Oil
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Dougie2404
cranky old git
Sewing machine oil on my 401, a few drops every month or so.
I'm using J7'S special oil on my Linn but in the past I've used 5w-30 synthetic with no problems. How do I know, it kept turning with no grinding, just before someone asks.
I'm using J7'S special oil on my Linn but in the past I've used 5w-30 synthetic with no problems. How do I know, it kept turning with no grinding, just before someone asks.
Standard LP12 black oil breaks down over time, separates out, I don't know what the heck it does but it goes bad! I used to aim to change that stuff once a year-ish. A couple of other LP12 oils I tried also separated, you could see it happen in the bottle.
Audio Origami oil doesn't seem to. I used that in my LP12 laterly, as it sounds better, and it's so cheap that changing it is no big deal.
Rega use a heavier, sticky gear oil and they don't recommend changing it. The Lengo uses grease in a porous brass bushing but whatever the bearing is made of it's going to wear and you've then got bits of bearing liner circulating in your lubricant!
On the lenco I'd check the brass liner for wear. New ones are cheap and easy to fit, just buy a few and use the one that gives the best fit. If you fit a rubber boot over the bearing you can run oil in the Lenco, which to my ears sounds better.
The Spacedeck I know nothing about but I wouldn't run any turntable for years without servicing the bearing. You don't know what's happening in there. The oil could by fine or it could be tar! It could be low causing wear, the bearing could be worn and need replacing. I'd want to get in there now and again just to check on the health of the thing. Why not?
Audio Origami oil doesn't seem to. I used that in my LP12 laterly, as it sounds better, and it's so cheap that changing it is no big deal.
Rega use a heavier, sticky gear oil and they don't recommend changing it. The Lengo uses grease in a porous brass bushing but whatever the bearing is made of it's going to wear and you've then got bits of bearing liner circulating in your lubricant!
On the lenco I'd check the brass liner for wear. New ones are cheap and easy to fit, just buy a few and use the one that gives the best fit. If you fit a rubber boot over the bearing you can run oil in the Lenco, which to my ears sounds better.
The Spacedeck I know nothing about but I wouldn't run any turntable for years without servicing the bearing. You don't know what's happening in there. The oil could by fine or it could be tar! It could be low causing wear, the bearing could be worn and need replacing. I'd want to get in there now and again just to check on the health of the thing. Why not?
It separates the moment the ingredients are mixed. Buy a new bottle and the sediment is all but rock solid in the bottle.
Every old Linn bearing I've seen has had both pitting on the thrust plate and spindle tip and wear on the liner so you want good lube in the whole thing. I do believe this wear is audible. In fact I think a big chunk of the difference people heard when fitting a Cirkus bearing was due to replacing a worn bearing with a new one.
Big John
pfm Member
I have used J7's Audio Origami Booster oil for my biennial oil changes since 2013 in my modified Transcriptor made but Michell badged Hydraulic Reference previously Syntrax 75/90 with ZX1 I also use the larger diameter bearing John Michelle made in the late 70's early 80's it also has a DC motor The ball bearing is a 1/4" Silicon Nitride ball on to the original hardened steel thrust plate, Si3N4 Grade 5 Balls do not attract detritus or wear like sapphire or ceramic balls, it has the original PTFE bushes around the shaft.
I noted in 2013 Using a digital photo tachometer that. "Spin down time for the 5 kg plater with no belt on ie. spun by hand from 34 RPM 1 min. 07.3 sec to stop before changing the oil which was Syntrax 75/90 semi synthetic gear oil. There was no discernible rumble.
After the oil change to Audio Origami booster oil from 34 RPM to stop 1 min 57.6 sec. whilst again no discernible rumble the platter moved more easily, making fitting the belt trickier.
Speed stability of platter when belt driven measured after 4 mins warm up. with no record/stylus drag, before changing the oil 34.7-32.3 RPM over 1 min. After changing the oil to Audio Origami booster oil with 4 min warm up 33.6 RPM no drift over 3 mins measured time. The Maxon DC motor's speed control was Not adjusted".
As the bearing is now 40 ish I contacted J7 last week and a vial of his thicker Booster oil oil is on its 412 mile trip from Glasgow.
I noted in 2013 Using a digital photo tachometer that. "Spin down time for the 5 kg plater with no belt on ie. spun by hand from 34 RPM 1 min. 07.3 sec to stop before changing the oil which was Syntrax 75/90 semi synthetic gear oil. There was no discernible rumble.
After the oil change to Audio Origami booster oil from 34 RPM to stop 1 min 57.6 sec. whilst again no discernible rumble the platter moved more easily, making fitting the belt trickier.
Speed stability of platter when belt driven measured after 4 mins warm up. with no record/stylus drag, before changing the oil 34.7-32.3 RPM over 1 min. After changing the oil to Audio Origami booster oil with 4 min warm up 33.6 RPM no drift over 3 mins measured time. The Maxon DC motor's speed control was Not adjusted".
As the bearing is now 40 ish I contacted J7 last week and a vial of his thicker Booster oil oil is on its 412 mile trip from Glasgow.
Audio Origami Booster Oil is great stuff. When I first tried it I told Johnnie that I thought it made a bigger difference than a Cirkus. He said 'I know. I don't tell you because you wouldn't have believed me.' He was probably right.
I I finally got round to checking the LP12 oil after 35 years of service. It had got very thick and black and there was not much left. I presume this was caused by evaporation and oxidation. Fortunately the spindle was in good condition so I washed it out with IPA and refilled with Mobil One 0w5. It’s a white bearing so I presume the original oil was Mobil no6 spindle oil.
When I fitted the Tangerine sub chassis I fitted a peek thrust pad to restore the platter ride height and refilled with Shell spindle oil of a similar spec the original Mobil. After this the platter spun more easily.
When I fitted the Tangerine sub chassis I fitted a peek thrust pad to restore the platter ride height and refilled with Shell spindle oil of a similar spec the original Mobil. After this the platter spun more easily.
I know the black oil is Mobil1 with some moly slip added but I don't know what, if anything they used before that? Audio Origami oil is safe for any LP12 bearing.
The thrust plate in the Linn is polished steel. It'll sound different if you drop something else in there.
The original oil was Mobil Velocite number 6 for use in machine tools hence “spindle oil”
Mobil One is an automotive engine oil which I used initially.
Other members have used ptfe thrust plates in the Linn bearing, so I thought I would try a peek one, mostly to raise the platter up to its original height. I thought it improved the sound.
Mobil One is an automotive engine oil which I used initially.
Other members have used ptfe thrust plates in the Linn bearing, so I thought I would try a peek one, mostly to raise the platter up to its original height. I thought it improved the sound.
Big John
pfm Member
I have just revisited more of my 2013 comments
"So far brilliant, now after an extended listening period...I have listened to a few records my observations re audio Origami Booster oil are, plucked guitar & double bass, there is more space around notes, violin are less strident in upper frequency's and clearer closer to live performance sound stage seems deeper.
Voices have better separation. siblence is less noticeable the noise floor seems lowered, the dynamic range appears extended as a result ? almost as great an improvement as when testing the experimental Cartridgeman "Isolator" made possible by my Music Maker cartridge/Hadcock 242 silver arm using my own silver leads from arm to power amp...
I have spent a lot more money to get this sort of improvement ...
I now use a Cartridgeman Musicmaster even more of the above. However my comments seem to validate the observations of Mr Pig
I have no connection to J7 other than as a satisfied customer.
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
The only real wear is at the tip in the linn bearing so it's good practice to remove the outer platter, lift up the sub by a couple of mm to force the oil to flow around the thrust pad and then very gently lower it back down.
But as mrpig states, they'll all wear eventually, but most damage come from fit, refit of sub platter and that nuisance hydraulic lock.
But as mrpig states, they'll all wear eventually, but most damage come from fit, refit of sub platter and that nuisance hydraulic lock.
Same. He lives near me so I know him well enough now to consider him a friend but I wouldn't recommend his stuff if it wasn't good. But it is good.
I don't know how you figure that? The belt pulls the spindle against the side wall and liner gets worn. Virtually all of the older bearings I've seen have been worn. I've seen some crackers. I saw one in a shop that must've rocked at least a milimeter.
Later bearings are vented so you don't have the hydrolock but it's only a minor inconvenience anyway.
Sounds like the Linn needs an oil with some ZDDP content.