That 1927 Steinway agraffe repair came off with hardly a hitch. The new agraffe from Schaff had that conical undercut. Even so, I could not turn it far enough after first contact for proper alignment. And a 10-mil shim washer produced about the same misalignment, only a half-turn earlier. Instead what I did was this. I wrapped the threads with a bit of paper to protect them and then very lightly stroked the seating surface of the agraffe with a fine-toothed machinist’s file. I rotated the agraffe so as to take off material evenly around the seat. The first try was perfect. It delayed first contact by about 90 degrees, which made proper alignment reachable with a very snug fit. And yes, Joe, I did loose one becket, but the old strings went in and are up to pitch. I think it helped that I never completely straightened out the wire ends when I removed the strings. I enlarged the coils just enough to allow the wire to slip out of the agraffe hole. You can twist a surprisingly small coil through an agraffe if you’re careful. Robert Scott Ypsilanti, Michigan
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