Steinway Agraffe problem

Joe Garrett joegarrett@earthlink.net
Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:46:42 -0800


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Marshall connolly asked: "I was called in to assess (and hopefully) =
repair a broken agraffe in a =3D
Steinway B at a local college.  The agraffe "malfunction" occurred =3D
during the last tuning, and the tuner attempted to drill out the =3D
agraffe, but rather than drilling, and using an easy-out to remove the =
=3D
broken portion, she and her husband tried to simply drill out the hole =
=3D
in the plate.

They drilled with a bit larger than the original agraffe hole, and now =
=3D
even the largest of my agraffe assortment isn't large enough to fill the =
=3D
hole after retapping.  I am left thinking that the only remedy may be to =
=3D
retap and have a machinist fabricate an agraffe, as the Steinway =3D
agraffes simply swim around in this hole. =3D20

Any recommendations about remedying this problem (shy of replacing the =
=3D
plate) would be truly appreciated.


Marshall,=20
I would suggest Steel epoxy. I had an "Oopsie" on grand rebuild, many =
years ago and inadvertantly "drilled" the agraffe hole on note 88! =
Yikes! (Cold Sweats Time, fer sur!) I repaired it with Steel epoxy and =
it's still holding. It is not noticeable, as the "flange" of the agraffe =
covers the epoxy. I swabbed the hole and taped the underside; placed the =
agraffe in position and let set for two days. Put the strings on, (while =
doing heavy praying), chipped to pitch and let it set a few days more =
just to be sure it would hold. As Skooby Do says: "Rotsa Ruck"!<G>
If that won't work on this situation, then I would suggest the =
"Insta-Coil" technique.
Best Regards,

Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
Captain, Tool Police
Squares R I
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