<HTML style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; FONT-FAMILY: MS Sans Serif"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1251"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16705" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <P> <DIV>Hello Jeannie, The first piano I encountered with expanding action brackets was a chapter project rebuild.  It was a Merrill grand, 5' 2", built in 1911.  The North Shore Chapter (still called the Waukegan Chapter at that time) rebuilt it in 1985.  My guess is that the cheap pot metal was used because better quality materials were getting too expensive or, more likely, unavailable.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bruce Dornfeld, RPT</DIV> <DIV><A href="mailto:bdornfeld@earthlink.net">bdornfeld@earthlink.net</A></DIV> <DIV>North Shore Chapter (We still go to Waukegan from time to time)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <P></P></BODY></HTML>