Questions to J.A. Michell turntable owners...

Thank you to both members for such a succinct and detailed reply! 

I am currently on a 4 year bearing cleaning/oiling plan and will bump that down to a 2 year schedule, at the minimum.

It is my understanding that the small ball bearing at the bottom of the hydrodynamic bearing is only a 'catch bearing', and comes into use only when the platter spools down to zero RPM.  The bronze bearing shaft rests on the small ball bearing, thus maintaining the proper oil reservoir level.  The instructions I received with my table are vague on this subject.

I had not considered 'build up' from the 'O' Ring belt drive onto the platter itself.  

What detailed method do you utilize to clean the platter drive belt grooves? 

The platter has a (unknown type of ) black coating on it and I would not want to remove it with harsh chemicals or over aggressive  'scrubbing'.

Once again,  thanks for the great feedback.......That is what makes this such a great site!!

best-groove. 

Thank you.  Your english is just fine.  I understand you perfectly. 

I may try a gentle soap type cleaner on a few cotton balls and gently press them into the platter grooves where the 'O' rings runs. 

I'll let you know how dirty the cotton balls came out once I perform the experiment.  The platter grooves have never been cleaned........

I don’t believe you can post a photo on this site....

I have only one ’O’ ring drive ’belt’. Not really a ’belt’ as one would think of it. A very large diameter ’O’ ring.

DC drive motor has two different size ’pulleys’ on it. One for 33 1/3 and the other for 45 rpm.

A secondary box has the speed control set screw inside it.

Looks like I need to get some electronic 'end dust' before I go any further.

A belt lasts ~5 years, then it loses its elasticity and the speed slows way down due to excessive slippage.

btw...I always set my speed playing a Cardas Frequency Sweep record while utilizing my KAB speedstrobe light.

Thanks again!

OK.  Thanks very much for the answer to my question.

Synthetic motor oil is OK to use.
Change oil every 2 years or so.
Clean platter grooves where belt rides every 2 years or so.

(good tips - I dampened a few cotton balls with distilled water and then gently pressed them into the platter belt grooves while rotating the platter manually via the center spindel hold down nut....btw - the grooves were dirty, more so than I expected.)