<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1491" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry said: "<FONT face="Times New = Roman" size=3>You still don't know for sure because you don't know how the = rib was =<BR>originally shaped. I assume you mean the "face" to be the surface = glued =<BR>to the panel and the spine is the opposite surface. What if the = "face" =<BR>was straight and the "spine" was contoured (feathered) = originally. Dry =<BR>down a panel and glue on the ribs. Let the board develop its = compression =<BR>crowning and now you have a curved straight "spine" and a curved "face"."<BR><BR>Terry,</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV>I think you are giving most piano manufacturers too much credit for = possibly doing it the way many do today. Let's face it, this was a mass production setting. They took a "straight" piece of wood and slapped it = on another "flat" piece(s) of wood. If the R&D people said that the the = "Face" had to be curved before gluing, then the workers found the = quickest/easiest way to do that. They, in no way, fussed and labored over these pianos like = we do. It was a job, pure and simple.</DIV> <DIV>So, if you find a rib that is curved on one side, (the face, convex), and flat or concave on the other, then you can bet your = sweet bippy that the R&D specified a curved rib, BEFORE glue = up!<G></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.<BR>Captain, Tool Police<BR>Squares R I</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>