Ha why should I know all about dampers, although not much dampens my enthusiasm?
I like your idea and it makes sense to me. I might try it out on a scrap piece first. I'll have to wait till Thursday or the weekend to play around with it. Darn work getting in the way of the hobbies it supports.
On another note I broke my metal brake today. The top clamp is held in by some rather dodgy weak welds (princess Autos finest) and well I felt like superman when I realized I pulled them out. Thankfully it's a simple fix using stuff I don't have at the moment.