<HTML>In a message dated 9/7/2002 4:10:51 AM Pacific Daylight Time, mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Subj:Re: Rim Width Date:9/7/2002 4:10:51 AM Pacific Daylight Time From:<A HREF="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com</A> Reply-to:<A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> To:<A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> Sent from the Internet          Terry </BLOCKQUOTE>        If you use commomn 2 by 4 lumber for your pressure blocks(cauls) this will be suffiecent to cover the  rasten board joint on any piano.  Also I would make them a degree and an half angle on the bottom as most Steinway rims are such and it relates to a 60 ft. radius.  The Stwy D joint width is quite wide. Mine is currently covered with stuff but I think its about 2 inches on the spine (long) side and perhaps the rest is as well. Close enough for government work any way! Any way 2 by 4's will work fine.   <<<Dale Erwin <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> Roger, Roger, you flatter me to the point of sillyness! I appreciate your input, but no one has entrusted me to put my first soundboard into their S&S D! My first board will go in a no-name micro-grand. However, I have the need to make up a set of clamping cauls and I wish for them to work on any grand. That is why I was asking about how wide the soundboard/rim contact area is on a piano with a thick inner rim. Also, with your method, one would also have to consider the little trimmed corner of the inside top of the rim - if I remember correctly (I have not seen many pianos with the boards out!) the width of the soundboard/rim contact area is most often not the full width of the inner rim. The reason I am concerned with this is, first of all, I am prone to worry about rather inconsequential things that likely make no difference whatsoever, and second, I think most rim-top bevels are in the one degree area, and boards that I will be making will be meeting the rim bevel at a two or possibly even three degree angle. My concern is that if I make my cauls out of 1.5-inch thick lumber and make the bottom edge at a one degree angle (I'll have to check and see what angle most rims are beveled at - but I think it is close to one degree) to meet the rim bevel, I might be stressing the highly-crowned board a bit. Perhaps a one or two degree difference between board angle and caul bottom angle is just a not a concern. Any opinions? Or should I just go back to bed and dream about tuning the perfect unison and not concern myself with rim bevels? Terry Farrell   </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>