Thoughts On Turntable Clamps And Weights

There’s a difference between a clamp and a weight, both in weight and function.

The vast majority of my vinyl is very flat to start with.  Does adding a weight not add unnecessary strain on the TT motor?   

Thanks for the info.  I was wondering about the use of weights regarding motor and bearing strain as well.

@bigtwin

Any strain on the motor is almost negligible.

Look at the physics. 

Possibly slight additional wear on the thrust bearing.

FWIW, weights and clamps should be used to solve extant problems. I don't believe that their arbitrary use has any real promise of improvement in TT performance. If I were to use one I would use the lightest one possible to solve the problem, i.e. a clamp to help flatten a disc used only when necessary. I'm not so sure you can conclude that the use of a heavy weight doesn't affect performance on longevity of the bearing, less so the motor, but I'd be more concerned that a heavy weight might affect the torque. KISS applies. Don't fix what ain't broken. :-)