Why is the specification of the oil so critical? After all, it’s not as if there are colossal forces at play in the Echorec memory system. The heads touch the drum with only the merest feather-light pressure, and the surfaces of the drum and heads are smooth. Further, the drum’s rotational speed is relatively slow. Friction should be minimal; right?
Well, although the heads and drum appear smooth, polished and mirror-like to the naked eye, they’re actually rough and craggy when viewed under a microscope. Tiny peaks called asperities protrude out and scrape against opposing surfaces. These microscopic peaks cause friction and surface wear. The oil reduces this friction because it acts as a cushion between the peaks on the head and drum surfaces and prevents them from rapidly wearing each other down. Never doubt, that the drum and head must be kept lubricated with a fine layer oil!
The oil that Binson supplied in small blue-capped plastic bottles is often dark orange-brown in colour. This colouration—or more accurately discolouration—is almost certainly due to aging. Over time the oil oxidises and darkens; its viscosity changes too so that it becomes thicker and stickier. Because of this, its ability to prevent frictional wear and corrosion between the drum and head surfaces diminishes. Machine oils only have a shelf life of 5 to 10 years—your Binson oil is well past its sell-by date. It needs replacing.
But with what? Well, clock oil will do the trick. Clock oil is a type of mineral oil. It’s preferred to sewing machine oil because it possesses a higher viscosity. This ensures it sticks to the surface of the drum and doesn’t dribble onto the rubber idler wheel to cause slippage troubles.
To confirm that clock oil could be used as a substitute, a quick qualitative test was performed by dropping a droplet of oil onto a clean copper surface. Plate 1 shows that the spreading and wetting properties of Binson oil and clock oil are similar. Out of curiosity the same test was performed with tap water [Plate 2]. Because water has a high surface tension and isn’t attracted to the surface of the metal, it just sits as a droplet rather than spreading out like the oil does.
So, clock oil can be used to lubricate the Echorec memory system and it will perform equally well to the original Binson oil formulation. However, let’s not stop there: there are even better oils out there. For instance, modern synthetic clock oils are now available that are superior to traditional mineral oils in almost every way. Synthetic clock oils are more resistant to spreading, evaporation, and chemical degradation (oxidation) than mineral oil. This means it will remain in place long after a mineral oil has evaporated, or spread down the vertical surface of the drum.
Further, the longer lifespan and other characteristics of synthetic clock oil reduce friction, wear and corrosion on the critical moving parts of your Echorec. If the heads are tensioned correctly and a fine layer of oil is maintained on the drum surface then the machine will give many decades of trouble-free operation.
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