[Contributed by Dan Robinson]

As originally posted in the Antique Radio Forum, October 29, 2006. Posted here by permission from Dan Robinson.

I made this jig set up to straighten warped Mystery Control dials.

I took two stainless steel plates, bored a hole in the center of one of them, to fit the flange on the back of the dial. Then I sandwiched the dial between the two plates, and added 4 clamps at 90 degrees from each other. I snugged up the clamps just to hold the set up together. I place the jig and dial into a pot of water, and brought it up to boil (don’t put part into already boiling water.) I let it heat up for about 5 minutes, then evenly tightened the clamps until the dial was flat. I then removed the jig set up from the water. Placed it in an empty sink with the stopper in. Slowly add cold water to the sink, until the jig is submerged completely. Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the clamps.

Like magic, the dial is flat as new….

How a typical Mystery Control dial looks – warped. (Side view of a Philco Mystery Control, showing the warped dial.)

The jig in action.

The dial, now straightened out and ready for use.

Thanks to Dan Robinson for sharing this with us.

Photos by Dan Robinson (middle and bottom), Ron Ramirez (top)