Gary, Is your outer bearing completely metal or does it have the black plastic piece at the base as shown in the Soundscape assembly instructions.
Reason I ask is my outer bearing looks exactly like the one pictured in Soundscape, but I bought my table used and it did not come with the o-ring for the outer bearing. Now I wonder if I should get it, or better yet try getting the washer you recommended. Then again I didn't notice anything wrong with the sound of the table without having anything on the outer bearing previously. What is the purpose of this o-ring?
On a side note. Are you still using the original string that came with the table. I have tried some different types of fishing line that brought about some improvements. Also, the original Scheu (Eurolab) importers evidently can modify the pully on the motor pod so it becomes a tape drive. I imagine this could be a nice improvement assuming the cost is reasonable.