[pianotech] Kimball Console Action Holddown Screws

Ron Nossaman rnossaman at cox.net
Sat Nov 14 22:45:10 MST 2009


paul bruesch wrote:
> I tuned a 1978 Kimball Console the other day. I had to pull the action, 
> which is held to the plate by screws that practically come out the back. 
> I mean really, they seem to be quite excessively long. The action 
> brackets screw to the plate... there is no plastic spacer tube like on 
> Wurlitzer consoles, but the screws are just as long! Plus, their 
> Phillips (calm, Joe G!) heads are just starting to strip a little bit... 
> I had to be very careful to not let my screwdriver slip and make them worse.

Stripped a little bit? My impression of these things was that 
a bit was spun in the screw head with an air tool until the 
screw quit turning. The action bracket screws are bad enough, 
but wait until you need to pull the key slip!


> Question: Is it OK to replace these very long screws with shorter ones? 

Please do. The same size, but shorter, may well work just 
fine. It's not like it's a high tech application, after all. A 
2-1/2"x8 drywall screw might prove to be the very thing.

Ron N


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