Do Tonearms need servicing

jorgjean OP49 posts08-30-2020 3:29amWhich parts did you service?

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You can get the pillar block bushing in bronze.
All the rubber bushings are available.
The Anti-skate has a pulley upgrade.
I use brass screws and silicone washers to secure the base.
You can convert the older style SME cable to RCA/Cardus, or any cable you like. I use MITs also.

There are a few things you can do. Locate a breakdown of the Tonearm you're working on. Take good pictures, first. Make sure the parts you want to work on are correct. Have some way to magnify, and provide proper light.

I must warn you, you need a good controlled grip. No coffee drinkin' before you start.. I use my other hand to cradle a lot of the work.

I always work on a desk. BUT I usually put down brown wrapping paper, on the floor. I use white paper on the desk. 

I use a PANA Vice. Take the edges off you're common screwdrivers. Use green painters tape, cover the polished area, you're not working on. DON'T go crazy wrapping tape either. It's fun, do you like repairing watches? Not quit that teckie, but that kind of gentle handedness.

Regards

Probably the best way is to ask SME. Checking the bearings i not a bad idea. Will post the recomendation.

  but you must buy a perfect sample from an audiophiles, not a hardly used broken or damaged items.

shopping in the world if you do not buy NOS you cannot know how it was used by the previous owners who can also indicate that everything is fine and, then arrived home everything ok is not at all, the fault of the seller or the transporter, or different owners clumsy.
I don't have the luck or even the money to buy NOS arms, so when I get them I send them to a trusted laboratory that revises or repairs them for me; if there is no need to do anything because it's perfect I don't pay for the service.
I am happy and the situation is fine with me.

If the arm works to your satisfaction you do not need service on the arm.

I would say in general, "no". That said you ought to ensure that:
1. your setup/alignment has not drifted out of spec2. the bearings -- if adjustable - are not loose (or tight)
The only wear and tear part is the bearing. If damaged it probably needs factory replacement - or certainly replacement and precision adjustment by someone who doesn't need to ask that question!
Unless it has been abused in some way, i still say "no". I have 30 and 40 year old arms that are un-serviced and work perfectly.