Broken agraffe

[Thomas D. Seay, III]

>Hello,
>
>What is your favourite method of exctracting a broken agraffe in a
>grand. (nothing is out)
>
>It is hardly blocked , I tried with degrip-oil and with propane torch (
>it is accessible under the frame ) , and ... I broke my extractor in, I
>am afraid the thread will be bad after I will pull it out.
>
>Is it easy to find replacement thread for the frame ? If I make a good
>hole in the brass, will I be able to remove the resting brass threading
>the new place ?
>
>Any idea welcome.
>
>Best regards.
>
>Isaac OLEG

Hi Isaac,

Take a small screwdriver whose tip is a bit more narrow than the stub of
the agraffe and grind and sharpen the tip so that it forms a "W". Put the
screwdriver tip onto the top of the stub, tap it gently until it bites into
the stub, and turn the stub out. This works about 90 percent of the time.
For the other 10 percent, carefully drill a small hole into the center of
the stub - sometimes the stub will come out when you reverse the drill to
back out the bit. If it doesn't, use your extractor and hope for the best.
Always run a tap through the hole after the old agraffe is removed. You can
get those taps from the supply houses.

Good luck.

Tom Seay
Piano Tech Office
School of Music
232-2072
t.seay@mail.utexas.edu