[pianotech] Broken plate screw

Joseph Garrett joegarrett at earthlink.net
Fri Jul 15 00:09:24 MDT 2011


David said: "Plate screw snapped putting it back in.....old screw.....
Left front corner of a boesendorfer plate. Open face block.....
pin block is replaced and well attached to the stretcher and shelf...
There are 2 other plate screws into the front shelf of the plate in that
corner
6 inches or so from the corner, so perhaps that screw is redundant?
 
I tried to drill it out with a titanium bit advertised to drill steel.....
It ripped to shreds as attempting to drill it out, and now there is
titanium in the hole also.
 
Ideas?
Tempted to fill it with epoxy And put in a short fat screw.........
Are there drill bits out there that should handle cleaning this out to
fill, plug and redrill?"

David,
Yes, there are. However, it might get a bit spendy.<G> There are diamond
drills that'll do the job, but as I said, costly. Where you get them? I
have no clue. Try McMaster-Carr or sumpin like that. Either that or....get
a steel tube with an inside diameter slightly larger than the screw stem
that is broken. File saw teeth into one end, chuck it in a drill and drill
down over the screw. Small increments keeps the darned thing from jamming.
DAMHIK! The teeth should be made so the drill is driven in the Reverse
mode.That way when the end of the screw is reach, (or close to it), the
whole thing will come out as a "plug". Redrill the hole to a usable
diameter that matches a pinblock plug. Slot the plug, coat with glue or
epoxy and drive that sucker home. redrill for a new screw, only this time
use some Bee's Wax so there is less friction on the screw...which is what
you should have done initially.<G>
Regards,
Joe
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sent from my iPad


Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
Captain of the Tool Police
Squares R I



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