Robert, Search the archives for a voluminous collection of agraffe repair info. I'd make one suggestion. Before you get out the drill etc, make a tool with a small screwdriver, slightly narrower than the agraffe stem, by cutting a fishtail into it with a file...looks like this: M Then with a vice-grip attached, turn counter-clockwise while tapping on the screwdriver head with your tuning hammer. You will "almost" always get it out that way with little fuss! David Ilvedson ----- Original message ---------------------------------------- From: Robert Scott <robert.scott@tunelab-world.com> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Received: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 20:16:54 -0500 Subject: My First Agraffe Repair >There’s a 1927 Steinway M whose strings are a little rusty. Even after >putting a drop of Protek where the strings go through the agraffe, one of >them broke off at the threads while I was lowering the pitch of G#2 (a >bichord). So I guess I will be doing my first agraffe repair job. >What worries me the most is how to decide whether to put one more >half-turn into the agraffe. I don’t want to leave the agraffe too loose, >and I don’t want to tighten it so tight that I break it off. Ideally, I >would like a torque spec so I could use a torque wrench to help me make >the decision. If the agraffe is pointing in the right direction, but the >torque is less than X ft-lb, then I will go for another half-turn. Can >anyone tell me what ft-lb limit I should use? I guess most of you who do >this a lot develop a feel for how tight is enough, but I need to get it >right the first time. >In addition, I also wonder how one goes about centering the drill for the >easy-out on the remains of the old agraffe so that threads in the plate >are not damaged. Should I expect to mess them up and just commit to going >up from the current 7/32" size to the 1/4" size agraffe by re-tapping the >plate? And even if I don’t mess up the threads, it is usual to run a tap >through them anyway just to clean them up before the new agraffe is >installed? >Finally, I managed to remove the old bass strings without cutting them by >straightening them just enough to slide through the old agraffe, so that >maybe I could re-use the old bass strings. Is that a reasonable >expectation? >Robert Scott >Ypsilanti, Michigan >_______________________________________________ >pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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