Hi All,  I have only two things to say about valve travel and one
suggestion.  Anyone who has ever rebuilt a valve chest will testify to
the fact that if the travel is over .040 inches, you can really hear the
valves change state.  It is annoying and severely detracts from otherwise
enjoyable music.  This is especially true of Dou-Art units because of the
physical placement of the chest.

Secondly, Aeolian units with the plastic unit-block valves have an
average clearance of .045 and they are very noisy.  Tiss-tiss-tiss.
I dislike that sound.  Having worked on more than 800 modern Aeolians,
I discovered a way to easily reduce valve travel to an acceptable level
and significantly reduce the amount of effort needed to foot pump the
unit.

This is so simple, I almost hate to give it away.  I take a punching of
tan pneumatic leather, exactly the same size as the sponge neoprene
valve, prick a hole in the center, apply a small dot of Sobo to the top
of the valve stem and push the punching through the exhaust port and on
to the top of the valve.

The reduction in valve clearance (from .012 to .015 less than the
original clearance) and the leather to plastic seal makes the valve much
more quiet and significantly reduces the amount of effort required to
foot pump the unit.  And my customers love me (well they like me a lot).

Musically, John A. Tuttle (johntuttle@playercare.com)¶
Visit my Virtual Domain at: www.playercare.com