Do you dry the ribs, along with the board, prior to gluing ?

[Greg Newell]

Thump,
	What kind of time is necessary for this oxidation of the resins to
take place and how do you determine if the board has reached that stage or
not? Are there boards in pianos that you would not reuse? 
	Do I understand you to mean that the added stiffness due to the
oxidation phenomenon is what essentially enhances the color of the tone and
also the more efficient transfer of vibrations along the board. (BTW, are we
talking along the grain or across the grain here, ... or both?) 
	In your second paragraph you seem to state that a new board will
develop compression set regardless of the style of construction. Have I
interpreted this correctly? If not, why not simply design a board assembly
without so much potentially damaging compression? Hasn't the old board lost
crown specifically because of this, what might be considered excessive,
compression? 
	I'm certainly NOT trying to fight about this. You are certainly
entitled to your beliefs. I won't argue that. I was only wondering if you
substantiate them with anything or that they were purely subjective.

All the best,

Greg Newell
Greg's Piano Forté
www.gregspianoforte.com
216-226-3791 (office)
216-470-8634 (mobile)


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Prof. Euphonious Thump
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 2:14 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: RE: Do you dry the ribs, along with the board, prior to gluing ?

     In old woods the resins have oxidized to the
insides of the cell walls, allowing for more vacuous
cavities which, along with the diaphragmatic  aspect
of the board, color the tone. It also helps the
vibrations travel from point to point in the board
better, as old wood is therefore denser and stiffer (
i.e. transmits vibrations better than newer, softer,
vibration absorbing wood. )
     That said, a new board with nice crown , well
made, certainly is impressive:  but will develop
compression set ( which the old board has, already and
probably as much as it ever will ) and so the old
board's only real disadvantage ( besiders the fact
that it was made with hide glue, which is more
susceptible to breakdown from humidity swings than
modern glues ) is that it  has lost crown. I'm seeking
a method which remedies this, and D.L. Bullock claims
to have found it, and successfully used it, for years.

    I'm not at all interested in fighting over this. 
Yes, "better" is subjective. 
     So what ?

Thump