<HTML>In a message dated 11/23/2002 10:00:34 AM Pacific Standard Time, pianobuilders@olynet.com writes:     Del writes <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">It is my practice to set the rim and bellyrail, including the soundboard cutoff rail, flat. Since the soundboard will be stressed -- i.e., have considerably less crown -- once the strings go on I prefer to have a flat, consistent mounting surface for the parameter of the board. Besides, my cutoff bars tend to be so shaped that very little of the soundboard is actually glued to the bellyrail. And, while we're on the subject, for the same reasons I fail to see any advantage to beveling the inner rim to (supposedly) accommodate the shape of the soundboard. It is claimed that this somehow aids the maintenance of crown but I surely don't see how. To illustrate simply clamp a piece of spruce to a bench and see how easily it is bent.            </BLOCKQUOTE>              Del              Heresy and poppy cock. No just kidding . I just laid a straight edge across the belly rail of an Stwy L and it has the stated approx. 1/4'' crown. While I can't see why this is necessary at least here it seems less desireable,at least to me, to encourage any more  undue stresses in the system than it already has by introducing flat rastens as practice.    I.E. although you say the beveled rasten has no merit you certainly wouldn't want it beveled in the opposite direction as the current industry standard. To my way of thinking the beveled rasten is an engineering idea that aids the board, albeit slightly, to resist the flattening of the board under load. Recognizing that by in large most on the list are building rib crowned boards that retain more of there crown when under load than the former compression stlye boards. Rib crowned boards being much stiffer by design,  thanks to higher rib radii and stiffer spruce rib material (formerly sugar pine) and deeper ribs. I have installed boards on flat rims and the residual crown in the 2 I'm thinking of did turn out with less net crown than usual.     I see nothing wrong with the beveled rim personally, if my boards are retaining a good amount crown even when strung I see no reason to induce another unnecessary possible strain at the edge of the board by changing all the beveled rastens that come through the shop to a flat edge. No, I'm not saying you were advocating that either.     Simply clamping a piece of spruce to a bench and bending it isn't exactly like the continuos rim of board being glued to a curving rim. Gluing the board to the rim gives the whole structure a cohesive stiffness it doesn't have before that. Also the board is often thinned down to as little as .250 at the edges so undue stress once again not desired. The 1 and 1/2 degerees typically found in the rim joint could as practicallity or compromise be reduced to half that and this angle would more likely conform to the residual crown angle after stringing.          Perhaps  petty, lame and faulty thinking but it's mine all mine.          Dale Erwin           <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>