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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=281425418-07032006><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>I've run across these as well. The crown was
cut into the rib rather than pressed. Have you cut down the glueline to see what
happens? My conclusion was the same as Ron's -- they had a hard time bending the
short ribs into a curve to crown them so they basically cut them in half.
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=281425418-07032006><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=281425418-07032006><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>They certainly knew about rib-crowned
soundboards.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=281425418-07032006><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=281425418-07032006><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>I haven't yet seen bent laminations in older
pianos. It may well have happened, I just haven't seen it.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=281425418-07032006><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=281425418-07032006><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>Del</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org
[mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Farrell<BR><B>Sent:</B>
March 06, 2006 6:54 PM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re:
100+ Year-Old Laminated Rib<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As a follow-up to my original post: The rib
described below was 44 inches long. I also ran across another rib from the
same piano (while cleaning that unsightly table) that was 25 inches long. That
rib was similar thickness, but 33 mm wide and its curve followed a 6 M
radius. Amazing, IMHO.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV>
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style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Just for the yahoo of it I planed the side of a
rib that I had saved from an old 1890s Knabe upright that I tore apart.
The rib had quite a curve to it (right at 7.5 meters radius) as you can see
in the picture below by the straight-edge placed next to it (please
disregard the messy table, the belly and the tennies). Most of the curve is
in the center (the rib, not the belly), and the ends tend to flatten
out.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I wanted to see if I could tell whether it had
just warped that way or whether it had been cut that way. After planing to
expose some raw wood I was surprised to see that it was a laminated rib! Two
laminations. The bottom lamination (away from the panel) is of constant
thickness. The top lamination in the picture below (adjacent to panel) is
about six millimeters thick in the middle (the
picture below</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2> is of the middle of
the rib).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The top lamination in the picture below
(adjacent to panel) is about six millimeters thick in the center (see above)
and tapers to nothing at the ends (see below). The lower lamination (away
from the panel) is about 13 millimeters thick throughout its length except
for the standard-type taper at the ends. The rib is 31mm wide. The picture
below is near the rib end at the taper.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anyway, very interesting rib construction. I
had never seen anything quite like this. I have the original soundboard from
an 1890s Knabe grand that I guess I'll just have to yank a rib off of and
take a closer look at it. Anyone ever seen anything like this
before?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry
Farrell</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>