[Guest]

I have a 20s-30s Philco lowboy model 531. I want to get the chassis out but there is a toggle switch and a phono jack that has to be removed from the front panel first. The switch and jack both have round ring nuts with grooves like the edge of a dime. I can't get a grip on them with needle nose pliers cause they're slightly sunken into the brass control panel and i'm afraid i'll scratch the panel. Is there a technique or special tool to remove those nuts safely?
Thanks!

[Ron Ramirez]

Hi

Try a regular pair of pliers, with a cloth between the pliers and the nut being loosened.

Be extra careful with the phono jack. It will have two bakelite washers; one just behind the nut which holds the jack in place; another behind the brass panel. Do not lose either one! Makes notes of how each washer is installed, so that you reinstall everything in the same order when you are finished.

This is very important, since the phono jack has B+ on it. If any of the bakelite washers are lost, the jack will short to ground, killing your set's reception by grounding the B+ voltage which runs to the plate of the detector tube (Type 27) through the phono jack and the primary of the first audio interstage transformer.

[Guest]

There wasn't enough sticking out to get ahold of with pliers but i did get lucky with a pair of angled hemostats... yay! Thanks for the headsup on the washers.