Off-centre tone bar w/ new screw

[lukevintage]

Having recently replaced all the screws and grommets on my 1979 73 Rhodes MK1, some of the tone bars still sit off-centre. Any thoughts on how to correct this? All screws were originally threaded with wax.

[spave]

Are they so far off center that it is affecting the sound or is it just a visual issue? On a previous thread, some members actually recommend straightening the tonebar itself as apparently they can bend over the years. https://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=8637

There is also a chance that they were drilled crooked from the factory. Here's an excerpt from Mike Peterson that describes the issue. https://www.fenderrhodes.com/models/mark4.html

One day, while Harold and Steve were inspecting a batch of harps, they observed that all of the tines and tone bars seemed to point in odd directions. After disassembly, they learned that the holes in the Finnish birch plywood had been drilled crooked, really crooked. We wondered how this could happen, so Harold and I got in the car and drove to the Fender plant in Ensenada, Mexico, where the harps were drilled and assembled. (Management had moved production from Fullerton to Mexico, to reduce costs.)

When we arrived, we were horrified to discover a rusty old drill press, wobbling on a uneven dirt floor, protruding through a hole, in a crude, rickety wooden table. The precision drill bushings in the fixture had been replaced with bushings having much larger holes. This made it easier for the operator to hit the target, as he drilled as fast as he could pull the handle.

[lukevintage]

Are they so far off center that it is affecting the sound or is it just a visual issue? On a previous thread, some members actually recommend straightening the tonebar itself as apparently they can bend over the years. https://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=8637

There is also a chance that they were drilled crooked from the factory. Here's an excerpt from Mike Peterson that describes the issue. https://www.fenderrhodes.com/models/mark4.html

One day, while Harold and Steve were inspecting a batch of harps, they observed that all of the tines and tone bars seemed to point in odd directions. After disassembly, they learned that the holes in the Finnish birch plywood had been drilled crooked, really crooked. We wondered how this could happen, so Harold and I got in the car and drove to the Fender plant in Ensenada, Mexico, where the harps were drilled and assembled. (Management had moved production from Fullerton to Mexico, to reduce costs.)

When we arrived, we were horrified to discover a rusty old drill press, wobbling on a uneven dirt floor, protruding through a hole, in a crude, rickety wooden table. The precision drill bushings in the fixture had been replaced with bushings having much larger holes. This made it easier for the operator to hit the target, as he drilled as fast as he could pull the handle.

Thank you for your reply, Spave. So it could have been simply drilled poorly. They're not badly off. They sit to the left of the pickup. I can't distinguish any loss in tone so it could be the perfectionist in me complaining.