A customer was referred to me by a very good technician who had the miss fortune of breaking a tap while retapping agraffe threads. The tap broke off nearly flush with the plate. This is a S & S S? circa 1920's. It is the fourth agraffe in the tenor section. The tap is firmly imbedded into the plate. It will not turn. I made a tool with two rods to fit into two of the four flutes to attempt turning it out. The rods broke. Is there a commercially available broken tap removing tool? I attempted to drill the tap out. My titanium bits did little. Though the grinding bits I used to flatten out the top seemed effective in removing material. Is there a solution here? The customer does not have enough money for rebuilding the piano (which it could use) so removing the plate and coming in from the bottom is out. My last idea (which I don't care for) is to drill a new agraffe hole infront of the old. There is plenty of room in the plate. Will this cause any undue weakening in the plate, and how badly will the tone on the now 1/2 - 3/4 inch shorter be affected? I know this is not your everyday type of repair, but any input would be greatly appreciated. Andrew Remillard
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC