Soundboard question

[David Love]

How would you "pre-compress" a panel at all and how would you control or
even know what a 25% compression is?

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Richard Brekne
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 12:47 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Soundboard question

Hi folks.

Getting ready for another soundboard replacement job and am considering 
trying out something I've been pondering for a while.  Since wood seems 
to have so much <<fun>> expanding and contracting with every change of 
climate with all this implies for soundboard useage, why not 
pre-compress a panel before ribbing so as to take it just past its 
compression limit ?  Say give it about 25 % compression set.  Once thats 
done it will have less ability to expand/contract with climate changes. 
Ribbed so as to conform to your basic RB & S type panel it should remain 
then quite stable and there should be less of a possibility for the 
panel to experience tension cracks as years go by.... ??

Thanks for any thoughts on or off list.

Cheers
RicB