[CAUT] left to right or R to L?

[Fred Sturm]

On Nov 12, 2008, at 10:51 PM, Ron Nossaman wrote:

> The lower the struts are, the closer to the plane of string tension  
> they are, which I'd call a good idea from a structural standpoint.

	Here you are talking about "good plate design," a design in which the  
bottom of the struts is close to the plane between hitch and capo, and  
there isn't much tolerance. That is one part of the picture. The other  
part of the picture is the soundboard and how it moves with humidity.  
I see no problem with the scenario that bridge pins are jammed against  
struts with an unloaded board, as long as this isn't an accidental  
result of having set bearing when the board was dry and at minimum  
crown. The word "accidental" being the operative word here. If it is  
planned, and that is producing the results you want, great! If you  
aren't paying attention and getting results that are all over the  
place, well, that's a different matter. Maybe you want results that  
are all over the place. ("You" being a generalized word, not directed  
at anyone in particular here).
	I've just always thought it would make sense to control humidity/ 
equilibrium moisture content at the point of production where bearing  
is set. In the factories I have visited, that didn't seem to be the  
case. Maybe I missed something.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu