I have read with interest the many articles posted, and those in the
MMDigest Archives, about valve travel.  I am presently working on a
later Duo-Art from around 1928 which has the circular valve seats,
not the cross-valve seats.  The leather is amazing in very nice shape
and I know that it has never been restored before.

I have measured the valve travel of probably a dozen valves; it is
around 0.048" to 0.050".  From what I've read this is blasphemy.
Assuming some depression of the leather valve facings where they
have seated for years, I calculated the valve travel based on the
distance between the 2 metal seats, and the thickest parts of the
valve where the leather did not appear compressed.  I'm still coming
up with a relatively high valve travel of 0.044".

So now what?  This is my first, and most likely only, Duo-Art
restoration.  I'm at the mercy, and hopefully wisdom, of those who
have done more than that.  Do I rebuild setting the travel as
measured, which by the way worked just fine, or lower it to 0.035"
and risk sluggish action?  We are talking about less than 10-thousands
of an inch difference, but according to some, this is the difference
between an instrument that will play and one that just uses up energy.

Jim Quashnock