<html> <head> </head> <body> While I certianly understand the sentiment, and indeed this same probably led to the coinage of the term, I tend to agree with Del in that there is really nothing natural about putting any panel into the stressed condition that crowning essentially is. Tho the thinking for the flat rib with flat panel was that neither ribs or panel are under any stresses at all until the assembly takes on moisture. Glue creep is easier to control as well if I am not mistaken, just keep eveything dry enough until the glue cures. Anyways, its easy to see why they started calling it "natural crown".... just dry it and glue it and let "nature" do the rest. Cheers RicB <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Kdivad@aol.com">Kdivad@aol.com</a> wrote: <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:22.32673db2.2b116eb5@aol.com"> In a message dated 11/23/02 2:15:20 PM Central Standard Time, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no">Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no</a> writes: <blockquote type="CITE" style="border-left-width: 2px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(0,0,255); margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; "> Natural crown is an older English (British) term which seems to rougly equate your term Compresson Crowning. Junghanns text discerns between straight ribs on a flat panel, vs a panel pressed into a dished caul. In both cases we are talking about a thoroughly dried board, ribs across the grain. And in both cases crown is achieved by allowing the finished glued assembly to take on moisture. Where he notes differences are </blockquote> Hmmm, seems to me the term "natural crown" would fit straight ribs on a flat panel with moisture being the catalist to crown much better than mechanically forcing crown with a curved caul.  I would be interested in how they came up with it. David Koelzer Vintage Pianos DFW</blockquote> </body> </html>