---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Liz,
Below are some removal ideas from posts I've saved during previous
discussions of this. I know you didn't ask for this info but maybe
it'll be useful anyway. Good luck. :-)
Avery
>At 09:19 AM 6/10/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>
>><< I've got an out of town customer who has called about a broken giraffe
>>on a 1980 Steinway M. Does anyone know what size that might be? I hate
>>to make the drive and show up with the wrong stuff. >>
>>
>>Hi Liz,
>> That should be the 1/4" thread. Don't forget your washers, drill
>> slow and
>>straight, and don't force the EZ-out!!
>>Ed
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Do use Liquid Wrench. Use it BEFORE working on the agraffe. I like to drill
two holes, opposite each other at the edge of the stub, 1/16" or smaller. The
drill will follow the path of least resistance and cut the brass, not the iron.
Cut a screw driver of the appropriate size into a Vee shape so the points go
into the holes and give a sharp quick twist of the driver will loosen and turn
out the stub. If you have enough room you may be able to still do this.
If it is really jammed in there you need to call out the pros.
Alternatively you can call in a machinist.
Alternatively you can call in a chemist, who can provide an acid that will
desolve the brass then a base to neutrulize the acid.
I hope you have better luck.
Newton
<mailto:nhunt@rci.rutgers.edu>nhunt@rci.rutgers.edu
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I had the unenviable experience of losing an easy-out tip in an agraffe
shank. After a sprained wrist, a titanium (?) drill bit and a few hours
of swearing and sweating, I finally managed to *carefully* drill around
the busted easy-out part, extract it, then proceeded to use progresively
larger bits to more or less drill out the agraffe remnant. At some point,
the remnant decided to cooperate and it drove its way out the bottom of
the plate. Wish I'd realized that you can (sometimes) go *either* way
with a busted agraffe remnant *long* before all of that easy-out business
messed things up!
Ron Torrella
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The best advice I have ever received on extracting broken agraffe studs
is to use a tool that you can make yourself. Get a small screwdriver with
a blade that is 3/16 wide. File the end like the illus. below:
_____________
( /
)___________\_
You make this with a file edge placed at a slight angle across the face
of the blade. Position the angle so that there will be a cutting edge
to dig into the bottom of the stud from below the pinblock. If the screw-
driver is short enough, you can tap the points into the bottom of the
stud. Turn the driver clockwise looking upward into the plate hole
and stud. If you had not broken the easy-outs in the top, you could have
used this tool in the counter clockwise direction looking from above. If
you ever have a case like this again, use this tool from above. In
most cases, it comes out quite easily.
Another approach to this problem is to use a left-handed drill bit
from the top. Use a slow speed drill, or tap holder. When the drill
catches in the brass, the stud will usually come right out.
If or when all else fails, you can do like I did on my first job. Drill
out the whole thing. Steinway has available a repair agraffe for
which you must tap a larger hole. At least I think that's where I got
mine back in '52. You can see I've done it all three ways. Guess
which one I like the best.
Jim Coleman, Sr.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Warning: if you try to drill more with a hard drill bit, there is a good
chance the bit will catch on the broken easy-out and will also break off in
the agraffe. This will leave you with a small amount of brass and lots of
very hard steel in there. Ask me how I know!!!
One big problem with easy-outs is that they can actually tighten the brass
more in the hole. This is why they can break off in the hole like yours
did.
Try the sharpened screwdriver idea first. Give it a few minutes and try to
get a really good bite in the brass, then see if it won't spin out.
If this fails, get a right angle drill and some good sharp drill bits. They
don't have to be especially fancy, just sharp. Using a mirror on the
keybed, carefully centerpunch the bottom of the agraffe. A short center
punch and a hammer held sideways will allow this. Slowly and carefully,
paying special attention to the vertical alignment of the drill bit, drill
up from the bottom until you hit the bottom of the easy-out. Keep your
pressure light and you will feel the drill bit hit the hard steel.
Once you have drilled through to the easy-out stub, take the drill away and
insert a small drift punch into the hole from the bottom, tap up on the
easy out, and it should come loose easily. Get it out of there, drill the
hole clean all the way through from the top, then get back to removing the
agraffe.
>From here it depends on how much brass is left in the hole. If the
remaining brass is thin you can just tease the remaining material away with
a jeweler's screwdriver. If there is much left you should try again to spin
the agraffe out with the screwdriver, or something similar. Since you will
have a hole in the middle, a small Phillips screwdriver may also be able to
grab in the hole.
Be sure you have the tap to clean up the threads before installing the new
agraffe. Steinway can tell you the correct diameter and TPI.
Best of luck.
Don Mannino RPT
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Re: removing broken agraffes, The modified screwdriver is nice but if you
have a reversible drill handy, another great way is to use a left hand drill
bit available from good machine shops. When used in a reversible drill, the
agraffe stub usually ends up turning out before you've drilled very far into
the stub. This is due, in part, to the heat that is developed in the
drilling process breaking down any corrosion.
This is a "must have" tool for anyone working on "potential agraffe
breakers"!!
Good Luck!!
Brian De Tar, RPT "NO OBSTACLES...ONLY OPPORTUNITIES!!"
<mailto:BDeTar@aol.com>BDeTar@aol.com
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/e7/78/2d/59/attachment.htm
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC