In 080413 MMDigest, Tony Marsico mentioned that the soundboard of the
48-note Piano Melodico (PM) is not glued to any rim at the rear end of
the piano and he asked how the instrument could stay in tune with this
"weak" construction.

When reading his posting this morning, I was slightly confused because
my 48-note Piano Melodico is very stable over a long period of time
(I tune it after two to three years).  I just inspected the construction
once again -- yes, the soundboard is glued down all the way around,
except at the rear end.  In my opinion this design is one source of
the excellent sound quality of the Racca PM.  In this rear region of
the soundboard, on its upper side, the bridge for the strings is glued
to the soundboard.  Without being glued on its backside, the soundboard
can resonate much better than if it were fixed to any rim.

That's how I interpret this construction.  Not interpretation, but
experience is that the strings don't press the board downward and that
the PM holds its tune much better than some other stringed instruments
in my collection.

Tony, I would like to advise you to continue restoring your PM.  Don't
fear that the soundboard might collapse but enjoy listening to some
Verdi or Puccini music, played from original Racca music books (great
arrangements!)

Regards from Germany
Christian Greinacher