<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3020" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 1/18/2007 11:23:51 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, rnossaman@cox.net writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d0c8" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2><BR>I'm surprised you found a cracked one. I have a can full of <BR>the big plastic buttons (maybe 50 or 60 of them), that I think <BR>I acquired from an expired technician's estate sale or auction <BR>long enough ago that I don't really remember. I use them when <BR>I glue bridges to soundboards. Being plastic, they aren't <BR>prone to splitting when I crank the screw down, and I replace <BR>them with the wooden buttons after the glue has dried and I <BR>don't have to apply enough screw pressure to risk breaking <BR>them. I've used them over and over for more than 25 years, and <BR>haven't managed to break but a couple.<BR><BR>Ron N<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> <DIV>Ron,  et al</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>    I was surprised as well, more that they were plastic.  They failed alright 5 or 6 of them, maybe these were made from the same stuff as the old plastic elbows although they weren't of the disintegrating variety just cracked and I think the piano was from the 70's,  Maybe they were cranked down to much at the factory ?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tom Ayers</DIV> <DIV>Highland NY</DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>