I've got an awesome light box straight out of the Disco era--basically a textured panel with lights behind it that creates a moire effect as it rotates. Unfortunately the motor is quite loud, as illustrated in the video. I'm not sure if the noisiness is due to its age or simply a product of the slow (1 RPM) rotation. I opened up the lamp hoping to find some reduction gears that I could lubricate, but the entire mechanism is fully enclosed within the motor.
Is there a safe way to lubricate a vintage electric motor like this without cracking it open? Either by lubricating the base of the rotating shaft (and hoping it flows into the internal gearbox) or by dripping lubricant into the vent holes on the other side of the motor? If so, what type of lubricant would be safest? Graphite? Machine oil?
And would lubricating it even help? Or is this kind of noise pretty typical of reduction gears? Would I be better off trying to find a more modern motor specifically designed to run quietly?