Michell Engineering Gyro Bearing

The platter should be supported so that it can revolve smoothly, without any extraneous vibrations and motion. This is the job for the main bearing, the very heart of a turntable.

We employ a unique inverted bearing that locates the point of rotation above the center of gravity of the platter, and exactly at the height where the drive belt invokes. This makes the platter/bearing a self-stabilising component that can not be provoked into rocking modes.

The precision bearing has a case-hardened steel shaft that is secured upright in an oil well, threaded into the subchassis from below. A massive bronze housing, precision-machined as a pair with the shaft, is attached to the platter via the integral record spindle. A thrust ball sits on the flat top of the shaft centralized by an inverted cone in the top of the housing. This housing has a spiral machined into its inner bore to draw a high quality synthetic oil from the bath to the top of the bearing shaft as the housing rotates with the platter. A hole is drilled from the top of the shaft down to the oil well to allow the trapped oil to return to the bottom. This unique oil pumping mechanism results in low friction and wear, and in low rumble and noise. Year after year of operation.