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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sorry for the late response. Some days I get so
caught up in the shop I don't get to catch up with all the interesting stuff
going on here. Anyway... </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Jude,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Regarding the tumbler, I guess it's
safe to say you are not keeping them in order, or are you?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Fenton</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I've been back and forth as far as the order is concerned. When I first
started restoring agraffes I kept them in order, but when I started using
the tumbler I abandoned the order figuring that when I installed new ones they
were out of order anyway. I might try thraeding them in order on a wier and then
tumbling. If the effort to keep order doesn't take more time than working
from scratch, it'll be worth it.</DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>Jude,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>I've never heard of Dri-Shine. What is it? where do you
get it? ect.?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>As for the "Tumbler"....Yikes! Not a good way to go,
IMO. That will screw up the threads.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I love your process Joe. I'll have to give it a try. Dri-shine III
is the most mild medium available for the tumbler and it is made
of corn husks. I'm pretty sure that it causes no damage to the threads. In fact
I have to prep the agraffes in the blasting cabinet first because the tumbler
will not even remove lacquer and it takes 70 hours in the tumbler to reach a
mirror polish. If I find proof that it does I will abondon this method of
polishing agraffe and probably cry.The great thing about the tumbler is that it
cleans every part of every screw, hinge etc even inside the slots, threads and
holes. I gather all my hardware and toss it in and forget about it for three
days and that beats the hours I've spent at the buffing wheel. I ordered it
through MSC but I have a catalog for the actual maker if you're intrigued.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>Bechstein's are fun, aren't they, with the thick
agraffes up in the treble?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>Paul</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Oh yeah, they're a treat! What a great agraffe though with that hardened
steel rod. I found that you have to go in order and get them perfectly installed
before you move on to the next one. I also had much more difficulty getting them
locked down in the right position. I definitely should have kept this set in
order and with the original shims which are thinner than anything available
through Scaff or Pianotek.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>By the way are there any other options for new agraffes for other makes. If
you're going to mess around with this you're eventually gonna be caught with a
broken agraffe. I broke one on a Knabe last year and boy was that a
pain. I went fishing through piano junkyards all over town pulling off
samples. Most of these pianos were on on their sides, crunched together. Fun.
There are may variations of threads, height and unison
spacing.<BR></DIV></DIV></FONT>
<DIV>Jude Reveley, RPT<BR>Absolute Piano Restoration, LLC<BR>Boston,
Massachusetts</DIV>
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