Dead top end

[John Ross]

List,
I have a customer with a '30's Heintzman Concert Grand, it's top end is
dead.
It had recently had the hammers changed, they are Abel,which should have
been a good replacement.
The hammerline is uneven, so the hammers will have to be pulled and
reinstalled. Unfortunately the "sweet spot" has been lost.
There does not seem to be an adjustment at the right cheekblock, for a
forward and backward adjustment.  
The new hammers were bored such that I can't get the hammer blow down to
7/8" as called for, because the rest rail is already bottomed out. Does
this necessitate new hammers?
If I also require new shanks and flanges, what is the best method of
finding the best hammerline from scratch, because I can't depend on the
old ones to copy. These hammers may have been a replacement for ones
that were not origional, and therefore also suspect.
What does the list recommend?  1) Can I fix what I have?
                               2) Should I get new shanks, flanges and
new hammers? If new hammers, how do I determine the bore point so I can
regulate with the 7/8" as recommended? There is quite a bit of screw
showing on the hammer rest rail, how much space should it have before it
bottoms out, if I start from scratch?
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
John M. Ross
PTG Assoc.
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada