>Conventional wisdom suggests quarter-sawn spruce for soundboard panels. >Quarter-sawn will mean different things to different folks, ranging >anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees to the plane of the panel. What is the >recommended range of tolerance (how much deviation from perpendicular is >acceptable)? Even in high quality instruments I see up to about 45 degrees >(most is better, but I do see this much deviation). Well, in that case, it's absolutely critical! >And perhaps more importantly, WHY? What difference does it make? Why might >it make a difference? Like everything else, it depends at least somewhat on the context in which it's used. Just like bridge caps, which are also still just wood, panels made of flat cut stock will be more likely to crack, and will change dimension tangentially more than radially, so the panel would bend the ribs more or less with MC shifts than quarter cut. That would fall in the enormous category of tuning instability. In a compression crowned board, with panel compression supplying, against the ribs' best efforts to prevent it, both crown and string load support, it would make for a wild ride while the panel lasted. With a rib crowned board, you'd still have the cracking problem, but the stiffer ribs would limit the rise and fall effect somewhat. >Because sound can "reflect" through some angles better than others - maybe >a 45 degree grain angle refracts all the sound into outer space? You're on your own there. I'm not doing that discussion again. >What is the current wisdom? Thin and scattered. >What are the current thoughts? Mostly ancient, etc, if you stay in the mainstream. Ron N
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