Turntable

So far, Helomech offered the most cogent point.  Make sure your turntable does not have sintered bronze bearings, by all means.  And then don't use the stuff regardless.

Friction in a piston engine, which lives at very high piston velocities and where the metals are known, is a whole different thing from what's happening in a turntable.

A properly designed turntable bearing relies on a thin film of oil to provide enough pressure so that it works properly. "filling holes" doesn’t help as there should be no metal to metal contact. The counter argument can be made that a rougher spindle surface "grips" the oil better and aids in bearing performance. Having said that the treatment should do no harm, as long as it doesn’t drastically affect viscosity or bearing clearances. Also because TT bearings operate at low rpm bearing "failure" is a possiblity and in this scenario reduced friction of the surfaces can be helpful.

Bruce
Anvil Turntables

don't try to reinvent the wheel…a good synthetic  motor oil works great…Two drops for me once a year on a VPI Scout.

Bruce, Thanks for your expert input.  You wrote, "Also because TT bearings operate at low rpm bearing "failure" is a possibility and in this scenario reduced friction of the surfaces can be helpful."

Why does operation at low rpm's enhance (rather than diminish) the chance for "failure"?  Or maybe I do not understand how you are defining the word "failure".  Also, except in the case where the bearing is deliberately designed to increase drag on the motor so as to help maintain constant speed (e.g. the grease bearing in a Garrard 301), when would reduced friction NOT be helpful? Thanks.

I can't see the benefits in this application for a turntable at all. The best lubricant for this purpose, a turntable bearing, is per the manufacturers recommendation and care to use oil with zero additives. Many of these additives were/are designed to fill the void of scratches in engine blocks so piston rings can be even more efficient at their purpose. Inverted bearings, such as Michell's have a slight rifling to carry lubricant to the bearings fulcrum point then allowed to drain and replenish a flow back down the shaft. Minimizing that small rifling groove in any way , even the smallest amount when it see's a design as a flaw and attempts to fill it would most certainly reduce the designs effectiveness. It's , to me anyway, as wrong as those who tell others to replace bearings with far harder ceramic bearings in designs that are purposely made to make the bearing the wear point , not the shafts top. One requires the ball removed cleaned and replaced so it hits a new place of contact , the other may  require a whole new bearing from damaging the top of the shaft where the ball sits. As usual , the same tired argument made by want to be experts that the company only did it to make more profits is used.  Things are made at a cost without argument , however a product well established and with a specific design, then altered to defeat those specific's, is a poor specific users choice , in my humble view , for what its worth...…………..