Mike Knudsen wrote:

> Today the safe and reasonable material to use for replacement would
> be good quality plywood.  It has its own problems with splitting and
> delaminating, but probably takes end-grain screws and nails better.
> And it shouldn't warp.

I do not use normal plywood to build new or replacement instrument parts.
It is usually too poorly made.  However, I do use "Finnish Birch" (as in
Finland) or "Baltic Birch", which are both made of very thin (1/16") plies
of birch.  It has no vacancies, and no irregularities in thickness, and is
very solid and air tight.

If you put in an end-grain screw, drill out perpendicular to the screw
and install a maple dowel that goes ALMOST all the way through Situate it
so that the screw goes through some of the plywood and then through the
side of the maple dowel.  You will need to drill a pilot hole.  If you go
to the lumber yard and use standard solid lumber (unless you are using
maple), it will warp and crack and shrink unless you can get a good piece
dried out in the yard for about 15 years.

As an organ builder, I have built most of my new chest work and case work
from this expensive plywood.  It is even made to 1/16" thickness (3 plies)
so that you can use that as the under-veneer when you are re-veneering a
player piano that has been through a fire.  It is available at the top
quality wood suppliers and hardwood suppliers.  These are not your normal
lumberyards.  If you have a Paxton Fine Woods in your area they will have
it.  Call your nearest local organ builder, he will tell you where to
get it.

As far as historic restoration, I would like to make new parts out of
aged wood that is stable and looks like the original.  However, usually
that is not available, so I will use the best quality new I can get
made to the exact original sizes and methods, if I can determine that.
Historic restoration is good and that is what we do mostly, but if it is
not possible, we do it with the same class with which these instruments
were originally made.

D. L. Bullock    Piano World   St. Louis