The valves in my upright Marshall & Wendell were sealed with white glue.
Following a humidity catastrophe, 30 or so valves have the valve travel
reduced to almost nil. (Climate change makes for occasional use of my
swamp cooler.)

Since I like the tone and the cabinet resonance, I'm keeping the piano
and so I'm now seeking new gaskets to be placed under the upper valve
seat (paper) and gaskets (cork) used where the valve block meets the
wooden stack.

It is likely a rebuild was attempted in Spokane, Washington, in 1960s
by a well-meaning but careless rebuilder. This will be the second
rebuilding of the valves.

In testing the piano repetition with Mike Walter's Special Staccato
Tester roll, it was noticed that the initial hammer strike was normal
but the following strikes were softer or nil. Possibly the striker
pneumatic could not refill with air between strikes, thus delivering
only a partial hammer blow.

Bill Chapman - in the desert city
La Quinta, California