318 Heads: bad valve job?

Ink, good point. Here is what I can conclude from all of the excellent discussion. The OP has a variance of 0.025 in valve stem tip height. The recommended tolerances for his application seems to be 0.005 - 0.015. It is not recommended to grind the top of the valve stems to get them within specification. The use of spring shims shouldn't be needed if he has the seats ground properly. The OP suspects that his caliper to measure the spring heights is not accurate and he is waiting for a new one to arrive in the mail. The OP lives where he has only one machine shop in the area so he is limited in finding another shop with a Serdi, Bridgeport, Jet, etc equipment. Simple, no?I have learned a lot more about headwork that I didn't know before. Thanks to all involved in the discussion.