Knabe agraffes... a couple thoughts

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Yes, it may be an old and obsolete size, but it can be duplicated. We had to
have several made to fit an old Knabe we were remanufacturing recently. I
measured the thread count with my Starrett thread gage. I don't recall right now
what the thread size was, but our machinist was able to duplicate it with no
particular problems.

Take one of the good ones to a reasonably competent machinist and have it
duplicated. Yes, it's going to be a bit pricey, but so are all of the
alternatives. At least this way the replacement will blend in with the
originals. (You are going to wire brush and lacquer all of the originals before
putting them back in the plate, aren't you?)

Del

-----------------------------------

R. Goodale wrote:

> J Patrick Draine wrote:
> >
> > Howdy list,
> >
> > I have a customer with a 1924 Knabe grand with a broken bi-chord
> > agraffe. None of my replacements fit 1/4" standard or american thread or
> > 7/32". Anyone have any idea what size thread is used? Knabe/PianoDisc
> > was no help. Thanks in advance.
>
> Since it is obviously a very old and obsolete size, before retaping the
> hole for a new size perhaps you could:
>
> 1. Chat with some rebuilders in your area. Someone may have an old plate
> from a worthless piano hanging around that you could pull an agraff
> from, assuming you can find the correct size.
>
> 2. Instead of retapping the hole for a modern size, recut the threads a
> new oversize agraff down to match the original thread. This way all of
> the plate holes will remain the same, preserving the piano unaltered for
> a rebuilder sometime in the future.
>
> Just a thought.
>
> Rob Goodale, RPT