Eddie, there is a post (I think on Antique Radio) on making new dial covers. The way it was done is to cut out the dial face out side demensions and trim the piece cut out (or make a piece) to fit the inside dimensions then lay dial cover over cutout piece and place inside piece inside dial cover heat in oven until dial cover gets hot enough that it drops into cutout and inside piece drops down insde, thus forming the dial cover. Seems to me you could use the same method to straighten out an old one. Find that post for temperatures and times also more explicit directions. PL
Planigan,
I think he is refering to a celluloid dial scale with the station numbers or such on it and not the clear dial cover.
Radiodoc
*********
Eddie: I've had a couple of the black-face Zenith dials that were a bit warped. I left them under a couple of large and heavy books for a few weeks while I was restoring the chassis. By no means did it completely eliminate the warpage, but it did make it noticeably better and useable. As for the subdial, I had a band indicator on a Bosch console that was bent near double. I cut 2 plywood squares that would accomodate the diameter of a 'normal' dial and I drilled a hole in the center of them to accomodate the brass collar attached to the dial. I soaked the bent dial in a bowl of boiling hot water for a few minutes until it softened up enough to be pliable and then placed it between the plywood pieces and clamped them together overnight. Though not absolutely perfect, it was flat enough to function properly and still remains relatively flat after a year or so of use. I would try to avoid any type of direct heat as I have heard these nitrocelluloid pieces can be quite flammable. Watson
:::::Eddie
:
:
:Eddie: I've had a couple of the black-face Zenith dials that were a bit warped. I left them under a couple of large and heavy books for a few weeks while I was restoring the chassis. By no means did it completely eliminate the warpage, but it did make it noticeably better and useable. As for the subdial, I had a band indicator on a Bosch console that was bent near double. I cut 2 plywood squares that would accomodate the diameter of a 'normal' dial and I drilled a hole in the center of them to accomodate the brass collar attached to the dial. I soaked the bent dial in a bowl of boiling hot water for a few minutes until it softened up enough to be pliable and then placed it between the plywood pieces and clamped them together overnight. Though not absolutely perfect, it was flat enough to function properly and still remains relatively flat after a year or so of use. I would try to avoid any type of direct heat as I have heard these nitrocelluloid pieces can be quite flammable. Watson
Radiodoc was rightI was thinking of a dial cover, I think Watson Blout's method would be better for the dial. Get it between two pieces of ply wood and place it under a spot light so it will heat up but not get to ignition point. Time rather than high temp should work. PL
T.
Be VERY, VERY careful using ANY type solvent or cleaner on dial scales. Many used ink that is water soluble and will wipe right off (don't ask me how I know - just take my word). Best to test an inconspicious area before taking the plunge. Watson
:T.
May I put in my two cents worth??? Well I'm going to anyway.(;>) Almost all of my experiences of mixing acetone and plastic have resulted in disaster to the plastic! Second, nitrocelluloid products are very much like smokeless gunpowder in makeup. I repaired warped phono record by placing it between two sheets of plywood and leaving it on a car hood on a hot Georgia afternoon, you might try something like that.
Lewis
But suppose you don't live in Georgia?
And does the car have to be moving slowly?
;-))
Yeah, you have a point there. You might try hell, but I don't think that place would be as hot as my Georgia radio station parking lot in August. The only reason the devil didn't move here was, while the heat was ok, he couldn't stand the humidity. Seriously, you need heat, but controlled heat and something that changes temperature slowly. Back in the days of smoking on airplanes, we at Delta washed all of our electronic equipment in a soapy ultrasound cleaner. (In flight, cabin air was blown through the boxes and dumped overboard, and a very large number of mechanics quit smoking after a fairly short period of time working on the boxes removed from a plane. You are reading about one of them, Anyway, we had ovens that stayed at a constant temperature for drying equipment, and they were used for all sorts of repairs to personal equipment. At about 150 degrees, plastic would get soft enough to reshape, and we repaired and made all sorts of things out of Plexiglas. If I stop my rambling, what I am trying to say is that I feel that carefully heat is the answer, and not chemicals.
Lewis
P. S. I still wanna know about the Motorola radio I saw in that bar last night. Any help???
Lewis
marv
:: I repaired warped phono record by placing it between two sheets of plywood and leaving it on a car hood on a hot Georgia afternoon, you might try something like that.
:::Lewis
::
::
::But suppose you don't live in Georgia?
:: And does the car have to be moving slowly?
::;-))
:
:Yeah, you have a point there. You might try hell, but I don't think that place would be as hot as my Georgia radio station parking lot in August. The only reason the devil didn't move here was, while the heat was ok, he couldn't stand the humidity. Seriously, you need heat, but controlled heat and something that changes temperature slowly. Back in the days of smoking on airplanes, we at Delta washed all of our electronic equipment in a soapy ultrasound cleaner. (In flight, cabin air was blown through the boxes and dumped overboard, and a very large number of mechanics quit smoking after a fairly short period of time working on the boxes removed from a plane. You are reading about one of them, Anyway, we had ovens that stayed at a constant temperature for drying equipment, and they were used for all sorts of repairs to personal equipment. At about 150 degrees, plastic would get soft enough to reshape, and we repaired and made all sorts of things out of Plexiglas. If I stop my rambling, what I am trying to say is that I feel that carefully heat is the answer, and not chemicals.
:Lewis
:P. S. I still wanna know about the Motorola radio I saw in that bar last night. Any help???
:Lewis
:
There is another post on this site that shows exactly what a saw Saturday night, and, Oh Wise One, I saw the radio before I saw the first adult beverage. ~(>;))
Lewis
:
::: I repaired warped phono record by placing it between two sheets of plywood and leaving it on a car hood on a hot Georgia afternoon, you might try something like that.
::::Lewis
:::
:::
:::But suppose you don't live in Georgia?
::: And does the car have to be moving slowly?
:::;-))
::
::Yeah, you have a point there. You might try hell, but I don't think that place would be as hot as my Georgia radio station parking lot in August. The only reason the devil didn't move here was, while the heat was ok, he couldn't stand the humidity. Seriously, you need heat, but controlled heat and something that changes temperature slowly. Back in the days of smoking on airplanes, we at Delta washed all of our electronic equipment in a soapy ultrasound cleaner. (In flight, cabin air was blown through the boxes and dumped overboard, and a very large number of mechanics quit smoking after a fairly short period of time working on the boxes removed from a plane. You are reading about one of them, Anyway, we had ovens that stayed at a constant temperature for drying equipment, and they were used for all sorts of repairs to personal equipment. At about 150 degrees, plastic would get soft enough to reshape, and we repaired and made all sorts of things out of Plexiglas. If I stop my rambling, what I am trying to say is that I feel that carefully heat is the answer, and not chemicals.
::Lewis
::P. S. I still wanna know about the Motorola radio I saw in that bar last night. Any help???
::Lewis
::
Of course be ware that hot water can remove the lettering from the celluloid, but won't necessarily do so.
T.
I don't know about your dial, but I have straigthened a painted celluloid dial from an Airline by sandwiching the dial between two glass panes (borrowd from glass frames) and using waxed paper to keep the dial from touching the glass on both sides. I was afraid the paint would stick to the glass after heating, which I did using a hairdryer. I added pressure on the glass panes while heating to prevent the dial from cracking. I ended up with a 95% perfect dial. There was some slight optical distortion in top corners which didn't show once the dial was installed in the tiny radio.
WOW - thanks, everyone, for all the nice advice. Sounds like everyone concurs that long-term pressure, and maybe a little heat, is what I'm after. I was worried about cracking it or something - now I'll have a little less apprehension. I'm glad I didn't rush in and try to "iron" it under a cloth or something.
Eddie