[k9uw]

I'm not even sure what to call the darned thing.

The drive shafts from the tuning capacitor and front panel reduction drive meet each other at a rubber disk.  Each shaft (front and rear) has a mounting bracket with two holes where rivets are used to attach the brackets to the rubber disk.

The rubber has shrunk and space now exists around these rivets where they pass through the disk.  The end result is that the tuning knob moves a fair amount before the rivets finally encounter rubber and motion is finally transferred to the shaft of the tuning capacitor.

Originally, there were cracks in the rubber that ran from the rivet holes to the edge of the disk.  I pinched those tight with super glue and they held nicely but the gap between the rubber and the rivets persists.

I'm assuming that I need to introduce some sort of durable material into that space that will be flexible enough to fill the space and firm enough to instantly transfer movement from knob to capacitor.  It also seems safe to assume that others have already wrestled with this problem.  

The photo shows a light-colored area around the rivet head where movement has rubbed the surface smooth.  Is it as simple as gluing the rivet head to the adjacent rubber surface?  II was reluctant to do that in case the disk ever needed to be replaced, but maybe it would be the best option?

Suggestions?