Cleaning and Polishing Agraffes By David A. Vanderhoofven, RPT Purpose: The purpose of this procedure is to renew the agraffes during a restringing or rebuilding job. The essential part of the procedure is to use the agraffe reaming tool to clean the hole that the string passes through. After a long period of time, often there will be a string groove at the top of the hole in the agraffe where the harder steel wire has cut into the softer brass of the agraffe. This groove in the hole can contribute to unwanted string noises. The use of the agraffe reaming tool will help to make a clean termination of the string at the agraffe. The additional work to polish, clean, and seal the agraffes is not essential, but makes the job complete. The gleaming surfaces of the highly polished brass agraffes make an excellent presentation and accent the rebronzed plate and new tuning pins and strings. Tools and Supplies Needed: * 1/2 horsepower bench motor for 6" buffing wheel * Assorted 6" cloth wheels for use with bench motor Example: - DICO #40 Spiral Sewed Buff with 1/2" face and 6" diameter - DICO #36 Cushion Type Buff with 1/2" face and 6" diameter - DICO #60 Canton Flannel Buff with 1/2" face and 6" diameter * Assorted polishing compounds Emery (DICO # E5) For coarse buffing to remove scratches, rust, corrosion and burrs Tripoli (DICO # TC6) For general cutting and buffing all non-ferrous metals Jewelers rouge (DICO # JR1) To obtain the highest lustre finish on all metals (DICO polishing supplies are available from most hardware stores.) * Metal polish (such as Twinkle, Flitz, or Simi-chrome polish) * Lacquer thinner * Small metal tray for soaking agraffes * Adjustable speed Dremel Moto-Tool with 1" diameter cloth polishing wheel (Dremel # 423) and mandrel (Dremel # 402) * Leather gloves * Protective Eye glasses * Shop apron - to protect your clothes * Soft polishing cloths * Agraffe reamer Pianotek Supply Co., part # AR-12 * Agraffe turning tool for combination handle Pianotek Supply Co., part # ATT-1 Schaff Piano Supply, part # 30 APSCO, part # 16244 * Shop-made tool for holding agraffes Take a block of hard wood, such as a piece of scrap pin-block material. Drill a hole slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the agraffe threads. Tap out the hole to accept the threads of the agraffe. Sand the corners of the block of wood so there are no sharp edges. Turn the agraffe into the hole in the hard wood and now you have a handle to hold the agraffe with while polishing. Without this handle, the agraffe can be very hard to hold onto because of its small size. Also, If you hold the agraffe in your hand during these procedures, the heat can build up quickly and burn your fingers. The handle will absorb the heat that builds up in the agraffe from the friction of polishing and buffing. * Tap Wrench Schaff Piano Supply, part # 989 APSCO, part # 150825 Pianotek Supply Co., part # TW-164 * Tap - same diameter and thread count as the agraffes you are working with Schaff Piano Supply, part #985 and part #987 APSCO part # 15583, and part #15584 * Clear brass lacquer for protective coat Brasslac clear brass lacquer - Mohawk Finishing Supplies - 1-800-545-0047. or Parks brand "Brass Protector Coat". (Please see the warning at the end of the article for use of this product) * A piece of cardboard with holes puched in it to hold agraffes * Respirator Mask Shop Facilities: The shop should be well lighted, have enough space so that the technician can move around comfortably, and must have good ventilation. There must be no open flames or other sources of a spark that might cause the volatile chemicals used to burn or explode. A spray booth or other draft free spraying area is useful. Procedure: 1. Remove agraffes from plate using agraffe turning tool 2. Keep agraffes in order, by stringing them on a piece of copper or other soft wire 3. Soak agraffes in lacquer thinner or paint stripper to dissolve old finish 4. Remove agraffes from lacquer thinner (or stripper) and allow to dry (If stripper is used, spray the agraffes with water to neutralize the stripper) 5. Insert one agraffe into threaded hole in shop-made hard wood agraffe holder. 6. Buff and polish the agraffe on the bench buffing wheel using a DICO #40 spiral sewed cloth polishing wheel and DICO brand Emery polishing compound. The Emery compound cuts faster and will remove deeper surface scratches and imperfections. Be careful not to use too much pressure. Allow the polishing compound and the speed of the wheel turning to do the work. 7. Buff and polish the agraffe on the bench buffing wheel using a DICO #36 cushion type cloth polishing wheel and Tripoli polishing compound. 8. Buff and polish the agraffe on the bench buffing wheel using a DICO #60 canton flannel cloth polishing wheel and Jewelers rouge. It may be preferable to do this step using a Dremel Moto-tool with a small cloth wheel and Jewelers rouge. The Dremel Moto-tool will allow better control of the operation. 9. Use a clean soft cloth to polish the brass and remove any traces of the polishing compounds used. 10. Use agraffe reaming tool in tap wrench and clean up the holes in the agraffes 11. Insert the agraffe into the hole in the cardboard. 12. Repeat steps 5 through 11 until all agraffes are polished to your satisfaction. 13. Blow away (or vacuum up) any dust on the cardboard and agraffes 14. Seal the agraffes using Parks brand "Brass Protector Coat" or Mohawk brand Brass-lac. It is better to spray on two light coats instead of having one heavy coat. 15. Allow to air dry and spray on another sealing coat 16. After agraffes are completely dry, re-install agraffes into plate and begin restringing Acknowledgements: Thanks to Kevin Way, South West Missouri Player Piano Service, for excellent help and advice and the use of his shop facilities. Thanks to Vince Mrykalo for advising me to get the agraffe reamer from Pianotek Supply. References: Reblitz, Arthur. _ Piano Tuning, Servicing, and Rebuilding_. 2nd Ed. Vestal, New York: The Vestal Press, 1993, pages 280-282. Graham, Susan, and Chris Robinson, and others, "Pinblocks and Plates", PTG Journal reprint kit, Kansas City: the Piano Technicians Guild, 1995. Revenko-Jones, Paul, class notes from one day seminar, November, 1998, St. Louis chapter PTG. ******************************************* WARNING: Parks brand "Brass Protector Coat" has these warnings on the label. Danger! Extremely Flammable Liquid and Vapor. Vapors may cause flash fire. Contents under pressure. Vapor Harmful. Harmful or fatal if swallowed. Causes Eye Irritation. Contains: Methyl IsoButyl Ketone, Isobutyl Isobutyrate, Toluol, Acetone, Ethyl 3-Ethoxy Proprionate, Propane, Med. Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Solvent, Xylene, Propanol, Methyl Ethyl Ketone. Hazards: Danger! Vapor Harmful. May Affect the brain or nervous system causing dizziness, headache or nausea. Causes eye, skin, nose, throat and lung irritation. Warning: Use of this product will expose you to benzene which is known to cause cancer and to toluol which is known to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. NOTICE: Reports have associated repeated and prolonged occupational overexposure to solvents with permanent brain and nervous system damage. Intentional misuse by deliberately concentrating and inhaling the contents may be harmful or fatal. Contact with flame or hot surface may produce toxic gases. Precautions: Vapors may ignite explosively. Keep away from heat, sparks and flame. VAPORS MAY CAUSE FLASH FIRE. Do not smoke. Turn off and extinguish all flames and pilot lights on stoves, heaters, water heaters, etc. Disconnect all electric motors and other sources of ignition during use and until all vapors are gone. Prevent build-up of vapors by opening all windows and doors to achieve cross-ventilation. If you can smell even a weak solvent odor, there is a real fire risk. Vapors are heavier than air and may spread over long distances. Do not puncture or incinerate (burn) container. Exposure to heat or prolonged exposure to sun may cause bursting. Do not expose to heat or store at temperatures above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. USE ONLY IN WELL VENTILATED AREA. Do not breathe vapors or spray mist. Ensure fresh air entry during application and drying. If you experience eye watering, headache or dizziness or if there is a weak solvent smell, STOP. Leave the area and increase ventilation before continuing to avoid health and flammability risks. If air monitoring demonstrates vapor/mist levels are above applicable limits, wear appropriate properly fitted respirator (NIOSH?MSHA approved) during and after application. Follow respirator manufacturer's directions for respirator use. Close container after each use. Avoid contact with eyes, skin and clothing. Wash thoroughly after handling. First Aid: In case of eye contact, flush immediately with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes and get medical attention, immediately; for skin, wash thoroughly with soap and water. If you experience difficulty in breathing, leave the area to obtain fresh air. If continued difficulty is experienced, get medical assistance immediately. If swallowed, get medical attention, immediately. Disposal: Dispose of unused contents in accordance with local, state and federal regulations. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN
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