Replacement for leg braces knob on a stage 73

[bobstad]

Someone in McKinleyville, CA  a machinist and welder who learned to braze as a twelve year-old in a factory making electric organs, built a special replacement for the plastic knurled knob to hold the leg braces on the bottom of my April '72 Fender Rhodes stage 73; the only thing missing from an otherwise entirely complete instrument when obtained, except for three ivories including their wooden mechanism, a broken tine and tine/tone-bar combination. 

Arrin is seventy now with a fine shop at 1449 Central Avenue, easily found as his driveway on the east side of the road is next to several yellow 55 gallon drums full of sand protecting the large Monterey cypress tree there beside the street; across from the McDonalds in a shopping center also including a K-Mart and a Ray's supermarket.

I had a regular hex-head bolt to use holding the leg braces to the bottom of the center of the piano; which Arrin brazed an aviation grade wing-nut to.  This is handy in an additional respect, as those bolts come pre-drilled on one wing with a hole made for putting a wire through to make sure the wing-nut won't come undone.  Which I've placed a length of strong green synthetic material fishing net twine through, whose other end passes through a hole drilled in one of the leg braces now.  To prevent loss of the wing-nut leg brace bolt.

Arinn says he is too poor to retire; my guess is because of a love for hunting and fishing.  He most typically seems to work on fishing boats and logging projects; I met in '97 or so needing a repairs on a stainless steel pressure cooker.  His minimum is $20 who has done other excellent work for me.  His shop includes a lathe and heli-arc amongst other things.  I'd have to say he is a genius at his trade; I've watched doing work remarkably difficult. 

I liked one time when I commented on an electric drill he'd had, noticing the sound seeming somehow exceptional.  A Chicago-Pneumatic made during the second world war one of his brothers got working for Howard Hughes, Arrin has changed the brushes on six times.  Arrin's black lab "Floozie" is an energetic character, irresistible to toss things for; which will wear this person out if I can't manage to target someplace difficult for her to retrieve from.