Thanks for giving us a final report on your project, Ali. It should all be good. You didn't adjust the tappets in a way that would enable the Briggs guys to preserve a neutral expression on their faces - they'd be wincing heavily - but it should work satisfactorily nevertheless. Because the valve stem is very hard - harder than the tappet - I think nearly all of the metal you removed will have been from the tappet, where it is supposed to come off the valve stem, by grinding it. Most of our members don't have valve spring compressors that will suit a side-valve engine, but most find they can lift the spring with their fingers and push the keyhole-type spring retainer across so it falls off. When it comes to reassembly, one popular technique is to use a pair of cable ties, positioned opposite each other, on each spring. You compress the springs by pulling the cable ties tight, then when the keyhole retainer is in place, you just cut the cable ties and pull the pieces out with pliers.
I explained that for next time, there is no need for further work this time. As long as you ended up with the top of the tappet parallel to the end of the valve stem, what you have done should work, it just limits the number of adjustments you can make before you have to invest in new tappets.
