Let me translate that for you.
"not really possible at this point" because you're not a major manufacturer, and only "they produce consistent results."
C'mon David, that's just a dumb argument. Even when in Jim's last post he WAS isolating elements with a tap test on each rib.
And then there is the ongoing circular argument you don't even seem to realize you make. On the one hand (paraphrasing) you say Isolate an element so you can determine the effect a change has. And on the other hand you say (in past posts) that when you isolate, it doesn't represent because its a complex structure.
I agree with Jim on most, but not everything. But at the very least what he does share has insight, originality and therefore value. On the other hand contrarians are predictable and thus boring.
Original Message:
Sent: 09-26-2021 00:45
From: David Love
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
Jim
I don't disagree that having a pre-installation method of assessing the assembly would be a nice thing. However, I'm not sure it's really possible at this point. I think the only sure fire method is to build a whole bunch of soundboards and track the changes that you make, preferably one change at a time, so you can limit the number of variables and isolate what affects what. I'm not sure there are any shortcuts.
I think there are many manufacturers who produce very consistent results. I don't think it's as much of a crapshoot as you suggest. Steinway has some different outcomes but I'm not sure what the reason is for that. Having taken apart a lot of Steinway pianos I can see that rib scales, panel thickness and thinning, grain density all vary. I don't know what kind of consistent control they have over EMC during the ribbing process. But many manufacturers produce very consistent results: Yamaha, Kawai, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Fazioli to name a few. Hamburg Steinway I find more consistent than NY Steinway and there are others that do a very good job of consistent results IMO. For rebuilders who have more limited production capacity it's more difficult to assess
But what I find in many of these discussions are claims about finding the holy grail that just aren't convincing to me. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. But I think we need to be careful about the conclusions we draw as to what was responsible for positive or negative outcomes unless we really take pains to control the variables one at a time and see consistent results over many iterations.
------------------------------
David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
Original Message:
Sent: 09-25-2021 10:47
From: Jim Ialeggio
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
This is a complicated question.
One the one hand, I am of the opinion, that we need to be able to "tune", correct or tweak a board, before stringing, as after stringing its it too expensive to do any serious tweaks. I feel strongly that any board will benefit from pre-stringing tweaks, because fabrication idiosyncrasies will be unique to each and every individual fabricated board regardless of design or construction technique.
The thought behind the Chladni patterns is, that we need a tool to "read" the fabricated assembly, pre-stringing. This concept makes sense to me...not necessarily the Chladni test in particular, but the utility of getting a coarse "read" of the board before it's too late. I have thought about the utility of Chladni patterns, messed with it some, and determined to go another direction. The main reason being, that Chladni patterns can be wildly misleading, given the loads we impose on the structure.
Case in point...all manufacturers are inconsistent in their build results. Steinway is famous for this inconsistency, but all manufacturers (and rebuilders) experience it. My current project is an another wildly expensive "S" piano, concert grand. The board was a dog right off the line. The piano never sold. My customer ended up with it after a difficult and unhappy legal proceeding with a dealer. Said "S" company makes a big deal in their marketing, as to how they read the Chladni patters and hand plane the entire board according to their proprietary procedures. I mapped the board thickness/thinning profile, in the piano (I am not replacing the board) and spent a fair amount of time ascertaining exactly what failed. Note, all glue joints are sound, there are no cracks, and compression ridges are present and reasonable. My read is that, in following their Chladni tests, they got the board to respond to a Chladni pattern, and in the process destroyed the board. The rib structure is fine, and I have proved this to my satisfaction. However, the board is thinned everywhere, not just at the near rim, but all the way to the bridge. One would not have just thinned a board like this, this aggressively, unless they were following some direction indicated by real time tests of some sort.
I think learning to read an unstrung board is essential for determining whether the board is too close to the non-functional edge of too flexible in some area or in the rib scale, or in some other parameter. My own process, at this point, which I am still experimenting with, is to remove bridge pins, and with a double thickness of back rail felt on the cap, strike the felt, at each rib location (only on the bridge not on the panel), with a small ball peen hammer. Then, listen to the full envelope of the board response following an impact, and compare it to its neighbors. In this case a number of issues become obvious, even to a casual listener.
1- one rib #8 (note 36-ish) produces an absolute thud, compared to ribs on either side which are producing an organized tone for at least part of the sound envelope. The thud is obvious and matches the location of a serious wolf area prior to de-stringing. This area, by the way, is an area which I have noticed this deficiency, almost universally, on many long pianos.
2- ribs 3-7, and 9 responded to the strike with an organized tone, followed by break- up of the tone. Again, a fairly obvious aural effect.
3- ribs 10-12 (notorious 4th-6th octave) no sustain of any tone to speak of. This matches the treble complete lack of sustain previous to de-stringing.
Combining that aural evidence, with thickness mapping, and visual inspection of system's glue joints, I formulated several hypotheses. Using mass loads to both diagnose, and test hypotheses. Then, regarding ribs 10-12, which were the worst area of deficiency, applied a 3mm veneer to the acute bent area of the near rim out to where the board was 8mm minimum. Grain at 10 degree from the original. Graduated thinning, starting at the perimeter near the bridge. Ribs 10-12 now produce a well defined sustain at the strike, which is similar in envelope to the effect ribs 3-7 and 9 produce. The veneer is almost all under the plate, and minimally visible. They all still tend to break up at the end of the envelope, but exhibit an ability to sustain tone for some amount of time. The end of the envelope matches end of envelope break up of ribs further down the scale.
After some further mass loaded diagnostic tests at the rib tapers, I will be adding strips of spruce along the ribs at the rib tapers ribs 10-12 on the other side of the bridge at the cut off bar. After doing that I will assess whether ribs 3-7 & 9 need the strips of spruce, or whether loading will increase impedance enough to control the end of envelope breakup. I know that mass loads at the rib tapers correct the breakup, so I could wait to after stringing to do that, but would prefer to add the rib taper support with spruce, if it doesn't look too weird.
Also, diagnostic rib mass loads, at the rib flare on ribs 3-7, correct the thud at rib 8 by about 80%, so that is another argument for adding the spruce strips spine side, ribs 3-7
The protocol development is still in process, but I do think any board would benefit from pre-stringing real time tests of some sort. Not Chladni for me, but some sort of indication of what how the structure will perform when strung.
By the way, mass loads applied at the rib taper, have a very different effect than the coarse application of mass under the bridge, in terms of damping. I still would like to avoid them if possible, but I have not found a piano that did not benefit in some way from targeted precision minor mass loading, at some point in the scale. Reason being, we are not perfect and no board is perfect.
------------------------------
Jim Ialeggio
grandpianosolutions.com
Shirley, MA
978 425-9026
Original Message:
Sent: 09-24-2021 23:08
From: David Love
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
What's the significance of Chladni patterns for our purposes anyway? All the patterns seem to show is how the nodes and anti-nodes form at a given frequency. Since pianos produce a multitude of frequencies what does testing those patterns at one single frequency or even two or three really tell us about how the sound board will perform overall ? I mean it's kind of interesting in a way, sort of artsy, a curiosity, but does it really help us in designing a soundboard? I haven't seen it yet. Looks good for marketing though.
------------------------------
David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
Original Message:
Sent: 09-24-2021 20:14
From: David Love
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
Chris
I don't make ribs taller, shorter and narrower to reduce weight. I said one could. Please read more carefully.
You have frequently commented that you reduce weight by 3-5 lbs as SOP. I don't worry about the weight of the assembly. I chose panel thickness based on common standards, usually about 9 mm. I thin the panels as I have described. I design the rib scale to provide the required support based on the string scale. The weight falls where it falls. 3-5 lbs reduction is equivalent to a couple of entire ribs. I don't get why you would feel compelled to simply reduce weight. But to each their own (how's that for pronoun gender neutrality 😉 I'm getting woke).
Since we haven't ever compared assemblies in terms of weight or anything else I wouldn't draw too many conclusions about what you think our differences are.
BTW on panel drying we haven't mentioned drying down the panel to the ribbing EMC before you cut the panel to fit the rim. That's pretty important too. It can shrink a lot. So in addition to the panel, or flitches, being cured before you even get them, the panel is dried down prior to fitting to the case and then dried again prior to ribbing and yet again prior to installation.
------------------------------
David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
Original Message:
Sent: 09-24-2021 17:53
From: Chris Chernobieff
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
Keith,
I would be very interested in how you come to that conclusion. And what are the manifestations?
What i have witnessed is the chladni pattern sand goes into the corner and is therefore not a waste of energy. All a cutoff bar does is make the chladni pattern smaller. Which results in less power and projection.
One thing i didn't show in my Chladni videos is that in regular "heavy" boards, when the board is resonating at the fundamental frequency, the sand will bounce off the board 3 to 4 inches. When i make my modifications (reduce weight, adjust the rib scalloping so the bridge is the center of amplitude) the sand bounces 1-2 ft off of the board. One aural phenomena that I have noticed so far is that the piano sounds bigger on the other side of the room than it does at the keyboard.
And i thought it was really cool, although i'm sure Jim is sighing and foo fooing again.
David,
Who is saying removing mass for its own sake? My engineering is spot on as the board does not flatten when i string it up to tension, and i hit my deflection target. And i didn't have to reduce the size of the board and restrict its potential from the original either. And you have to ask yourself, if you are making ribs tall, narrow, and shorter to reduce weight, then why is my boards lighter and bigger?
-chris
------------------------------
Chernobieff Piano Restorations
"Where Tone is Key"
chernobieffpiano.com
grandpianoman@protonmail.com
Lenoir City, TN
865-986-7720
Original Message:
Sent: 09-24-2021 01:07
From: Keith Akins
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
<chladni videos emphasis the "open" corner.>
But did you realize that chladni pattern was opposite phase in the open corner w/o cutoff? Opposite phase vibration is a 100% waste of energy. Eliminating that opposite-phase vibration is perhaps the main beneficial contribution of the cutoff bar.
------------------------------
Keith Akins
Akins Pianocraft
Menominee MI
715-775-0022
Original Message:
Sent: 09-23-2021 23:57
From: Chris Chernobieff
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
Jim,
I've been very consistent regarding cutoff bars. The only thing that has changed from when i started posting on this forum until now is length of the longest rib I will accept. At first it was 42", now it is 45". In past discussions the cut off bars i was against were the ones that limit a rib structure to 36" ribs and create teardrop shaped boards. I do prefer no cutoff bars and in my chladni videos emphasis the "open" corner. But when rib length goes past 45" it becomes the lesser of the two evils. I just put a new board in an upright that was missing a cut-off bar. I installed a new cutoff bar and it is not parallel to the grain but oblique, with about 2 dozen or so end grain going into it.
David,
The 3% was part of an compression set experiment only.
You asked me how i get a board 3-5lbs lighter, and i have answered that question several times but you don't accept the answers.
-chris
------------------------------
Chernobieff Piano Restorations
"Where Tone is Key"
chernobieffpiano.com
grandpianoman@protonmail.com
Lenoir City, TN
865-986-7720
Original Message:
Sent: 09-23-2021 22:35
From: David Love
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
Chris
Honestly I have no idea what you're talking about.
Two different issues being addressed. One is drying the panel, the other is thinning the panel,
Controlling the drying of the panel is being way overanalyzed. Put the panel in a hotbox controlled for temp and RH to achieve the emc you want, simple process. If you are working in a high humidity environment have a way to determine if they panel is changing when out of the box. If it is, put it back in the box. No brainer. I find the Nossaman gauge does that very well.
I don't know anyone drying panels to 3%. The panel will crown at 4%, 5% or 6% if the final ambient humidity is higher than that level. If there are differences in the crowning due to panel differences or dry down levels that can be taken care of when setting the bearing since soundboards are non linear springs. Want it stiffer? Set more downbearing or adjust later. Adjustable perimeter bolts help there. If you dry down the panel to higher emc levels you might have problems with cracking or inadequate crown during period of low humidity. Choose your poison.
Re panel thinning, I don't see any reason to further restrict movement of the panel at the rim if the rib scale is adequate to support the structure and create adequate stiffness. I find panel thinning a benefit especially in the bass and high treble, and not thinning the panel robs the piano of some power while not necessarily enhancing sustain. Sitka panels, I find, need more aggressive thinning than white spruce. YMMV but I don't see slight variations to be problematic. They just create slightly different outcomes.
All these superlatives about what works and what "can't possibly" are so much hot air.
------------------------------
David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
Original Message:
Sent: 09-23-2021 07:46
From: Chris Chernobieff
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
Since the bridge in general divides the soundboard into two halves, a short side(bentside) and a long side, the load share on the short side is more structural. I think its an error to taper on that side. The rib scalloping does that already. Its the long side that has excessive mass and stiffness which doesn't match the lighter load share. My evolved tapering scheme coincides with two past legendary builders (Hansing and Wolfenden) that seem to agree that a longitudinal taper was the proven best method. Then from there i'll address the long side which is the spine and half way up the belly rail( determined by the symmetrical rib). This will also increase the size of mode 1 of a Chladni pattern.
Cut off bars are essential and prevent structural weakness. I found that any rib over 45" just has too high of a Moment of Torque and thus takes on too much fiber stress. And when corrected did not detract from the instruments tone richness. Not going over 45" is a good insurance of a lasting integrity.
Compression Set Paranoia seems to have lead to an all or nothing state, When i rib at 4% i can see that compression ridges are barely just starting to form after inspection a month later. To me that's perfect. In past experiments at 3%, compression ridges can become aggressive looking, but still no apparent damage. I would consider damage to be a "point" felt by the finger.
By watching Steinways soundboard procedure in action, i suspect that they, unbeknownst, put in many boards at a high moisture content. Especially in humid months, and even more so before the use of electricity.
-chris
------------------------------
Chernobieff Piano Restorations
"Where Tone is Key"
chernobieffpiano.com
grandpianoman@protonmail.com
Lenoir City, TN
865-986-7720
Original Message:
Sent: 09-22-2021 21:33
From: David Love
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
I think we have different experiences. I've seen boards ribbed at 6-6.5% form cracks during periods or low humidity but not single digit. And that's in Northern California where humidity levels are generally fairly benign. My goal is to not let the board ever go under tension which means an EMC at ribbing and prior to installation of 5% in my area. I think if I were sending a board to Arizona I'd dry it down further. That is achieved by controlling the hot box RH and temp for an adequate period of time to cover the panel thickness There are charts to help with that calculation. I agree that cutoff bars seem to exacerbate the problem of cracking but not if the assembly is dried prior to installation.
I always thin the panel on the bent side corresponding to about the length of the rib taper. Most at the bass end. Second most right behind the top capo section. Less behind the killer octave section. Lightly on the spine and very lightly at the belly rail. I don't see thinning as creating any problems but I do crown ribs (typically about 18M radius throughout so I'm not relying on compression totally for crown formation. I'm not a fan of very tight rib radii
Sitka panels get more thinning than white spruce and sitka also seems to have less of a tendency to form pressure ridges. With white spruce I don't thin along the spine or the belly rail. With Sitka I do and I also thin slightly under the length of the long bridge.
I have measured panel shrinkage with multiple dryings (not ribbed) and have not noticed any significant differences In the degree of shrinkage from one drying to the next. I think the initial drying of the wood may well result in more shrinkage than later drying. But by the time I get the panel the wood has been cured, meaning multiple dryings over time. I don't really worry about the hysteresis effect that you mention. So far so good.
------------------------------
David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
Original Message:
Sent: 09-22-2021 08:22
From: Jim Ialeggio
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
<By the time you make a soundboard the wood has gone through multiple cycles sometimes over years and the effects of hysteresis are diminished.
True. But my thought is to take it lower than it will ever go in service, before ribbing, as the shrinkage effect is greatest the first time it hits the new low...hence the first year soundboard crack or early failure in a high compression board. High compression complicates this calculus, because compression ridges effect dimension in a different and aggressive other fashion.
< To get to 6.5% EMC you're talking about 80 degrees (F) at about 35% RH.
True again. Empirically, at least in my experience, panel cracking occurs, when folks are running their antique NE homes at single digit RH's...drafty antique homes run at crazy high temps. I rib at 6-6.5 % , or prefer to rib at that level, if I can actually know that I am at that level (I doubt the accuracy). I have had only one crack in 15 years, and that lady was running her drafty apartment at 80 degrees with no significant humidification, for the benefit of her cockatoo. Even with a DC, interior rh was in the low single digits. No board will survive that. Also, the crack developed at the damn added cutoff bar, which I eliminated from my designs years ago. When you have a cutoff bar, grain angle to the bar will be parallel to the grain at the bar. I have seen many cracks develop there for that precise reason, on work of other builders.
Also, cracks don't destroy a board for the most part, as my old board resusitations keep proving. Glue joint destruction destroys boards, as well as treble thinning on the bent case side, in high compression boards. Also cracks at the rim, with grain parallel to the rim, as in the cutoff bar failures, have the capacity to destroy a board, because the connection to the rim is challenged. This leaves the board's still extant rib structure flapping in the breeze, with weak connection to the rim.
The question I am pondering is, what actions can we take to limit the degree to which the board may move too much in service.
------------------------------
Jim Ialeggio
grandpianosolutions.com
Shirley, MA
978 425-9026
Original Message:
Sent: 09-22-2021 02:33
From: David Love
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
Maybe. But the first time the wood in a panel is dried is not when you're making a soundboard out of it. It's when the wood is milled into boards or even before. By the time you make a soundboard the wood has gone through multiple cycles sometimes over years and the effects of hysteresis are diminished.
On another point I would consider 6.5% EMC to be inadequate to avoid the panel cracking later during dry periods. To get to 6.5% EMC you're talking about 80 degrees (F) at about 35% RH. I would consider that risky and certainly inadequate for any significant compression.
------------------------------
David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
Original Message:
Sent: 09-21-2021 10:45
From: Jim Ialeggio
Subject: Hysteresis in Soundboard Fabrication
I read an interesting article by Gene Wengert The Wood Dr. in a furniture industry rag I receive monthly. https://www.woodworkingdigital.com/wwnet/library/item/3946503/
The gist was, if my understanding is correct, wood shrinkage, the first time it occurs, when the wool experiences a new low EMC, will always have a greater dimensional change in the loss part of the cycle (the first time only at that new EMC low), than when it returns to the original EMC. There is a significant difference between dimensional reduction moving from higher EMC to lower EMC (the first time), than the dimensional expansion, when the wood recovers its previous EMC. Repeated loss cycles to that previouis low EMC will not be as aggressive a dimensional loss as the first time the low EMC was attained.
This explains the problem with various dimension based Soundboard EMC gauging methods, including one I and others use, which is using a gauge stick to record and monitor dimensional changes in the soundboard preribbing.
The Forest Service dimensional charts we use are based on first time drying. They are not predictive of cycled expansion/shrinkage.
It also suggests to me, that, before ribbing, it makes sense to reduce EMC beyond the worst we expect to see in service, and then, at least in my own case, let it pick up moisture to 6.5% EMC before ribbing.
It's interesting to see him discuss something I have seen over and over again in any composite wood structure. That is, if the assembly makes it through the first year of cycling, it will be in a good position to survive the long haul. The first year, gremlins will mostly appear, if they are going to appear. It also may explain why some compression boards fail very early (not all, but some).
It's also why I like using old boards if that is possible. If you can assure the glue structure is excellent, the system is more stable, and behaves in a unique way, relative to new wood. However, and this is a big however, glue structure must be carefully tested and improved if necessary (almost always necessary in my experience), as the glue is a huge part of the structure. Another plus in an old board, with age, cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose degrade, and the wood becomes lighter and more resonant, and I think a little less stiff...something I have noticed repeatedly when messing with old boards. They have a resonant and relaxed sound, their juvenile cousins lack, assuming the glue joints are excellent and of course bridge terminations are new.
------------------------------
Jim Ialeggio
grandpianosolutions.com
Shirley, MA
978 425-9026
------------------------------