Have a Victor UA-7045 tonearm coming

it works

Currently I’m using a JVC QL-A7 with the UA-5045 tonearm that has auto lift. It’s a nice tonearm but this is even much, much nicer than that.

Were you aware that the tonerm barrel has a treatment that makes it shielded and non-conductive? Do not you believe it?
Take a tester and try to connect the tips in "diode test" mode on the barrel and you will see that the tester remains silent, yet the barrel is in real metal!!!
What and how they built the arms 40 years ago was a gold age and marvel.

The tonearm tube is a aluminum -magnesium alloy. Anodizing the tube after it's made creates a thin protective layer of aluminum oxide. Anodizing is also an effective electrical insulator, it's why so many heatsinks are anodized.
I agree totally about tonearms and even DD motor drives that were built back than. It was a golden age and better products are very few and far between.
There is a current thread about "Tonearm Inspiration", chakster gives his short list of tonearms that he recommends and they are all beautiful crafted Japanese tonearms with a big following. Most are far cheaper than the new arms built today but prices for nice examples are slowly creeping up. 

BillWojo

lewm

didn’t mean to be curt, just had to go

It is NOT the grooves that make the inner motion, it is a natural force that occurs, and is proportional to tracking force.

here’s a video of blank vinyl lp showing the natural inward arm movement and cancellation of that inward ’pull’ by anti-skate adjustment.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gw99w7d345p7wz5/Blank%20Record%20Antiskate%20Setup.MOV?dl=0

amazon (and others) sells a blank lp for that purpose

https://www.amazon.com/Blank-Vinyl-Records-BLACK-VINYL/dp/B00HZ5T1NA/ref=sr_1_3?crid=38AUY9LSQVL0R&a...
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The anti-skate, increased/decreased anti-pull, is to get the stylus ’floating’ in the groove, not pulling against either side

1. preventing wear of both stylus and grooves
2. ready for ’equal’ reaction to l/r side wall information
3. allowing the tip to go deeper in the groove, allowing improved contact with both groove walls, ready for some movement of the cantilever via hills, valleys, caverns
4. anti-skate is more critical with advanced stylus shapes, both to get the advantages of their increased side wall contact area, and avoid damage misalignment can produce.
5. advanced stylus last longer, and do less damage to the groove walls, ONLY IF they are properly aligned, vertical azimuth very important, and if anti-skate gets them to float in the groove.
6. longer life og advanced stylus shapes also depends on proper alignment and anti-skate.

that is why, after I set it physically via no grooves, I then use my specific 3 guitarists tracks and refine the adjustment by ear. And, re-check it from time to time. As I say, use the CD versions to prove your system is properly balanced prior to using the LP version for anti-skate refinement.

Based on my use of advanced stylus shapes, I would never use a tonearm without anti-skate adjustment.

I have also found, when anti-skate is correct, even after my scrub cleaning of some dirty lps, the first play, the stylus, further down the groove, will dig out some very fine white dust/fuzz way down in there, gone on 2nd play. If not properly adjusted, it will not get low enough in the groove to dig that stuff out. Another indicator it is correct.

Misaligned: I got a seriously warped lp for my birthday, President Johnson's speech signing the Civil Rights Law 1965
https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/9963390?ev=rb

even with heavy weight on, it bellied up in the center. Current events, I played it like that. After side one, there was a long thin string/ribbon of black vinyl, the stylus had cut into the side wall, carved it out just like a recording cutter carves the vinyl away. That is a much exaggerated display of misalignment. I'm gonna get a 10lb can of .... to hold it down flat before playing it again. Horray for monster direct drives like my JVC TT81 that can take a lot of weight!

.............................

Now, I use my fairly new alignment lp, it has enough smooth surface, it bumps over the area with grid lines, and I do not use the TT motor, I spin it by hand, Eventually it will develop some grooves cut by the stylus tip, and I will then buy a blank lp.

Elliot, No need to apologize for being curt.  I enjoy these discussions, and I view them as a way to learn from others here.  We are a very tiny fraternity of people who have even the slightest interest in most of these subjects, so vigorous debate makes us all better.
Your latest post is such a bewildering panoply of statements that I agree with and statements that I find completely incorrect that I will not try to dissect it all right now.  But your opening statement was this: "It is NOT the grooves that make the inner motion, it is a natural force that occurs, and is proportional to tracking force."

Please tell me what is the "natural force"?  VTF does affect the magnitude of the skating force in that higher VTF generates more friction in the groove.  But without the force of friction (which is impossible in the real world)  there would be zero skating force.  I don't really care how many blank LPs one can buy on Amazon, nor do I care how many others set AS using a blank LP, the fact is that using a blank LP is not a rigorous way to set AS, because of the lack of grooves.  Your alignment protractor, while it is probably fine when used as an alignment protractor, is an even worse tool for setting AS, because so far as I can tell, it is not made of vinyl.  Hence the coefficient of friction between its surface and a diamond stylus is going to be different from that of vinyl to diamond.  Now, when all is said and done, setting AS is always going to be sloppy, because during the course of playing an LP, the skating force is constantly varying in magnitude all across the surface of an LP, if you are using a conventional pivoted tonearm.  Thus there is no one perfect setting for AS, which is why illogical methods for setting AS can sometimes "work". But it's best to understand at least the theory behind the process.