<HTML><HEAD>
<META charset=UTF-8 http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charse=
t=utf-8">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2730.1700" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff=
f">
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> ... Hey John I like <BR>> that idea of lami=
nating beech onto the top of your blocks.<BR><BR>if you plan on doing this l=
et me know and I will tell you how I do it.<BR><FONT face="Times New Roman=
" color=#000040> <STRONG>>>>>>Yes I think I would like=
to. It makes sense</STRONG></FONT><BR>> On a different subj=
ect, the bottom of a B board always has the "tone <BR>> pulsator" b=
ar that encompasses 3 to 5 ribs depending on the age of the <BR>> piano. =
What is it that this is really supposed to accomplish. <BR>> I'm no=
t sure it's needed & wondered if just making longer full height ri=
bs wouldn't <BR>> be just as good. Your thoughts?<BR><BR>Dale,<BR><BR>I d=
id a cut-off bar on a B once and I can say it sounded fine. But it <BR=
>didn't sound any better than the old arraignment. If I were building new <B=
R>pianos under my name I would consider a cut off bar but since people pay <=
BR><FONT size=3><FONT size=2>me to restore their Steinways I am going to=
stick to this feature.</FONT><BR><STRONG><FONT face="Times New Roman" col=
or=#000040>>>>I understand this</FONT><BR></STRONG></FONT>I reall=
y can't buy the idea that the pulsator is just a gimmick. I doubt <BR>that a=
ny piano buyers are aware that it is there. I think it is a <BR>general rule=
that anything that requires the client to bend over to see <BR>is not a not=
there to impress them. Isn't the patent number on the side <BR>facing the b=
oard?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=3><STRONG>>>>No, it faces down along=
with the words tone pulsator & patent date.</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3> I usually reuse the old one because of th=
e historical words etc. It's kind of cool.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> It probably was a solution to a problem =
(the same one <BR>the cut-off bar addresses) and it seems to work O.K.</FONT=
></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=3><STRONG>>>>> Come to thin=
k of it the D has only a Modest cutoff bar but the board is narrower so the =
ribs are a bit stiffer already</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>. There are lots of <BR>other things we can do to im=
prove the quality and durability of the <BR>Steinways we work on that are le=
ss destructive and easier to do.<BR><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#=
000040 size=3><STRONG>>>>Like quality construction techniques and=
attention to details,tongue & groove panels, Adequate amounts of crown,=
panel thinning & An organized downbearing scheme etc.</STRONG></FO=
NT><BR><BR>In the years I have been doing this job I have done my share of <=
BR>experiments. And I have learned plenty from them; mostly about how <BR>fo=
olish I was to think I could improve on piano evolution. When you <BR>improv=
e one thing it usually degrades something else. One lesson I have <BR>learne=
d is that it is better to know how these pianos work than how they <BR>don't=
work. So I now spend most of my time looking at how they are <BR>supposed t=
o work, how they should sound and feel rather than focusing on <BR>new impro=
vements. This leads to discoveries that are truly useful if not <BR>as glamo=
rous .I guess I'm just a piano conservative that way. I don't like seeing <B=
R>vinyl siding on old houses either!<BR><BR><FONT face="Times New Roman" c=
olor=#000040 size=3><STRONG> Thanks for the reply--Dale</STRONG></F=
[link redacted at request of site owner - Jul 25, 2015]
</DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000000></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>