Hello all,  Thanks to Pete Knobloch for the response.  In the meantime,
I have checked the valves again to see that they are glued properly.
They are.

I increased the gap to about 41 mils.  That has made a big difference
in the speed.  I also removed the filter felt that keeps dust out and
the noise in.  That has also increased the speed when opening.

The piano dampers are lifting fine and in complete unison.  However,
Pete is quite right in stating that there is lost motion somewhere
as well.  The dowel comes under pressure when lifting it but it has
to travel under pressure quite some distance before the dampers lift.

Something, somewhere, is compressing or bending.  I will look at that
and see if I can improve it.  It operates very nicely though when I
use the foot pedal.

Thanks again and regards,

Bernt Damm
Cape Town