<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: = Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=rol= e_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>   Ron</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>  Beautiful post & description of the dilema of= setting down bearing in the real world that covers this practically. &n= bsp; When I was just getting started in the belly business I set up a Model A stw= y to 11/2 degrees, calcluated without strings & without pre compressing anything.  The result was that by the time I got the bottom half of the= tenor strung my wonderful downbearing calculations had disappeared in t= o the gradually compressing sound board so that by the time I got to  stringing the first capo  there was zero degrees angle & hence no d= own bearing pressure.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>    The resultant tonal failure could hav= e been devastating but fortunately I had used an adjust able plate suspension syste= m & was able to do some fancy adjusting & save the project without starting over.  The information I used to set up the boards/bearin= g came from an article  in the journal, by the way, & I later chastised my friend who wrote them for not amending them to include pre-stressing the board method, which he also had since switched to. Be= careful what you read as the truth even in our own illustrious journal.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>   My compliments for providing some real numb= ers & math</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>  Dale</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><= FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size= =2>A common scenario with new pianos is for techs to <BR>measure a down bearing figure= which on the face <BR>of it looks OK, but very often the sound board <BR>h= as sunken to a state where it is pushed almost <BR>completely flat by the dow= n bearing angle which <BR>was set into the piano. In these instances the <BR>board is too weak for down bearing loads which are <BR>being applied o= r the unstrung angle wasn't set <BR>properly. Either the down bearing unstru= ng angle <BR>should be reduced or the board strengthened to <BR>withstand the= setting angles to which it is being <BR>asked to resist. So often technici= ans will look <BR>at a sound board and declare that it is fine <BR>because the= down bearing angle measures some <BR>wonderful figure. But if the board ha= s been <BR>pushed inside out before the customer's ink is <BR>dry on the che= que, things ain't too good, <BR>regardless of what the down bearing gauge might= <BR>indicate.<BR><BR>Get an accurate down bearing gauge and a thread <BR>length for looking at crown, and measure a few <BR>pianos old and new.= You'll develop a picture of <BR>what's happening.<BR><BR>Ron O.<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>