Del, I believe your correct to assume that cost is the driving factor for using horizontally laminated bridges. In reading the various responses I believe there is a consensus developing as to the pros and cons of laminated bridges and bridge caps. The beginning of this thread started off on the wrong foot when it was discovered that we were not all talking about the same thing -- bridge caps verses bridges. That being solved, this is what I believe can be derived at this point from the thread. Laminated caps are a plus to the stability of tuning and the development of false beats. The selection of different materials will always be debatable, but the concept is a plus for the piano industry. From the description of construction, the cap, having thin laminates adhered to under great pressure, essentially create a solid unit. The resin form a single unit where the layers of the saturated wood impose little reflective character within the laminate. But the horizontally laminated bridge is a different "animal". Horizontally laminated bridges have be constructed, up to now, by using a thicker wood laminate where the resin doesn't penetrate the various layers of wood as much as the capping system This would create problems with tonal development because of my submarine analyst, where energy waves would be reflected at each laminate. It would be reasonable to assume that the vertically orientated laminated bridge has the opposite effect, whereas the energy has a clear uninterrupted path to the soundboard. What do you think? Anybody? Roger Gable P.S. I'm off to a chapter meeting ----- Original Message ----- From: "Delwin D Fandrich" <del at fandrichpiano.com> To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Monday, September 20, 2010 4:34 PM Subject: Re: [pianotech] YC Capo Bars Cost. If memory serves these things were cut out of large planks using NC bandsaws. There was very little waste involved. Less, I'd guess, than making the bridge body out of solid stock. And less labor than making up vertically laminated bodies and capping them with anything. In reasonably high production it is easier--cheaper--to make maple plywood out of peeled maple veneer of indeterminate grade and cut out the whole bridge at one time on an NC machine than to select reasonably high grade solid stock for a bridge body and cap it. Or to glue up a vertically laminated body, trim it to height and cap that with whatever. ddf Delwin D Fandrich Piano Design & Fabrication 620 South Tower Avenue Centralia, Washington 98531 USA del at fandrichpiano.com ddfandrich at gmail.com Phone 360.736.7563 -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ron Nossaman Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2010 6:28 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] YC Capo Bars I don't know why Kimball did it, except they knew it made a good solid bridge and were willing to suffer the waste of material for the convenience. It will indeed make a good solid bridge. You just have to put a piano under it.
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