[pianotech] Broken Agraffes

[Mike Spalding]

Eric,

Need more info about the 1988 rebuild.  What was done, how well was it 
done, how is it holding up.  Absolutely  need to know whether the 
agraffes were replaced.  Original agraffes from that era (early 20th C.) 
were often incompletely threaded, leading to stress risers and failure 
at the top of the threads.  If original, and 4 have failed spontaneously 
in the last year, you'll want to replace them all.  How much else you do 
at the same time depends on overall condition of the piano and the 
owner's needs and budget.

Mike

Eric Donnelly wrote:
> Dear List,
>
> I need some advice on this:  I have a client with a 1925 Steinway B 
> that was rebuilt in 1988 that hasn't been tuned in at least 3 years.  
> It's currently 30 cents flat and according to the owner, last winter 4 
> agraffes broke off one at a time as the piano isn't played often.  The 
> question is whether to try to bring the piano up to pitch and replace 
> the 4 (or potentially more) broken agraffes, or just go ahead and 
> replace them all and restring.  Any thoughts on this?  Thanks, everybody.
>
> Eric Donnelly, RPT