[gary rabbitt]

I wish I could say that this one has been a lot of fun...it has, but it has also been frustrating at times. )

Hi Sonny,
Glad that it was only the plates. Now that "frustration" turned into something you will remember the next time those symptoms come up. I know what you mean though, I get problems that come up and I am at a loss as to how to fix them. We all do, When I reach that point I may put the radio aside and take a break, or work on something else. Come back later and find the problem easily.
We get so deep into a situation sometimes we fail to remember the basics.. Part of the fun

One thing on bent plates though. There are some plates on the tuning cap that have slits in them. Those plates are meant to be bent so that the tracking of stations remains correct. The bending slightly adjusts the capacitance at a certain point to keep the stations correct on the dial.
The other plates should be straight.
Good luck on your next sets.
Gary.