[CAUT] Broken agraffe

[Ed Sutton]

I buy 12" long drill bits at Home Depot.
Good for all sorts of stuff in piano work.
Ed S.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Horace Greeley 
  To: caut at ptg.org ; caut at ptg.org 
  Cc: Steve Walthall ; tseay2 at austin.rr.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 3:53 PM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] Broken agraffe



  Hi, 

  I'll second Don's suggestions; and add that, if it turns out that you need a long "aircraft"-type drill, you'll either need to live in an area that still has something of a machine-tool industry going, or plan on ordering from an on-line catalog.  Because there is still some of that industry left in the SF Bay area, we have a local Grainger supply house.  If you live where there isn't much of that kind of thing, Grainger's on-line catalog is pretty decent and their on-line support staff have been _exceptionally_ helpful.  Here's a link to their main web page:

  http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml

  Best.

  Horace


  At 12:43 PM 9/15/2010, Don Mannino wrote:

    Jeff,

    The "fish tail" screwdriver method is under-used.  It really does work in many cases.  I have also done a similar thing using a small cutoff wheel in a Dremel to cut a positive slot in the agraffe stem, then use a blade screwdriver to turn it out.  This is a problem if the stem is too deep in the plate, of course.

    As others said, long drill bits can work.  If it's jammed and you need a reverse drill bit that could be a problem getting a long one.

    I have also drilled up from the bottom with a right-angle drill.  No need to use a reverse drill - if the agraffe breaks loose it will spin up nicely.  Getting yourself aligned properly is tricky, but doing a careful center punch and using good lights and a mirror on the keybed will help a lot.

    Don Mannino

    -----Original Message-----
    From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [ mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Farris
    Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 11:06 AM
    To: caut at ptg.org
    Cc: Steve Walthall; tseay2 at austin.rr.com
    Subject: [CAUT] Broken agraffe

    Has anyone had to remove a broken agraffe right next to the plate strut where a drill can't fit? Any good ideas?

    Thanks,
    Jeff

    Jeff Farris
    Piano Technician
    School of Music
    UT Austin
    jfarris at mail.utexas.edu
    512-471-0158





    Sent from my iPhone

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