Acoustic Solid main bearing oil

Thank YOu for response. The table in question is not mine. It belongs to a friend. Table was moved a few times , each time platter was off and bearing wiped. It is pretty much dry by now. US distributor is a nice helpful guy but he says Acoustic Solid provides him with small unmarked bottle of oil and he doesn't know what kind of oil it is. He's out of stock. I emailed Acoustic Solid but after a couple of weeks no response so far. I know the bearing has plastic coating and runing with low or even without lubrication for a reasonably short time is not going to dammage anything but would feel better knowing that an oil is actually there.Regards, L

Any good synthetic oil should work fine. He may want to experiment a bit with various weights because that alone can slightly alter the signature of the table. More than likely a heavier weight will provide the best results, however.

Also, adding a small amount of flake graphite (It is conductive.) to whatever oil is used will help with spindle grounding because most bearing assemblies won't provide that ground without help. I suspect that is the sole reason that Linn specifies "black oil" for use in their turntables.

Also, adding a small amount of flake graphite (It is conductive.) to whatever oil is used will help with spindle grounding because most bearing assemblies won't provide that ground without help. I suspect that is the sole reason that Linn specifies "black oil" for use in their turntables.

Mosin,

What grade flake graphite do you recommend?

What kind of bearings will benefit from the grounding properties of flake graphite? For instance, some turntables have a metal ball at the bottom of the bearing spindle that rides on a metal thrust washer which is housed in a metal bearing well. I would not think that this type of bearing would benefit from having graphite in the oil. It should be well grounded due to the contact between the metal ball and thrust washer. Are you talking about bearings that have either a non-metallic ball or a non-metallic thrust washer or both?

If the graphite has a higher specific gravity than the oil it is in, it will eventually sink to the bottom of the bearing well, but aren't you concerned about the flakes that get caught between the bearing spindle and the bearing sleeves? In a turntable bearing, which may have clearances a few thousandths, it seems like there could be some building up of graphite between the bearing spindle and the bearing sleeves which could cause it to bind (depending on the finish and clearances of the bearing).

Just thinking out loud here. I would love to hear your thoughts.