weird metal rod in Rhodes harp support

[Max86]

Hey guys,
Just bought a gorgeous 1975 Suitcase Rhodes! It's in great cosmetic condition but plays very unevenly so I have a lot of work ahead of me. Needless to say, I could not be more excited.

One of the things I need to address is my harp supports that seem too high to set up proper escapement for a light touch. I've watched the VV tech tips so I know the thing to do is run them through a table saw to carefully take off the top. The problem is my harp supports have these vertical metal rods stuck in them, that make it impossible for me to do this safely. I haven't seen this metal rod in any other video and I'm confused as to what the function of it might be.
Since the harp supports are also quite messed up anyway, I'm considering just replacing them with new hard wood blocks, which would be clean and simple but I'm still puzzled about those metal rods. Any Ideas?
For context, my Rhodes is stamped with 4475 and still has the Fender Rhodes style action.
I'm attaching a picture of the harp support
I'd be super thankful for any suggestions,
All the best,


PS: super psyched to finally be part of this community 😊

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[jimmymio]

I have done this mod many times and have never seen that rod. I don't think it came from the factory like that. IIRC those blocks are solid maple and should not need extra support. I would try to remove it.