Tonearm Noise


Hi to you all, hope all is well. I have a question that I feel some of you can answer. I moved to a new place and because of school, my internship and job hunting, I wasn't able to unpack and set up my amp and turnatble until 2-3 weeks ago (tehy were boxed up for about 3 months). Since then I noticed that whenenver I handle the tonearm it makes a loud noise similar to a microphone being tapped or dragged, but once the stylus hits the record it is completely quiet. There has always been a sound that comes through the speakers but never as loud as this. I've searched the forums here and at tother sites to see if I need to lube the pivot point but there are conflicting opinions regarding this, some say yes to reduce friction and some say no because the area will collect dust. My turntable is a Nottingham Interspace Jr. with an Interspace arm. Thanks in adavance.
rangefinder
The "sound" is heard through your speakers. Yes? Can you also hear some noise locally emanating direct from your tonearm as it is lowered? If not, then I suspect that your proximity to the tonearm is creating a ground loop of some kind. Also, it would be helpful if you can characterize the noise a bit better. Is it a hum, a buzz, a mechanical scraping sound, or what?
You started two threads on the same question on the same day. I guess you are a newbie. But having now read the other thread, I can see that my questions were asked and answered. Where are you now in this analysis?
Lewm, it is a mechanical scraping sound that becomes audible as I lower and lift the arm to play music. It didn't used to make this sound before I packed it when I moved and it sat inside the box in the living room for a couple of months.
Also, I apologize for starting two threads. I actually submitted this first but I didn't see it posted after a whole day has passed so I started another one. Lo and behold both threads were posted by the admins within minutes of each other.