<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16587" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV><STRONG><EM>JD</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>  I of all folks highly respect your opinion & experience  but what it sounded like you were  saying I took from you quotes</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><BR> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>you wrote<BR>I take the soundboard out of a piano, take off the bars, leave it in <BR>a dry atmosphere for a day or two, shake it like a thunder-board and <BR>record what happens.  I then expose it to 90% humidity, make thunder <BR>with it the next day nd note the difference or sameness.  According <BR>to this new science, there will be a marked difference in the quality <BR>of the thunder.  <U>According to my experience, the board will be as <BR>floppy after the moisture uptake as before.  How could I expect it to <BR>be stiffer or more flaccid?!</U></DIV> <DIV><STRONG>  True without the ribs/bars<BR></STRONG><BR>The lack of stiffness of the assembly in the direction across the <BR><U>grain of the board is supplied by the bars,</U> by whichever construction <BR>method is used.</DIV> <DIV>  <STRONG><EM>Ok this is what I took issue with.  Not completely by the bars. It's the bars plus the wood under compression. You agreed with me that the stiffness can also be caused by wood cell compression yet it seemed like you were saying a few M.c. % points didn't make that much difference..  This <FONT size=4><U>is</U></FONT> what forms the Compression crowned boards we all speak of.</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>you wrote <DIV> Of course it will!  Nobody is arguing with that.  If you think I am <BR>then you must regard me as an idiot and can't imagine why you bother <BR>discussing the point with me.</DIV> <DIV>  <STRONG>I enjoyed the post.  Yes many things work</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG> Dale</STRONG></DIV></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. <A title="http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565" href="http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565" target="_blank">AOL Music takes you there.</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>