<HTML>. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Subj:Re: my own Soundboard Date:1/13/2002 9:33:55 PM Pacific Standard Time From:<A HREF="mailto:RNossaman@KSCABLE.com">RNossaman@KSCABLE.com</A> Reply-to:<A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> To:<A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> Sent from the Internet     With  grade A spruce at $8 to $10 a board foot (and the average panel > requireing 25 bd. ft of material) any screw ups are going to add up in a > hurry. >       >                      Dale Erwin .     Dale,</BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> Board feet - now there's a concept that has passed deep into fantasy. What is a lumber foot these days? Is it under 11" yet? I think 1" is under 5/8 now, which makes the stuff twice as expensive as it even claims to be and you waste over half of that (assuming it's all usable, which is unlikely just from differing grain densities even if all the planks were perfect) in trimmings, shavings, and sawdust. What (real) thicknesses can spruce be gotten in? </BLOCKQUOTE> Ron .>>Is that the same fanatasy as a 2 by 4 and a cord of wood? I have not purcased much raw spruce but if I did I would want to see about getting some cants so I could resaw it and hopefully get a better color matched panel than some I've gotten. If I was going to order spruce from specialty woods or whatever Id' try to order 7/16" finished planks. Yeah and  I 've thought about making my own pianos too but as you say too many irons are hot already. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> If you could get real 1" thick stock, it could be resawn and planed with theoretically less waste but more labor. It would be an interesting project, but it would take a bunch of panels to pay for the R&D, tooling, and sorting stockpile. It would also be hard not to be a total nuisance bragging on it to everyone you know if you pulled it off and made a nice panel. Bragging rights have to be worth something too.</BLOCKQUOTE>     Yeah Ron I'd defintely want the bragging rights. You know My freind John Hartman? He builds his own panels but he's not bragging. He must be more humble than you or me. John is a heck of a wood worker!    Dale <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> Too many time sinks and hotter brush fires already in my case. Ron </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>