Steinway O Soundboard Built

The past weeks I have accomplished a fair amount of work on the Steinway. The bridges are capped, and the soundboard is pressed. Today I set the bearing on the bridge tops. The pictures tell most of the story.

Steinway O 169690 Soundboard Construction

The new soundboard being built started out as a Sitka Spruce tree in North West Washington State. After the log was allowed to season, it was cut up by a milling company in Washington State. The log is quarter sawn, and only a select few pieces of the log are of the quality need for a piano soundboard. That quality includes nearly vertical grain, straight grain the entire length of the piece of wood, clear-no knots or pitch pockets, and annular rings that are tight and close to one another. After the pieces are selected, they need to be laid out to accommodate the size and angle of the grain in the new soundboard. After this has been accomplished, the pieces of the soundboard were sent to my shop on Pennsylvania, where I glue the pieces together, plane the panel to the proper thickness, and cut the glued up pieces into the shape of the soundboard. After sanding it is ready to receive the ribs that will be glued to the panel. Preparing the ribs is another story.