Anti skate and tonearm damping query

This is a great resource for figuring out stuff like this:
http://www.cartridgedb.com but this time I'll save you the trouble.

Your cartridge has a pretty low compliance, even for a moving coil (10, compared to say Transfigurations at 15, or vdH at 30) and weighs 9.8gm. Your Sig TA has an effective mass of 9.5gm, which is borderline-low for such a stiff cartridge suspension. Here is the compatibility chart for your TA and cart: http://www.cartridgedb.com/resonance_from_arm.asp?adesc=VPI%20JMW%209%20Signature&amass=9.5
If you read down the left side until you come to 10, the compliance of the te Kaitora, and then read across to the cart weight + mounting hardware column (figure 9.8 gm + 1.5+ gm for mounting bolts and nuts, total = 11.5 -12 gm) you will find yourself (barely!) in the 'green' zone at 11Hz, which is the natural resonance of your arm/cartridge combo. Lower (like 8Hz) would be better but you're SAFE for all but the wildest, loud, low-frequency tracking conditions!

With a cartridge with as stiff a suspension as yours, you probably should not need any fluid damping at all. Even a slight amount could slow down bass transients. As for AS, line contact styli (like yours) develop very little friction in the groove because of their shape, and therefore the arm tends not to "skate" toward the spindle with any significant force. If you feel more comfortable, twist the wire until the floating arm just barely creeps toward the outside of the record and that will be plenty ;-)

I actually do not use any with my 12.7 or JMW 9" arms. The amount suggested is often wrong and it is impossible to apply the correct amount all across the record. When I do use it I try to use as little as possible. Use Denon 304 on the 12 and 103 and AT OC9 on the 9".

IMHO the wire on the Signature arm is to stiff for the twisting method to work. I use the VPI anti-skating gizmo with just a bit of anti skate applied and no twist of the wire either way.

Thanks to all for the advice.............I have read that the damping fluid is ineffective unless it is actually in contact with the internal part of the tonearm that sits on the pivot point is this correct? Thinking about it...........this does sound logical, However, it contradicts most of the other comments I have read about damping fluid.

In general - "skating force" is not linear. It is general with modern styli much less than it used to be in the 1970ies. Several respected tonearm designers (Pierre Lurne, Mortensen, ...) do recommend not using anti-skating at all and for good reason - applying a steady and linear "anti-force" upon a non-linear force is not a good idea at all......

Dampening - if you REALLY need it, the cartridge/tonearm match is less than optimal in terms of its mechanical parameters.
In general - less is more with both issues.
If you apply any dampening fluid, do use as little as possible and do use fluid which is NOT like honey but more like water......
If you apply antiskating at all, do set it as little force as possible - 1/2 of what is recommended by the manual will be enough and more than that.
The higher the VTF - the lower the antiskating !