Seasoning Dampers

[Bob Hull]

   Dear Friends, 

   In my early training for rebuilding pianos, I was
taught to make a moderate set of weights to place on
top of the damper heads for newly installed damper
felts.  I used a couple of pieces of pvc pipe with a
small block of wood on top to put on the new dampers
with the intention of helping the new felt conform to
the string.

  However, a couple of weeks ago a well-respected tech
said that other techs and he shared the opinion that
this practice caused problems for them, actually
deforming the felt due to the extra weight.

   I feel like I am spending more time than I should
to get a new set of dampers working effeciently so I
tried this.  At least on the piano I just finished, I
had better results without the seasoning weight. 

What are your experiences regarding this practice?

Thanks,
Bob Hull