<HTML>In a message dated 9/9/2002 11:46:17 AM Pacific Daylight Time, gnewell@ameritech.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Subj:Re: [pianotech] Re: Hygrometer Date:9/9/2002 11:46:17 AM Pacific Daylight Time From:<A HREF="mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net">gnewell@ameritech.net</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           Greg</BLOCKQUOTE>                It could have been me but I'm not that old. I've seen many cosmetically uncracked but flat Stwy boards but they sounded..... well you know flat. If you consider that the compression crowned board needed to be realllyyy dry when pressed to gain crown and tonal vitality it's not hard to understand that the best C. crowned boards will show cracks but generally at least sound better.    Make sense>>>>Dale Erwin <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> I once heard a rebuilder, who shall remain nameless, say that if an old piano didn't have a crack in the soundboard it probably was never that good a piano in the first place. I think his reasoning was something to the effect that it may never have had any crown or downbearing in the first place. Seemed like a very strange statement at the time. Seems even more strange now! Thought it might be good for a chuckle though. Greg </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>