Hey, Dale, I have, but that doesn't address the questions of strength as I asked. Sawing, chiseling and planing don't test the "brittleness" or "stiffness" of the heartwood. And at Beaver Tooth Soundboard Services, do you chew your notches, or nosh your chewies, or eschew your nachos? Hmmm? Paul In a message dated 3/12/2009 8:47:48 P.M. Central Daylight Time, erwinspiano at aol.com writes: Paul If you sawed/chiseled/planed some of this stuff. You wouldn't probably draw that conclusion. Dale Beaver tooth soundboard service Terry: Is my understanding of heartwood correct that, while it may have tight grain, it is also not necessarily the strongest portion of the tree growth? By strong I suppose I mean in the common measures of breaking strengths, shearing strength, compression measures, etc? Paul In a message dated 3/12/2009 7:31:25 P.M. Central Daylight Time, _mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com_ (mailto:mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com) writes: "could it have such tight grain?" Sure. Growing conditions dictate grain/annualr-ring density. Sitka Spruce is a "tolerant" tree - meaning shade-tolerant - it grows well in shady conditions. Shady conditions (or understory tree growth) are (one of the) common factors that produce narrow annular rings. The heart-wood is the oldest wood - the stuff that was growing when the tree was young - and likely an understory situation (growing under the shade of other mature trees) - so it grew slowly, resulting in narrow annular rings - or "tight grain". "My understanding of heart wood is that it is the middle of the tree." Yes, that is correct. Terry Farrell B.S. Foresty, Michigan State University I don't beleive that it's all heart wood. I've got some pieces of this 10 to 11 inches wide. May be it is, if so could it have such tight grain? My understanding of heart wood is that it is the middle of the tree. Dale -----Original Message----- From: Farrell <_mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com_ (mailto:mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com) > To: _pianotech at ptg.org_ (mailto:pianotech at ptg.org) Sent: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 2:31 pm Subject: Re: [pianotech] #2 Soundboard Wood The pink in Sitka boards is the heartwood. Terry Farrell ----- Original Message ----- SNIP Other lumber guys have told me it's the iron content in the wood that creates the reddish color. I can't confirm this but.... SNIP Dale ____________________________________ Worried about job security? _Check out the 5 safest jobs in a recession_ (http://jobs.aol.com/gallery/growing-job-industries?ncid=emlweuscare00000001) . ____________________________________ A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. _See yours in just 2 easy steps!_ (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1219671244x1201345076/aol?redir=http://www.f reecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=febemailfooterNO62 ) ____________________________________ Worried about job security? _Check out the 5 safest jobs in a recession_ (http://jobs.aol.com/gallery/growing-job-industries?ncid=emlweuscare00000001) . **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1219671244x1201345076/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fwww.freecreditreport.com%2Fpm%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fsc%3D668072%26hmpgID %3D62%26bcd%3DfebemailfooterNO62) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090312/2bf3c2e0/attachment-0001.html>
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