Broken frame rails on Steinways

[A440A@AOL.COM]

 oleg writes:
<<Nobody seems to catch on the opened action frame rails either, is it totally

unknown on US S&S ?>>

Greetings, 
    I assume  by "open" you mean split or shattered.  Yes, this is quite 
common.  It seems that on Steinways built between the beginning and 1930 
Hammer rails would often split along the corners. I expected it was from the 
stress of hammer screws compressing the rails onto ever shrinking dowels.  
However, I have also seen a lot that were cracked at the bottom, so my logic 
is suspect here. 
   On the 1960-70 Steinways,  I have seen several that didn't split at the 
edges of the brass molding, but did shatter between the flange screw holes.  
I ascribed this to poor metallurgy, which is sorta like a caveman musing on 
the chemical compositon of Mars.  
   They do break, and they must be replaced to have a stable, solid action.  
Regards, 
Ed Foote