<!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 6.00.2800.1476" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yes, I changed the = subject.<G></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The one thing that gets me to NOT want = to do a re-ribbing of an olde board, is the fact that wood does age. Forget the compression factor for now. Let's just consider this: In the aging = process of wood, it loses it's cellular cohesion/bonding. At some point, this aging = process creates what is known as Brash Failure. If wood is kept in a consistant environment, it will eventually turn to stone, (ie petrify). The Brash = Failure occurs about half way to the petriying stage. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Most of us have run into the action = w/parts that defy repair. These actions are in the first stages of Brash Failure. The = best way to explain how the wood reacts is: a new shank/dowel, when broken = will splinter. One with Brash Failure will break cleanly, as if it were sawn. = I've seen this problem on parts that were less than 50years olde, so there's = really no way of telling when this will occur.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So, back to the boards....I feel that = there is no way of knowing how much more time the wood, of the sound board will = have, so I'm very reluctant to re-rib a board, even though it is an intriguing idea/technique. I think, that if I'm going to go to all the trouble to = take a board out, then I'll improve on what was there originally, if I can.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best Regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.<BR>Captain, Tool Police<BR>Squares R I</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>