At 07:27 -0700 15/07/2011, David Love wrote: >The discussion was whether a rib bent and clamped to the rim while >bent supports load before it goes negative. There are two things I don't understand here. First, what has "supporting load" got to do with the function of a soundboard? and second, why would anybody put a piano together in such a way that it was possible for the soundboard to "go negative"? Probably the ideal situation is a soundboard which gives the proper pressure (admittance) at the bridge when it is almost flat. What degree of crown that soundboard will have when the strings are off will depend on its compressibility, and that is not an easily measurable quantity. I can't see any virtue in having any considerable degree of crown on the board when the tension is on. JD
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