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recommended oil for well tempered spindle cup

have classic well tempered TT and arm from the 90's, upgraded to black arm and platter.
can someone give some insight for the contradiction i read in several forums:

"The type of oil can be specific to a turntable design, but in general, motor oil is not a good choice.

Motor oil is usually multigrade and contains all sorts of additives. This bad. Light multi=purpose or sewing machine oil is a bit to thin. I use a monograde oil sold for air compressors at about SAE 20 or 30. Quite cheap. Synthetic is better than mineral oil if you can find some. I am just using mineral oil as sold at Tradetools for about $10 a litre bottle."

on the other hand:
“...any synthetic motor oil of any brand within a viscosity range of 5W-50 is acceptable.”
and this:
"For the spindle, he said Mr. Firebaugh, the designer, has updated the fluid to be synthetic motor oil, 5w20 or 5w30, whichever is cheaper. he said viscosity is not that important."

 

128x128stone1
starlightdiamond
42 posts
 

I have been using "Dritz" clean and clear sewing machine oil for years on both my vintage and newer TT. It is made in USA and comes in a see-through 4 oz bottle with a flexable 6 inch telescopic zoom spout with a red tip that secures the spout tightly. It is light and thin, not heavy and silky smooth. Can be found at Joann's fabric stores. UPC:   0  72879 29702  7.  Happy trails.

emailists
923 posts
 

Don’t have much to add except that the WTT classic was my first high end turntable in the late 80’s when I discovered vinyl sounded better than digital of that era.  I did several tweeks including black platter, arm damping wrap, and even wiring tonearm externally.  I could never get an exacting cartridge alignment due to the tonearm’s pivot type.  I also added  Goldmund cones underneath which really helped the sound.  
 

I sold the table on Craigslist to a young guy and then a few years ago just browsed craigslist and saw my Frankensteined table for sale, including the blue tac I used to damp the arm fluid cup.  

sailmed
43 posts
 

I use high quality Hoppes #9 gun oil.  Works beautifully. 

lewm
13,030 posts
 

Since the spindle and bearing of your WT TT are unlike any others, why not follow the advice from Firebaugh? The truth is that almost any good lubricant without additives will work.

stone1's avatar
stone1 OP
112 posts
 

 

lewm
you are totally right.
the WT TT is different from others.
the question is if full synthetic motor oil is without harm additives.

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