Spindle oil

Snake Oil can be obtained at home by taking an interconnect cable, holding it vertically, and with your free hand, squeeze it from top to bottom over an open container. The more expensive the cable, the better the results.

K-Y Jelly is also well-known to solve hi-friction spindle problems...

On a lighter note, VPI has bounced around between an amber colored oil that I'd guestimate at 15W. They currently use a white grease. I use bicycle lube; Pedro's Syn-Lube. Thinking about it, it might be interesting to try my auto lube: AmsOil 30W. Further thinking suggests that liquids (oils) are *not good on inverted bearings, since gravity will want to take the oil away from the bearing. TT's don't have oil pumps and pressurized circulation systems.
(Political aside: Synthetic motor oil usage is a tiny step taken to wean off the petrochemical teat of crude oil suppliers.)

100 deg C/212F on a stylus tip?? Yow, can you find a thermocouple small enough to fit on a cantilever? Can you get a handheld infrared gun with a small enough beam pattern? Can you measure this with an infrared thermography device??

Back to lubes; the more I think about it, I wonder how many square inches of contact area are on the tip of the spindle bearing and it's contact plate. Mighty small... Seems to me like this is going to have to be a regular maintenance item - lubing the spindle bearing.