screw holders

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "J Patrick Draine" <draine@comcast.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 11:42 AM
Subject: screw holders


> What are the rest of you doing for screw holders? The Schaff "rigid shaft 
> screwholder" (#874) is next to useless for removing/replacing hammer 
> flanges screws in vertical piano actions. My old ones which looks the 
> same, from Apsco or Tuners Supply, worked fine, but I lost them (on some 
> customer's floor no doubt). The current (unless they redesigned since I 
> complained to a staffer at Nashville) Schaff version doesn't open wide 
> enough to release the screw properly. Anyone buy one recently that is 
> acceptable?
> How about other models at other suppliers that you're satisfied with??
> Patrick Draine
>
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>

    I think I got mine from the old Tuner's Supply and it's pretty good, 
i.e., about the right size for flange screws, but also works (kinda, sorta) 
on screws much smaller and much larger.  I'd like to have another one but 
all the ones I see available now are either too big to fit between action 
parts or the grabber part is so strong it will tear off chunks of finger or 
they're too stiff to operate  or they're built for retrieving bolts lost 
down in the bowels of car engines!  Then there's the real small type which I 
seldom use.
    The main problem with my old ("good") one is that the screw gets knocked 
sideways too easily (pointing off at a right angle instead of straight 
ahead).
    This is another example of one of my pet peeves:  pianos have been 
around for 300 years, but many of the tools available for working on them 
are just terrible!  And the supply houses (one large one comes to mind) 
continue to sell mediocre tools, tools that break the first time you use 
them (shank/hammer head pullers), tools that don't quite work (vertical 
backcheck benders, spoon benders), tools that are meant for doing things 
that quality rebuilders frown on (key button swaging tool), tools that are 
way bigger, heavier, and clunkier than they need be, tools that are built 
too lightly for their intended purpose, etc. etc.
    The advent of Pianotek and a few of the other smaller suppliers in 
recent decades has helped some, but, like the guy said, why isn't there a 
decent screw grabber that works??!!
    --David Nereson, RPT