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Turntable Oil

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Motor oil is not suitable (in the long term) for some bearings due to detergent additives. Synthetic compressor oil is a better choice. The thickness of oil is also important for platter bearings - if it's too thin there will be more likelihood of noise, if it's too thick the platter will be harder to rotate. Check your tt's service manual for recommended lubricants.

I'm not knowledgeable on tonearm lubricants, but I would assume a good quality synthetic fine machine oil would be OK. Again, check what the manufacturer recommends.

There are many long threads on audio websites on turntable lubricants, and as always, some of it is informed, and some of it is not informed.
 
Tonearm bearing are usually run dry, in my experience. Movement is negligible — maybe 45° lateral back and forth (of a possible 360°) and slowly — and only 2–3° up-down. Lube in arm bearings just makes them "sticky". Arms never spin a whole circle hundreds of times like a platter. Most precision sealed ball-race bearings are pre-packed with lube: they're designed for high-speed rotation, friction, heat etc. When used in a tonearm the lube is usually removed to achieve the freest motion.
 
Don Crawford said:
What is the best oil for lubricating an AR XA Turntable?
1. Platter Spindle
2. Tone Arm Spindle
3. Where can it be purchased?
Click to expand...
In the main platter well 5-20 brand name is unimportant synthetic oil out-gasses less
for the tone arm, the weight can be the same, or heavier. 30w adds a fair amount of lateral damping.
your closest auto parts store, or oil change place.
 
I have never known exactly where to put oil. I did drop a few drops of machine oil along the shaft, hoping it was getting to the bearings, and the table now spins after cutoff forever. Wonder if I got it right??

Anyone out there kind enough to help a dummy?? Also, where does the tonearm get oiled?
 
marcmorin said:
In the main platter well 5-20 brand name is unimportant synthetic oil out-gasses less
for the tone arm, the weight can be the same, or heavier. 30w adds a fair amount of lateral damping.
your closest auto parts store, or oil change place.
Click to expand...

I fill all the holes on my XA with this

10006_GunOil_800x950.jpg
 
onwardjames said:
I have never known exactly where to put oil. I did drop a few drops of machine oil along the shaft, hoping it was getting to the bearings, and the table now spins after cutoff forever. Wonder if I got it right??

Anyone out there kind enough to help a dummy?? Also, where does the tonearm get oiled?
Click to expand...
Machine oil is often considered to be a bit thin for platter bearings (it may not be as quiet as with thicker oil, SAE 20 is often quoted as good). However, with your platter spinning "forever" after it's turned off indicates that it's well lubricated.

The post #7 suggests the tonearm doesn't need lubricating. If you do oil it, it would need minuscule amounts as the contact areas are much smaller than the platter bearing.
 
I've been using an ISO46 hydraulic oil lately. Same viscosity as SAE-20, non-detergent, etc. I have it, won't swear its better than anything else but the remainder in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket from work will be enough to last me a lifetime.

if you cross the oil that Thorens says to use for the platter, thats what it is.
 
AudioFeline said:
Machine oil is often considered to be a bit thin for platter bearings (it may not be as quiet as with thicker oil, SAE 20 is often quoted as good). However, with your platter spinning "forever" after it's turned off indicates that it's well lubricated.

The post #7 suggests the tonearm doesn't need lubricating. If you do oil it, it would need minuscule amounts as the contact areas are much smaller than the platter bearing.
Click to expand...
This is an XA table. the arm well needs oil. It needs more than the main spindle well.
 
marcmorin said:
yes, and the tables came shipped with a bottle of shell 20W oil.
Click to expand...

I wonder how the original Shell 20W would compare to todays? Motor oils have changed drastically in the past 20 years. Thankfully they have much fewer additives, and therefore less drop out. Of course that shouldn't be an issue with a turntable
 
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