strange nuts?

[Les Smith]

On Wed, 6 Mar 1996 AKarab@aol.com wrote:

> The local supplier of unusual small hardware has informed me that they do not
> have available nuts that would fit the standard 7/32 and 1/4 (x what looks
> like a 32 count thread)  agraffe stems.    I am looking for them because I
> need to chop one short ( I can't remembre which diameter) for an obsolete
> piano with obsolete agraffes where an agraffe is busted.  I posted about this
> a few months ago and received the suggestion that a nut placed on the thread
> before the hack saw would help clean up the thread...;
>
> Does anybody have or know of such nuts?
>
> Thanks,
> Audrey Karabinus,   Seattle
>
Audrey:  Actually, I  believe that the thread count is 36, not 32. If
you can't locate the correct nut , you could take it to a machinist with
a metal lathe, and he can cleanly cut and rethread the agraffe for you.
While you're at it, you might want to ask him to make you a couple of
drilling guides, for those infrequent times you encounter an agraffe that's
broken off inside the plate. The only way the e-z out extractor has a chance
of working is if you drill your hole in the exact center on the broken stub.
My machinist made me a couple of drilling guides with a small lip on them
that fits into the agraffe hole and ensures a centered drill bit every time.
If you can extract the stub, you can probably use a standard length agraffe.
Plus, the drilling guide also ensures that you don't accidentally drill into
threads of the agraffe hole, which could be a disaster if it's already sized
for a 1/4" agraffe. Every tech should seek to establish a relationship with
a top-notch machinist, so that they have someone to whom to turn when situa-
tions like this arise. Mine has saved my you-know-what numerous times in the
years we've been together.

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net