<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=US-ASCII http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 1/29/2007 5:21:16 AM Pacific Standard Time, PIANOTECHNICIAN@aol.com writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have a customer with a 1920's Steinway A, and the lock bar screws are loose - I need to put in slightly larger screws because the holes are a bit enlarged. I wrote down the dimensions of the existing screws the last time I tuned the piano, but lost the information -- I think they're somewhere around 2 1/2 inches long. Does anyone know how long the screws are and their diameter?</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Jesse,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Don't use bigger screws, or toothpicks. The screws will need to withstand the same forces they didn't withstand the first time. The lid is thin enough that the threads don't have much purchase in it. If they are allowed to get loose, the bending of the lid will yank on them, and they're not biting into much. Therefore, the best way is to PLUG the hole. Not with dowels, toothpicks, veneer, leather, or the anything with grain running longways, but with real plugs (cross grain), which you can easily make yourself with a plug cutter. Drill for the plug, insert with good wood glue, allow to dry, and re-pilot for the screw. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Bob Davis</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>