My First Agraffe Repair - Done

[Robert Scott]

That 1927 Steinway agraffe repair came off with hardly a hitch.  The new 
agraffe from Schaff had that conical undercut.  Even so, I could not turn 
it far enough after first contact for proper alignment.  And a 10-mil shim 
washer produced about the same misalignment, only a half-turn earlier.  
Instead what I did was this.  I wrapped the threads with a bit of paper to 
protect them and then very lightly stroked the seating surface of the 
agraffe with a fine-toothed machinist’s file.  I rotated the agraffe so as 
to take off material evenly around the seat.  The first try was perfect.  
It delayed first contact by about 90 degrees, which made proper alignment 
reachable with a very snug fit.

And yes, Joe, I did loose one becket, but the old strings went in and are 
up to pitch.  I think it helped that I never completely straightened out 
the wire ends when I removed the strings.  I enlarged the coils just 
enough to allow the wire to slip out of the agraffe hole.  You can twist a 
surprisingly small coil through an agraffe if you’re careful.

Robert Scott
Ypsilanti, Michigan