<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: Buttressed Arch. Question for Ron N.</title></head><body> <blockquote type="cite" cite> <blockquote><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000">Absolutely. I routinely add bracing to the straight side, and<br> particularly to the belly rail (mass too, here).</font><br> <font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000"></font></blockquote> </blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000"> <u><i> Meaning a brace coming off the brace closet to the spine.  I like this</i></u></font><br> <font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000"></font> <blockquote><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000">It doesn't do<br> the slightest thing for crown, but it raises the impedance of<br> the rim and belly rail so it absorbs less of the soundboard's<br> energy, improving tone and sustain.</font></blockquote> </blockquote> <div><br></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS">Which is why the replacement of the S&S bell with a standard back brace really helps to improve impedance and sustain. I suspect that we'll see something along these lines with Ron N's Rochester exhibit.</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS"><br></font></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000"> <u><i> So a heavier wood would be a better choice than say spruce.  If I recall it was Overs who was laminating his belly beams with hard wood. Cool stuff.  Fire up the saw.</i></u></font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000"> </font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000"><u><i> </i></u><i>Dale</i></font></blockquote> <div><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000">Yes Dale, while the outer and inner rim of the piano we are bringing to Rochester is rock maple, so too is the entire belly rail assembly and the back beams.</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000">Following on from Ron N's comments on the mass loading of rims, and its impedance benefits, I've suspected for some time that heavy plates help sustain. I think its one of the reasons why the Baldwin SD-10 is such a remarkable instrument. The benefit of using a denser timber such as rock maple for the rim may have as much to do with the mass increase as stiffness.</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000">Having a day off at home today, Easter Sunday. We're having a few friends and staff over - not seeing enough of folks with too much going on at the workshop. The no. 6 piano for Rochester has the plate finished and the undercoat is on the case. We expect to get the case top coat and sound board finish on, and out of the booth, around mid week to start putting the piano together.</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000">I've been taking photos of construction as we go. Planning to show a series of images at my class in Rochester. This class will include images and procedural information on hardening capo bars. After a couple of attempts with various lighting/exposure combinations, I managed to get a worthwhile image showing the flame heating of front duplex bars in progress.</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000">Best,</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000">Ron O.</font></div> <x-sigsep><pre>-- </pre></x-sigsep> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="+1" color="#0000FF"><b>OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY</b></font></div> <div><font color="#000000"><i>   </i></font><font color="#0000FF"><i>Grand Piano Manufacturers</i></font><font color="#000000"><br> _______________________</font></div> <div><font size="-2" color="#000000"><br> </font><font color="#000000">Web http://overspianos.com.au</font></div> <div><font color="#000000">mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au<br> _______________________</font></div> </body> </html>