<html> The chemical toxicity I would not welcome. Especially where the items are available for much less than the time it takes for you to fuss with them. New S&S plated rim bolts are only $5@. It is not worth sanding, spraying, nicking upon installation, touching up; for that money.  Plus the new nickel looks so much better. Damage on the plate is reduced also by the flange on the bottom of the hex head, no need to touch up the plate either. Tell Glorie I sent you. To touch on another thread, I replace all plate screws, having broken enough old ones to have learned my lesson. Old screws in a new block are inconveniences waiting to happen. Sure, most will come out with an Easy-Out but it's the few that require re-pulling (yet again) the plate and installing a pin-block-material plug and redrilling. TIP:  For boring wood screws, use a tapered bit. For pin block screws I have a tapered bit for a #18 wood screw. As a friend of mine said, "Slicker than snot on a doorknob". Pardon me for that last illustration, but 'when the shoe fits';, Jon Page At 06:57 PM 01/10/2000 -0600, you wrote: >Yes I did replate them myself. I bought a couple kits from an outfit named >Casswell. One is nickel electroplating and the other is electroless nickel. >Each process has pros and cons, and setting up to do the plating, both the >first time and each time later, is more difficult than doing the actual >plating. I like being able to do it for a number of reasons, but like >refinishing, if there were someone nearby who could do it to my satisfaction >in a timely manner I wouldn't mess with it. > >Richard Anderson > >> From: "David ilvedson" <ilvey@jps.net> >> Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org >> Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2000 10:08:56 -0800 >> To: pianotech@ptg.org >> Subject: Re: Archives trouble? and plate screws >> >> Richard, >> >> You plated the screws yourself?  I did that at WIT when I was >> in training but we went next door to the Band Instrument >> Repair facilities and used their plating equipment.  Are you >> really set up to plate your own hardware? >> >> David I. >> >> Date sent:          Sun, 09 Jan 2000 20:30:17 -0600 >> Subject:            Archives trouble? and plate screws >> From:               Richard Anderson <tknostf@foxvalley.net> >> To:                 pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> >> Send reply to:      pianotech@ptg.org >> >>> Has anybody had trouble accessing the archives lately? I wanted to search >>> for a subject but my browser keeps crashing when I get to the site. As long >>> as I'm here I'll ask about what I was looking for. After spending most of a >>> day repairing and replating a set of plate and pinblock screws only to have >>> one break on installation (last one in of course), I'm rethinking my policy >>> of reusing original plate screws on every rebuild. I know some rebuilders >>> who always install new machine screws into a new (Delignit or Falconwood) >>> block. And many use new machine bolts when rehanging plates. Does anyone >>> replace all plate (or case for that matter) fasteners as a matter of course >>> on every piano? There is plenty to argue on both sides of this issue, and >>> I'm never shy about arguing, so what do you say? >>> >>> Richard Anderson >>> >> >> >> David Ilvedson, RPT >> Pacifica, CA >> ilvey@jps.net >> > <div>Jon Page,   piano technician</div> <div>Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.</div> <div><a href="mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net" EUDORA=AUTOURL>mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net</a></div> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </html>