Don, At 01:17 PM 9/30/1998 -0400, you wrote: >Horace, could you give any more information on the iron you used. Power, >where to get, etc. Any words on your process of fastening the rail to the >brackets? I have one of those small butane hand torches (Piezzio?) and I >just tried one joint. It seems to have worked but will it in the long run? Gladly, but I will have to find the darn thing and look at it for a part/ manufacturer. It was known in telco circles as a lineman's iron. Mine is 250 W, 115-120 VAC - don't try to run your shop heater at the same time. Cost "x" years ago was around $75.00. Very stable, reliable source. My second favorite method is the MAPP Gas/Air combination that Ken likes. Same reasons. After trying several methods, and without building those way-too-specialized jigs that you don't really use often enough, I settled on the use of nails wedged in place that Chris Robinson uses. If you're careful with this method, things don't get tweaked. You use the nails pressed/tapped lightly into place to hold the carefully positioned rails in place while you do your initial tacking down. Then, you can check the spread/rotation at several locations, make corrections and then finish the job off. >Since this is a piano no longer in production, I had to drill the holes. >If anyone has to do this, be very careful that the bit does not slip from >the mark. Ask me how I know. Also, be sure the countersink is deep enough. While most folks do not have them, my tool of choice for this kind of work is an end mill. You can clamp the rail down over a fairly good run of it's length, and then drill just about perfectly. I think that, years ago, someone (maybe Hale in the old days?) had a combination drill- counter sink for this process. More later. Best. Horace Horace Greeley, CNA, MCP, RPT Systems Analyst/Engineer Controller's Office Stanford University email: hgreeley@leland.stanford.edu voice mail: 650.725.9062 fax: 650.725.8014
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