<!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 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=ANRPiano@AOL.COM = href="mailto:ANRPiano@AOL.COM">ANRPiano@AOL.COM</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> March 25, 2002 7:31 = AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Floating = soundboard</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>From what I can make = out of Over's picture, it looks to be a cut out no wider than the thickness = of a saw blade.  It is hard to see, but it appears that there is = soundboard material on the rim side of the cut.  Am I seeing this correctly? = </FONT></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>Probably. I'm not sure of Ron's procedure, = but we install the soundboard per normal practice, then use a small trim router = to free the area we want cut away.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2><FONT face="Lucida = Sans" color=#000080 size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">Am I correct in assuming the reinforcing braces are under the soundboard = and on the soundboard side of the cut?  How large of an area do you remove? =  Are the braces anyway attached to the rim, ribs, or ...?  Are you = saying the ribs are a key limiting factor in the size of the cut? </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>What = reinforcing braces? As mentioned earlier I do sometimes use an 'artificial rim' on the inside = of the cut. That is, a curved reinforcing bar mounted just inside of where my = router bit will run. I also sometimes use a cap on top of the soundboard, again = just inside of the cut. It depends on the piano and what I'm trying to accomplish.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>The length of = the cut varies from one piano to the next. The width of the cut is either 1/8" or 1/4" depending on the router bit I use. There doesn't seem to be any = difference in performance between the two.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>The ribs are = surely one limiting factor in the length of the cut--we do not cut through the = ribs--but not the only one. Again, it depends on what I'm trying to accomplish.</FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3></FONT> <DIV style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" align=left>Years ago I rebuild a very small grand, (whose name escapes = me) which had a rather sizable area removed directly behind the bass bridge. =  The area being probably about 15 square inches.  Incidentally the plain = of the soundboard sloped down toward the bass about 2 inches from the belly = rail.  I had never seen such a set up, nor have I since. </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>Hallet & = Davis, perhaps? Someone with one of those double names did what you describe, = except the pianos I encountered were primarily designed to releive the area around = the end of the tenor bridge which otherwise came quite close to the inner rim.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>Del</FONT></DIV></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>