<HTML>          Antares               You know I've heard this idea before and I have no doubts that I could  accomplish this task but no one yet has gone on record as to the actual step by step procedure to get the old soundboard out of the piano without sustaianing any damage.    This is the one point I"m  'REAL hung up on.  I replace boards all the time and I have considered this as an option  for many stwys that have uncracked boards but no crown except that , of the many boards I've removed none came out easily or without major damage.  So unless your boards are falling out of the pianos or there is some secret to do this it then it just not a feasible alternative.       So I'd like you to ask your friends to post a detailed description of how they accomplish this one aspect of re-using the old soundboard panel. Otherwise to me it's just talk and a nice idea. Know what i mean?     >>>>>>>Regards-----Dale Erwin>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">> --- > Phillip Ford > Piano Service & Restoration > 1777 Yosemite Ave - 215 > San Francisco, CA  94124 By 'taking out' the soundboard, planing off the old ribs, making a mould for the new ribs, creating a hollow surface to glue down the ribs, shaping the new ribs with a chisel, re-varnishing the old soundboard, re-stringing, and thoroughly enjoying the 'new' sound. I just write this down in a few seconds, but of course the actual work takes much longer and the final result will only get better after having done this procedure a lot of times. Sometimes it is better to renew the old soundboard as well, depending on quality and the physical circumstances of the old board. It is not that much more work and if you know what you are doing it might even be possible to improve the former situation. Speed is here of the essence. If one could do this kind of repair in a relatively short time (and that is possible) life in a workshop becomes even more inspiring and rewarding. I myself do not do this kind of work, I put my energy into regulation, tuning and voicing. To be able to do this kind of work, the craftsman would have to be born with a plane in one hand and a chisel in the other. When I was born, I had a tuning hammer in one hand and a voicing tool in the other. No wonder my mother used a milk bottle to feed me... (;>)) friendly greetings from Antares, Amsterdam, Holland "where music is, no harm can be" visit my website at :  http://www.concertpianoservice.nl/ </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>