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[John Musselwhite]

>is, but is it possible to remove the board in tact, remove the old
>ribs,  restore crown with a new set of ribs, and then reinstall the
>"new" board?  If so there's a lot of well-aged soundboard spruce out there.

        I try to recycle soundboards any time I can. Although I don't
replace them myself, occasionally I run across things that used to be pianos
and probably never will be again for various reasons, and I always save as
much of the boards as I can. They make excellent soundboard shims and larger
pieces I've given to a luthier who wants to try and make guitar tops. One
hobbiest took a piece and made a clock-face out of it with a modified
Steinway board decal on it. The same fellow took a pile of broken ivories,
cleaned them up and pieced them together on an aluminum sheet to make an
ivory clock face which at least prevented the ivory from going into the
dustbin. I feel a pain inside every time I have to do that.

        Back to your question...

        We have our chapter meeting in the Banff Centre Piano Shop next
week. I'll ask Ted and Denis if they've managed to "restore" a removed
soundboard. I know they had a Steinway D in there with a beautiful (as far
as grain pitch and construction) board in it that had negative crown. The
board has been replaced, but I'm not sure if the original came out intact.
They buy the stock in Calgary and mill it themselves, but I can't say if t's
locally-grown wood.

        The Banff Centre Shop is advertising in the Journal these days. For
those who haven't seen it, it's one of the most beautiful shops I've ever
seen! It's located in what used to be the scenery shop at the Centre, where
they painted the large hanging backdrops for the theatre. They are
wonderfully set-up for just about any problem they might run into and the
location, high up in the Rocky Mountains, is really something to behold!

        I'm fortunate enough to look after the pianos at the Banff Springs
Hotel, just across the river from the Centre. While tuning the Yamaha grand
in the Rundle Lounge I can practically see the shop through the trees.
Considering I'm so close it's a pity I don't get the chance to spend more
time there, but this summer we'll be parking our trailer within walking
distance of it for a week so maybe I'll get the chance.

                John
John Musselwhite, RPT               Calgary, Alberta Canada
musselj@cadvision.com       john.muselwhite@67.cambo.cuug.ab.ca