Lets say this comes out to 11" below bottom floor level. Piston is touching bottom of cylinder. This is the dovetail measurement.
Then you check the distance from the buffer strike plate to the buffer, when the car is at floor level. Say, it's 6". ("bottom runby")
What is the stroke of the buffer? 4"? ok, now-
Add 6" + 4", which equals 10". That's obviously less than the 11" of dovetail-
So now you know that when the elevator fully compresses the buffer, the piston will never be able to impact the bottom of the cylinder. In this case, there would be 1" of clearance between the piston and cylinder, on a fully compresssed buffer.
Dovetail must be a larger figure, than stroke + runby. Some inspectors say 1/4" more is a minimum. IDK what the code says about it.
Inspectors are not always the most communicative people. But look at it this way- If they had the time to explain everything, they would be talking constantly.
Anybody know Woody Wright?
After checking the dovetail, put the buffer springs back in their stands.