Hi all,
I was very sad to hear that Bill Truner (www.dialcover.com) is ill. He makes excelllent plastic dial cover replacements. This leaves the restoration community with a very visable hole. Does anyone know about the technique to form the dial windows? I would like to try my hand at molding one for a Zenith table radio I am working on. Until Bill gets better this appears to be the only recourse as far as dial covers are concerned. Can anyone "teach" us the technique?

Dean

ardDean,

I've never tried this but I read about it somewhere.

You trace the cutout for the dial window on a piece of fiber board. Then you cut the piece of fiber board slightly inside the traced line to allow for the plastic. Cut a piece of .020 thick clear plastic to be large enough to cover one side of the board with enough extra to have a suitable boarder. Then you place the plastic on top of the board and put them in a low heat oven. I think the article said 120 degrees.
Watch the plastic through your oven window and when it forms itself around the cutout remove it from the oven and let cool. Trim the extra plastic to fit the radio.

This is all from memory. You might want to use something more heat proof than fiber board.

Hope this helps.

Mike
:Hi all,
: I was very sad to hear that Bill Truner (www.dialcover.com) is ill. He makes excelllent plastic dial cover replacements. This leaves the restoration community with a very visable hole. Does anyone know about the technique to form the dial windows? I would like to try my hand at molding one for a Zenith table radio I am working on. Until Bill gets better this appears to be the only recourse as far as dial covers are concerned. Can anyone "teach" us the technique?
:
:Dean

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the process description. I will go and try this. Thanks again for the help.

Dean.

:Dean,
:
:I've never tried this but I read about it somewhere.
:
:You trace the cutout for the dial window on a piece of fiber board. Then you cut the piece of fiber board slightly inside the traced line to allow for the plastic. Cut a piece of .020 thick clear plastic to be large enough to cover one side of the board with enough extra to have a suitable boarder. Then you place the plastic on top of the board and put them in a low heat oven. I think the article said 120 degrees.
:Watch the plastic through your oven window and when it forms itself around the cutout remove it from the oven and let cool. Trim the extra plastic to fit the radio.
:
:This is all from memory. You might want to use something more heat proof than fiber board.
:
:Hope this helps.
:
:Mike
::Hi all,
:: I was very sad to hear that Bill Truner (www.dialcover.com) is ill. He makes excelllent plastic dial cover replacements. This leaves the restoration community with a very visable hole. Does anyone know about the technique to form the dial windows? I would like to try my hand at molding one for a Zenith table radio I am working on. Until Bill gets better this appears to be the only recourse as far as dial covers are concerned. Can anyone "teach" us the technique?
::
::Dean

:Hi all,
: I was very sad to hear that Bill Truner (www.dialcover.com) is ill. He makes excelllent plastic dial cover replacements. This leaves the restoration community with a very visable hole. Does anyone know about the technique to form the dial windows? I would like to try my hand at molding one for a Zenith table radio I am working on. Until Bill gets better this appears to be the only recourse as far as dial covers are concerned. Can anyone "teach" us the technique?
:
:Dean

I've mentioned this in a few previous posting replies.but here it is again. Go to thhis site for step-by-step directions and a list of required materials. http://hometown.aol.com/EB062559/DIALCOVERS.html

Dennis Wess.