Shift Problems

[Avery Todd]

List,

I ran into a new problem today I've never had before on a
Steinway 'B'.

The piano is one Abbey Simon uses in his studio and he's been
complaining that there wasn't enough difference when he uses the
"soft" pedal and there's too much noise when shifting.

While working on it today, I discovered that the noise is because
the keyframe is hitting the cheek block instead of the stop screw
(wood hitting wood).

With the block out, the action travelled a good bit further so I
adjusted the screw to stop the noise. But now, as it was before,
the action isn't travelling far enough to clear the left string,
which was the basic problem to begin with (except for the noise).

I don't see anything I can do to make the action shift further
except reduce the thickness of the cheek block. The hammers are
very well aligned to the strings, so that's not the problem.

Any ideas I've overlooked? The piano is only about 1 yr. old. The
5 yr. old one shifts much further and is fine. Thanks for any
ideas.

Avery