<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=US-ASCII http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; cha= rset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV><FONT size=3>   Perhaps a point of interest.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>   I'm currently putting boards in 2 Stwy Bs. = One is a 20's piano & the other an 1895ish.  Any one who has looked= at the bottom of the B has seen no cut off bar but some amount of ribs that= are whittled done significantly in the bass corner with a flat maple stick = running between them. It has printed on it pulsator bar. patent 1878. No one= has ever been able to explain what the thing is for & in my mind p= romotes a significant loss of stiffness.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>   I've always wondered what it was really for= but in my mind it is useless. for any reason I can see or hear. Oddly the o= lder board had 14 ribs with the extra one in the treble end, It had only 3 w= hittled down ribs & appeared to me from a design point of view the stiff= er idea. The 20's one had <STRONG>5!! ribs</STRONG> whittled down with = only 13 ribs total. I suspect this board has been flat a really looonng= g time.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>   The 1911 B & it's board I just sol= d & delivered was made without the whittled down ribs. I ran t= he ribs full length to the bass corner with the usual scallop. I have t= o say the sound was as good as any I've ever heard & am convinced the ex= tra crown support is far more important than the devices purpose which = is unknown & apparently unheard.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>  Cheers</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>    Dale</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>  </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>