Pneumatic Soundboard Press

[Farrell]

Yellow Pine it is. From my quick evaluation one day at the lumber yard, yellow pine appeared to have the highest strength (bending resistance)-to-cost ratio. I wanted to go hardwood, but the price would have been several times what I paid for the yellow pine. Although if I had access to an old racketball court, I most certainly would have gone with that!

Del's sleek presses predate mine, although my receipt of a picture of them postdates mine -   ;-(.  My designs were based on the Hughes and Davies designs. I have since modified mine slightly and eliminated the goofy lattice-work at both ends that supported the hose ends. I replaced the major-clunky (and heavy) hose ends with a PVC apparatus that is more compact and easier to use. I epoxied additional 2x4s along the bottom of my longer presses as the bottom half was bending a bit more than I had hoped for at full pressure. The additional cross-sectional area seems to have made them quite stiff. I suspect each one of mine is a foot or two longer than I will ever need (anyone need a six-foot rib? - I can make one!).

I would really like to see a picture of a press that is uglier than mine. I think you are just bragging.

Del, what is the function of the row of nails along the top of the little add-on piece that serves to retain the inflated hose?

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@cox.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2003 11:17 PM
Subject: Re: Pneumatic Soundboard Press


> 
> Well, it looks like a toss-up between who's pneumatic "press" (et al) is 
> newer - Del's or Terry's. I'd say Del's. I do know that mine are uglier 
> than either of those pictured, though the previous iteration of Del's (that 
> the new ones are replacing) might be close. That looks a whole lot like 
> Delignit in Del's (with maple press surfaces), and maybe yellow pine in 
> Terry's, where mine is (are) made from glued up take-out maple racketball 
> flooring on which you can still see the occasional red boundary stripe. The 
> wonderful thing about all this is that they all work very much the same, 
> and the results will be similar enough that you can't tell which rib on 
> which board was clamped by which press.
> 
> I like it.
> Ron N
> 
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