Posts: 122
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City: Meridian, ID
Is it possible to flatten this warped dial? Otherwise, Radio Daze has an excellent reproduction.
[Image:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4232/3505...3c61_n.jpg]
Thanks,
Henry
Posts: 7,248
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City: Roslyn Pa
I had a similar looking dial on my 81. Just popped it off the shaft, laid it on a flat surface, gently used a head gun and a small piece of wood to flatten it.
When my pals were reading comic books
I was down in the basement in my dad's
workshop. Perusing his Sam's Photofoacts
Vol 1-50 admiring the old set and trying to
figure out what all those squiggly meant.
Circa 1966
Now I think I've got!
Terry
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City: Timonium, MD
How did you pop it off of the shaft without breaking the rivets?
Posts: 122
Threads: 22
Joined: Dec 2013
City: Meridian, ID
Right. The rivets would be a problem, but I can leave the dial on the shaft and make a U-shaped press. If it'll stand up to the minimum heat to make it plastic--that's what I needed to know. If necessary, the rivets can be replaced with small nuts & bolts. Thanks.
Posts: 7,248
Threads: 266
Joined: Dec 2009
City: Roslyn Pa
<How did you pop it off of the shaft without breaking the rivets?
Let me rephrase, I removed the dial and it's bracket from the tuning capacitor shaft by loosening the set screw.
When my pals were reading comic books
I was down in the basement in my dad's
workshop. Perusing his Sam's Photofoacts
Vol 1-50 admiring the old set and trying to
figure out what all those squiggly meant.
Circa 1966
Now I think I've got!
Terry
Posts: 122
Threads: 22
Joined: Dec 2013
City: Meridian, ID
Let
me clarify. I didn't mean to leave it on the shaft, but to leave the dial riveted to the metal. I was wary of melting or burning the dial, so I heated, pressed, and cooled three times; increasing the heat each time until it softened adequately.
[Image:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/3512...a48cac.jpg]
It worked. Thanks for the help.
Posts: 102
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City: Bakersfield, CA
Wow, great tip. Thanks for posting!
Posts: 122
Threads: 22
Joined: Dec 2013
City: Meridian, ID
To follow up on flattening the warped dial. Even when I thought I had successfully flattened the dial, it warped again after 24 hours. For my final attempt, I totally removed the plastic, heated it almost to melting, then kept it clamped flat overnight. That worked permanently.
But I bought a repro dial, anyway. Here's the way I removed the old dial and attached the new one:
Cut off the rivet heads from the back of the dial. Affix the new dial with golf grip tape (thin, double-sided adhesive). Stick the rivets back in the holes and hold them in with a dab of epoxy putty from the back side.
[Image:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/3600...bcc48e.jpg]