Agraffes

[jpiesik@arinc.com]

     Hello List,

     I finally dug out Journal articles on agraffes - Susan Graham and
     Chris Robinson articles, mainly. However, I could find nothing
     regarding annealing old brass agraffes.

     So I called Bill Balamut in MN. He gave me the following procedure:

     1. Clean and polish the brass.
     2. Silver solder any fractures.
     3. Heat pieces (propane will work for agraffes and smaller pieces, but
     acetylene works best for brass rails) to not more than 800 degrees F.
     Look for a "rainbow" color to develop in the brass (can't see it
     unless it's polished) and work the flame over the entire piece
     developing that "rainbow" color throughout.
     4. Quench in water or air cool - doesn't matter, according to Bill.
     5. Don't apply too much heat for too long or you'll soften the brass
     too much.

     A story Bill shared with me: A tech had Bill anneal an old agraffe for
     him at one of Bill's seminar classes. Bill later heard, through the
     grapevine, that the agraffe had failed. Bill called the tech and asked
     why he didn't tell him about the failure. The tech responded by saying
     that the agraffe Bill annealed held great, the agraffes that failed
     were the ones that tech had attempted to anneal.

     Thus, it seems that experience is the key in properly annealing
     agraffes. Over do it and the brass ends up too soft.

     Bill Balamut said he'd anneal a set of old agraffes or an old brass
     rail for anyone who would like this done at a reasonable price. His
     number is (612) 788-5682 (he gave me permission to post his number).

     Reading the agraffe articles gave me the impression that agraffes do
     not need to be replaced just because they are old. There are good
     restoration methods available. The variations in agraffes - from many
     years ago to what's available today - often suggest that it would be
     better to retain the original when at all possible.

     Comments?

     John Piesik, RPT