Wheel-bearing grease worked for one of my Orthophonics! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Bogantz" <gbogantz1 at charter.net> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l at oldcrank.org> Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 4:42 AM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Some questions aboutOrthophonicreproducers--restorability, reproductions The desired motion of the bearing balls is infinitesimally small. The needle tip is moving maybe a few thousandths of an inch peak to peak at most. Translated to the rotational motion at the bearing, this is mere thousandths of a degree. The later Victor design was to use oiled leather as a packing ring. The use of any kind of elastomer more than accommodates the tiny motion of the bearing balls. It is far more important to keep the balls set tightly in the space between the needle bar pivot pin and the outer bearing race. Any slop in this space will result in a rattling noise in the audio. Any kind of elastomer used as a packing ring is more desirable than using a stiff washer as it accommodates the tiny variations in the ball diameters and the race diameters which can cause the individual balls to sit in the tapered race area at slightly varying depths and reduces this bearing slop to nil. The minuscule motion of the balls is more than accommodated by the flex in the elastomer. Greg Bogantz ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron L'Herault" <lherault at bu.edu> To: "'Antique Phonograph List'" <phono-l at oldcrank.org> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 10:27 PM Subject: RE: [Phono-L] Some questions about Orthophonicreproducers--restorability, reproductions I've wondered about the use of rubber against the ball bearings. Wouldn't that interfere with their rotational function? Wouldn't a Teflon or brass ring backed by rubber be a better option? Ron L -----Original Message-----