Old Panels, Dale was: Do you dry the ribs, along with the board, prior to gluing ?

[Richard Brekne]

Hi Dale
see a quick comment below:

        Ric writes:

        I am kind of skeptical to using phrases like "cellular 
        destruction"  myself...  not because there is anything
        inherently  untruthfully about  the phrase... but because it
        conveys a sense of the  wood being rendered totally useless as a
        soundboard... which clearly is  not the case. 

    Dale contributes back :

    Some panels which have survived really well perhaps  not but, When
    doing restorative work Udo was removing the badly damaged & 
    cellularly destroyed wood & then machining  a new joint & then 
    gluing the panel back together. Kind a like removing dry rot.  I'd
    do the  same protocol if called upon  

    Ric...  A split panel caused by compression  ridging due to climate
    & bearing pressure is what it is because  it has at least in some
    locations exceeded the elastic limit of the wood.   Now come on Ric.

Dont misunderstand me Dale... one does indeed recognize toast for toast 
as it were :)  Heck I opted exactly for that in this Bluthner because 
the old panel was so brittle. No doubt could have forced the issue of 
reusing it... but it would have been a shadow of its original self... I 
dont see the point.... tho I do know many who insist that exactly that 
<<shadow>> IS the point of really old instruments.  Ok I see the 
reasoning... can go down the road with them a bit... but in the end only 
a couple hundred meters before seeing all the other neat roads out their 
that are also nicely paved.

My point is these phrases being used are ofte times used in sweeping 
generalizations about olde wood in just as indiscriminant a fashion as 
some olde wood fans out of hand declare olde wood to be superiour.  
Neither position is really viable in my view.  A piece of wood is what 
it is at any given time.  At some point it becomes truly useless as a 
soundboard.. and compression damage is admitedly a big issue.  Its just 
that its not the 100 years or so alone that does it either way. As we 
agree... if a panel is treated well with respect to climate.... it can 
last surprisingly long.  Perhaps longer then many of us want to admit.  

    Dale continues:

    I haven't read all these myriad of post but  one essential element
    is being grossly over looked & that is the Rebuilders  interest in
    designing  a sound board with a varity of tonal envelopes such  a
    what was heard in Rochester.
    Cheers back at Ya


I haven't forgotten Rochester being one of those who initially voiced 
the idea on pianotech.  And I'm on record gawd knows how many times with 
loads and loads of positive comments for all the pianos there.  In 
particular I thought Ron Overs work was pure wonder.  Not only a pearl 
among pianosound... but such attention to detail in workmanship. Rare 
quality throughout.  I would have wished for a couple more of them to be 
used in concert along with Ron N's... which I also was impressed with 
and found quite a bit of tonal similarities with the Overs instrument... 
particularly in the treble range.  But really... all the instruments 
showed there are some excellent craftsmen out there who know their trade 
well enough to try less trodden roads and do so knowledgeably and 
successfully.   Thats the important bit to me.  I would be just as 
impressed with someone who in like fashion crafted an instrument with 
old wood.... with that same determinant and knowledgeable base.

Grin.. you folks will never shake me when it comes to my standpoint on 
holding subjective preference and objective perspective in clearly 
separate arenas.  Sorry bout that... but its part of my view of 
existence... cant really do much about that I'm afraid.  The concept of 
an <<objectively better preference>> which I was presented with a while 
back.... is just not something I can recognize as anything but two 
separate and mutually exclusive concepts plastered together to form a 
rather amusing piece of gibberish.

Cheers... Nice post btw Dale !
RicB