<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>List, </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>After a long break I am returning to the list.  I have a numb= er of questions which have been bouncing around the empty spaces in my skull= and it is time for them to come out.  So here comes the first:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Recently I have had the opportunity to meet Mr. Fazioli and play some o= f his pianos and this has prompted a number of questions.  In the cours= e of my conversations with him he described the finishing process for his so= undboards.  Our conversation was held during the grand opening of a Faz= ioli dealer here in Chicago so the noise level made communication difficult = in addition to certain language issues.  However I did gather he uses a= particularly hard/water resistant sealer on his boards, the specifics of th= is material were beyond what we could get into at the time.  Subsequent= to that conversation I have talked to David Graham, who is servicing these = pianos (lucky dog) and have learned that they are remarkably stable and= need very little tuning work.  Now keep in mind the show rooms are loc= ated in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, which is nearly 100 years old and= the climate control system is not much newer.  David's report is not w= hat one would normally expect about brand new pianos in such an environment.= </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Which got me thinking about Del Fanderich's epoxy treatment for old sou= ndboards.  I have used this protocol on every non-replaced soundboard w= hich comes through the shop.  The usual result is a board with a lot of= power for an old board and a very stable tuning once things have settled do= wn.  I mean very stable with little reaction to climate changes.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Mr. Fazioli explained the purpose for his soundboard finishing method w= as to seal the wood from the atmosphere to prevent the usual tuning problems= .</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Finally the question: Has anybody used epoxy to seal a new board from t= he atmosphere?  Has anybody used anything else which accomplished the s= ame objective?  Since one of the features which is often cited for usin= g spruce in soundboards is its stiffness to weight ratio, is the added stiff= ness from the epoxy a good thing or bad? (I know it is good on old boards, b= ut what about new?)  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For those unfamiliar with this method, I use a water white, penetrating= , very low viscosity epoxy from System Three.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I know I asked more than one question, I have a whole lot more where th= ese came from.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"= >Andrew Remillard <BR>2417 Maple Ave<BR>Downers Grove, IL 60515<BR>ANRPiano.= com<BR>630-852-5058</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>