<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>Hi Dale,
<BR>Last December Dave & I took a day off & drove up to Dolgeville to visit our
<BR>old
<BR>friends of many years, Jeff Slifka & his dad who own & run the operation.
<BR>When piano production in America went downhill, they started to diversify into
<BR>other aerias of wood products and are doing well. The soundboard end of the
<BR>business is about 5% of their total. Their biggest customer is & has been
<BR>Baldwin pianos. They had beautiful wood in stock which Jeff told us came
<BR>from British Columbia. & the panels they were making were quartered well. We
<BR>spent a good bit of time there going over different things such as the fact
<BR>that we don't
<BR>need the good wood in the Bass corner or up front in the Bass end corner.
<BR>Also
<BR>it is extrenely important that the panels be allowed to even out the moisture
<BR>from
<BR>the edge-glueing process. The width of the grain should be as uniform as
<BR>possible. We don't like 30 grain lines per inch, nor under 15 lines per inch.
<BR>
<BR>We have had our patterns there for years. They have a lady there who is in
<BR>charge of the panel making & she is pretty "sharp". If you have special
<BR>questions, just ask for "Debby". The width of the pieces in the panels were
<BR>good. We placed a good order which has been delivered & they are some of the
<BR>best we have had in a long while. They have just put up a new large building &
<BR>
<BR>were getting ready to move over there shortly after our visit. The new
<BR>equipment was impressive & should result in better panels in less time. We
<BR>still have the
<BR>edge glueing press on which we made our own panels many years ago, but from a
<BR>cost standpoint, it doesn't pay. The Slifka's are good people & will work
<BR>with you to try & give you what you want. Best regards, Willis, Dave Snyder
<BR> </FONT></HTML>