Hi Dale All other perceptions and issues aside.... what you describe below is actually my big hope for the industry at large. It has seemed apparent to me for a long time that the potential for the <<one man shop>> to make the absolute best instruments around is a moment just waiting for its time. I'm actually amazed that mass production in its many forms ends up doing as well as it does. But the potential for quality that lies in the <<one man shop>> really can outstrip any factory IMHO. Its just a concept waiting for its time in this industry I think. Let the mass production pianos be for the masses.... and let the serious pianists of the world finally wake up to the fact that music is not about predictability... especially since that is largely an illusion to begin with.... and open up for a world of tonality and quality that could exist if they would just start looking more seriously at individual piano makers (persons) for their instruments instead of known name manufacturers. Cheers RicB Ric In my practice when someone orders a An RC board the ones I make will transfer much of the load bearing capacity to the ribbing. Be aware that in my RC boards the ribs are made taller & of stiffer materials with tight radii The compression componenet will vary between 5 to 5.5% mc at time of pressing depending on what type of climate the piano is going to. Nevada/Arizona etc. gets the lower MC & the bay area gets 6% or higher. In either case, because of prevailing MC in the mentioned climate, the panel compression will end up being roughly similar at there final destinations. Customization is great. If I had to ascribe a percentage of crown support from this type of board I'd just be guessing at 20 to 30% as opposed to a purelly C.C. design. All boards must benefit from the interface..hey it's a form of plywood. Beyond that it's many variable dynamic stresses in the panel that make it work....or not. Dale A RC board can be said to have curved ribs... but beyond that it can either rely largely on panel compression and the stress interface this creates with the ribs, or it can be a pure RC and S board. All depends on how much compression the whole assembly process ends up putting into the board. Cheers RicB
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