<!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 5.50.4134.600" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=JackHouweling@dccnet.com = href="mailto:JackHouweling@dccnet.com">Jack Houweling</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> November 22, 2002 6:55 = PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> finger joint = soundboard</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>   I recently tuned a = new Kawai piano. When I observed the soundboard I saw finger = joints. I was amazed at what I saw so I took a picture with my digital camera = and now would like to show it. Does anyone know anything more about these soundboards? </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial = size=2>          &nbs= p;           &nbsp= ;            =             &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;        Jack</FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>Ah, another not-so-new good idea. </FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>I first encountered this feature -- that is butt jointed soundboard lumber = -- in an obscure upright built around the turn of the last century. That is, = the early 1900s. </FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>The butt joint was not finger-jointed but was kind of a = compound scarf joint. From all I could tell it worked extremely well. Not a single butt = joint showed any sign at all of coming apart. I was not able to tell how well = the soundboard worked acoustically since the piano was in the process of = being broken apart when I encountered it (not due to any fault of the = soundboard -- there were multiple other problems that precluded its economic resurrection.)</FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>Most piano people, when shown a soundboard like this will throw = up their hands in horror. I would suggest, however, that the world would be some = better off if piano makers had followed the lead of that early and long = forgotten piano maker who had the courage to try this construction a hundred years ago. = As I drive just a few miles north of my home at the foot of the Olympic = Peninsula and observe with a mix of dismay and horror the devastation of what was once = the world's most spectacular old growth temperate rain forest I have to = wonder if our obsession with 'perfect' soundboard wood was worth all that = destruction. </FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>Oh, I know, there have been other reasons why these forests = have been destroyed, but our industry has certainly played a role. We have = demanded only the best. Lumber that is clear, totally free of even the slightest = flaw, evenly grained, having absolutely uniform color, completely free of any = grain flaw or distortion, etc. Can you imagine how much waste there has been = in obtaining that lumber? Indeed, how much waste there is still in = obtaining the lumber being used in pianos today? The devastation goes on.</FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>And for what? In large part because our industry = doesn't understand how soundboards really work and insists on building them in such a way = that stresses the wood beyond its natural strength character. So it demands = better and better wood in an attempt to make the perfect soundboard -- one that = won't self-destruct under the obscene loads placed on it.</FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>Hurray for Kawai! Go Man Go! Keep up the good work and don't = let the turkeys get you down!</FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>OK. I'll shut up now.</FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>Del</FONT></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3>PS.  Jack, I don't suppose you have a high-resolution = version of that picture you could send to me? I'd love to add it to my collection. = Do you have any other pictures of this soundboard?</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>