[CAUT] Polishing Agraffes ... enjoying the discussion!

[PAULREVENKOJONES at aol.com]

To be honest, Jim, abrasive cord is the first thing I ever used, and, based 
 on that, now the last I would ever recommend. It truly tears up the inside 
 contact surface of the agraffe. It might work for a quickie fix-up, but I 
would  never use it on a fine instrument of any kind. Just my experience.
 
P
 
 
In a message dated 9/25/2009 12:01:14 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
jim_busby at byu.edu writes:

 
Stan, 
I’m  grinning because today I used abrasive cord (1000 grit I special 
ordered) on  an L I’m restringing. I simply didn’t want to take out the 
agraffes. But if I  take them out, I do the Q-tip thingee. 
JB 
 
 
From:  caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Stan 
 Kroeker
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 8:18 AM
To:  College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Polishing  Agraffes ... enjoying the discussion!

Hi all, 
 

 
This discussion reminds me how taking care of the plethora  of small 
details results in a big difference in the final  product.  We have the freedom to 
do these things, don't  we?
 

 
I recall heated discussions in past about fitting pinblocks  to plate 
flanges.  How close is close enough? 0.020"? ... 0.010"?  How about contact along 
the entire length of the flange (or at  least once every inch)?  Whether 
you believe the block can or can not  move once it's securely screwed to the 
plate web, by achieving a full-fit you  have forever eliminated movement as a 
potential cause of tuning  instability.
 

 
Re:  agraffe servicing
 

 
I neglected to mention that I'm not sure yet whether I  prefer the use of 
hourglass-shaped reamers or abrasive cord to remove burrs  from old agraffes 
or re-profile new ones (I have both).  I keep coming  back to the abrasive 
cord for its simplicity and minimal risk.  You see  immediately (by 
'shoe-shining' the holes) that you are removing metal but it's  hard to overdo it.  
Another advantage of the abrasive cord is that, after  machine polishing, the 
cord effectively cleans out any residual compound from  the recess.  With 
this method, I don't bother polishing the  holes/recesses.  Simply a case of 
diminishing  returns.
 

 
Thanks again to all for your contributions on this  subject!
 

 
Regards,
 

 
Stan Kroeker,  RPT



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20090925/5282b71f/attachment-0001.htm>