VPI bearing oil/grease?

Actusreus: I don't think I inquired about motor lubricant. Just platter/bearing lubricant.
Frogman: You're correct in your assessment of lithium grease vs. oil and their effects on the sound. I've been experimenting...

Slaw: Your original post indicated that somewhere along the way confusion, or a mixup if you prefer, occurred with respect to what part of the tt the advice was given to. The manual for the Classic is clear as to what lubricant to use and where, and I find it hard to believe anyone at VPI would tell you to use motor oil on the platter bearing. The viscosity of motor oil makes it inadequate for lubricating the platter bearing. Lithium grease is thick enough to stay where it matters unlike oil that would simply drip down the shaft with gravity.

I also find assertions that oil vs. grease makes audible difference rather absurd. Once you get the platter spinning at the correct speed, why would it matter what you used to lubricate it? It doesn't make sense, especially with the SDS. If you can't get your platter to spin smoothly and at correct speed, that's another matter. Just use white lithium grease as VPI recommends once a year and be done with it. I'm sure you can find plenty of other things in your system to experiment with.

I just re-read the thread and it appears that there might be different types of bearings used on VPI tables. Since you didn't mention what table you had, I assumed it was an inverted bearing such as used in the Scout or the Classic. I'm not familiar with well-type bearings. It always helps to provide detailed information when you describe your problem so the advice can be more tailored and it helps avoid confusion. So what table do you actually have?

****I also find assertions that oil vs. grease makes audible difference rather absurd. Once you get the platter spinning at the correct speed, why would it matter what you used to lubricate it?**** - Actusreus

A friendly reminder that time and time again listeners have heard the effects of system adjustments or tweaks that "couldn't possibly make a difference". It's a minor miracle that a rock scraping a groove in plastic can extract something resembling music. The fact that music is so incredibly complex as far as what it takes to record/reproduce all it's subtleties makes it that much more miraculous. It should not be surprising that anything that might affect the way the platter spins, adding more or less damping or drag to it, might effect the sound. Try it, you might be surprised.

I am using a non-inverting TNT bearing on a HW-19 Mk IV. Sorry for the lack of clarity. I recently have been experimenting with oil (differing weights) and the white lithium grease. I have installed a new ceramic bearing before experimenting. I've used 10w50 synthetic, standard 30 & 40W and the grease. First, the ceramic ball bearing is definately more revealing. In my system, the thinner the oil = leaner sound. A little too lean for me. I've settled on the lithium grease.