frame, but again from a purely physical standpoint 
>the system would work about like a normal piano.  Structurally, of course, 
>this configuration would be a disaster, but the sounding board and strings 
>would behave pretty much normally if the whole works didn't peel apart.
>
>Mark Kinsler

Is there general agreement that these statements are correct?  I myself 
find it hard to reconcile.


David Skolnik