Keith A. McGavern wrote: > > Can the holes in the plate be made larger by a simple drilling act without > causing risk to the plate? Yes Keith, The plate in that area is locked to the pin block by screws and is not stressed by string tension like the areas where the braces are attached which is where most plate cracks occur. Stressed areas usually have thickened areas of iron like the main plate screw holes. The stress on the v-bar of course is all against the pin-block and isn't a factor for what you wish to do. If you look around you will see several extraneous holes in the plates of most pianos. And if so, what type bit would work best? I like the high speed metal aircraft bits which are about a foot long. They cost more but they allow you to see the drill angle better by keeping the drill further away from the work area. Most of the time you can place the point of the drill just to the side of the broken screw and it will cut a crescent shaped groove in the side of the screw and open up the plate hole simultaneously. Go slow! If the bit grabs it may break. You said you had two screws. I would drill to the right of the left one and to the left of the right one so the different pull angles would offset each other.(or the other way :-) Hope this helps, Warren -- Home of the Humor List Warren D. Fisher fish@communique.net Registered Piano Technician Piano Technicians Guild New Orleans Chapter 701
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