Where exactly do I add oil to VPI classic motor

The "brass piece" is not inside the plinth, which you seem to think. It is the flat, round plate that is screwed into the plinth that surrounds the pulley. It is on top of the plinth, and is fixed by four hex socket screws. "Below the brass piece" simply means applying oil at the bottom of the pulley shaft, which spatially is below the brass plate/piece (think "inside" the brass piece). The problem is, of course, that the space between the brass piece and the pulley is so narrow it's virtually impossible to apply oil without getting some of it on the brass. You definitely do not want to get any oil on the plastic part of the pulley for obvious reasons. That's why I recommend using a needle.

Hopefully, your motor noise will disappear after the lube job. Mine didn't. It's possible that I applied too much oil, but Mike acknowledged that dirt, dust, and drying oil is likely to cause low level noise in the pulley. Let us know how it goes.

Ok, I understand now. My "brass piece" is powder coated black on my table. There is no brass to be seen. They should have referred to this "piece" as the motor cover and that would have saved me alot of confusion. I will use the syringe method as was suggested by actusreus as I cant see any other way to apply oil without making a mess. Thank you actusreus for helping me to understand this better. It was a big help.

Andy

I have found the brass piece that was mentioned in the instructions. It is a brass collar on the shaft that is hidden beneath the pulley. You cannot see it with the pulley installed. I will write out step by step below what I have done to lubricate my VPI motor.

* You will need a syringe with a 23 guage needle or smaller. *

I'm not sure how it is in your state but, where I live they sell syringes at most agricultural stores like tractor supply or southern states. You may also check with veterinary supply clinics. Some people have said syringes are hard to get where they live.

You will also need 40wt. oil for the motor and and an allen wrench to remove the set screws from the pulley.

I used mobil 1 full synthetic 40wt. motor oil. Not 10w-40. Just pure 40wt.

Step by step:

1. Remove belt from pulley.
2. Remove three set screws from the pulley and set aside
3. Remove pulley from shaft and set aside.

Now the brass piece VPI speaks of in the manual is shown.
It is the brass collar on the shaft that sets the height of the pulley. There is no need to remove it or alter it's height. There will be a small gap underneath the brass collar. This is where the needle will slide in.

4. Fill syringe with a very small amount of 40wt. oil.
5. Insert tip of syringe into the gap under the brass collar.
6. dispense a single drop of oil under the brass collar next to the shaft. Try to get the tip of the needle as close to the shaft as possible.
7. Turn the motor on and let it run for a bit to circulate the oil.

* after I applied the single drop of oil and let motor run for a bit, I still had a bit of a ticking sound present. I did add another drop of oil and it solved the problem. My motor must have been really dry. VPI says to use a single drop of oil so, use your own judgement on this one. I assume no responsibility but, it worked in my case. You can also mess up your speed stability if you add to much oil. I wouldn't go more than two drops at the most. I checked my speed stability afterwards and it is still correct.

Now just put your pulley back on and replace the set screws and belt. Make sure you do press the pulley down against the brass collar like it was when you took it off.

That's it. This has eliminated the motor noise that I had previously. Now spin some records and enjoy.

Andy

The motor and pulley are precision parts that are assembled by people who do this for a living. I'm not sure where you go this information, but I think it's a mistake and a big risk to be disassembling precision parts to put a drop of oil on them, which can be done without it. The manual speaks of no dismantling or removing any parts to lubricate the motor. As much as VPI manuals could be written better, I have no doubt they would not instruct the owner to simply "use 1 drop of 40-weight motor oil below the brass piece" if it required removing the pulley and looking for a mysterious brass piece hidden inside. I think it's foolish to do what you did, but I guess it's your equipment and you can do as you please. However, advising others to do it is a disservice to them.

Actusreus,
I can respect your opinion and am greatful for the suggestions. I wasn't trying to discredit you or start an argument. With regard to removing the pulley, it is quite simple to do. It is only press fit onto the shaft. The tolerance is so tight between the shaft and pulley you really can't install it wrong. As long as it sits down on the brass collar. If you do a google search on lubricating VPI motors you will see it mentioned elsewhere to remove the pulley.

I did try to do as you suggested with the syringe at first. The gap between the bottom of my pulley and motor housing was so small I couldn't even get the needle through. In my case the pulley had to be removed as others have done. It could be our tables are manufactured a bit differently. This method did solve all of my motor noise. It is dead quiet now. I also strobe checked my speed and it is correct as well.

In any case, I think we both agree that VPI should be more specific in the owners manual about this and not contribute to the confusion by only having one single sentence that says to put a drop of oil below the brass piece. In my opinion, I believe the brass collar on the shaft is the brass piece that the manual refers to. This makes sense as the shaft enters the motor directly under the brass collar. I just wanted to post my experience and what worked for me.