I have recently developed a fettish for firestone 4A20 radios. They look great! They date from 1947. Their cabinets are so ornate that they can be mistaken for Ingram.
I have run into a jam, though. Most of them (I am not going to tell you how many I have) are missing their slide rule dial pointers. Do you know a source?
BTW, I am going to try Peter's varnish stripping idea on the naster ones.
Best Regards,
Bill Grimm
Or the fabrication of a slim rectangular sliver of metal to be soldered on, in case other that a round pointer is needed. |
:Hi All,
: I have recently developed a fettish for firestone 4A20 radios. They look great! They date from 1947. Their cabinets are so ornate that they can be mistaken for Ingram.
:
: I have run into a jam, though. Most of them (I am not going to tell you how many I have) are missing their slide rule dial pointers. Do you know a source?
:
: BTW, I am going to try Peter's varnish stripping idea on the naster ones.
:
:Best Regards,
:
:Bill Grimm
:
:
: : : :  : : : : : : : :Sir Bill . . . . .Geeee : : :I have always made my own, and the central soldering on of either round wire (different gauges) of paper clips. : : :With a covering of that pointer with either red plastic wire insulation or painting with Red fingernail polish. : : : :Or the fabrication of a slim rectangular sliver of metal to be soldered on, in case other that a round pointer is needed. : : :Now for the aspect of the tricky part . . . the slide portion . . . I never was able to get the truly tight and SQUARE bend needed for making a truly formed rectangular "U" aspect of the sliding channel portion of the slide. : : :Since that slide has to move FREELY, there is no tolerance of a non square condition within the inner apex of that formed channel. : : :That being tried, with a slightly larger metal form and clamping in a vise and beating the then to be formed overlaying metal slide, around that form as tightly as possible,conforming to that temporary metal filler strip. : : : I finally circumvented the fabrication situation by using metal that had its right angle bends made in a brake or in a press. : : :Which is just a matter of finding a "donor" in the respect of an old steel chassis or any solderable metal fabrication which has a true square bend made onto it. : : :Then I just cut out the required slide width and height with the bend being already incorporated on one edge. : : :That edge of the metal that constitutes the "height" of the slide and its folded over bend only needs the metal of that foldover to be a little greater than the to be fabricated slides desired overall "height" . : : :Then you replicate that piece with yet another piece just a bit greater in that prior "height". : : :Then you use a metal filler of the size of the dial scale that the pointer slide will be transversing upon and : drop it upon the top of the first piece, with a bit of .001---.005 thick shim stock . . . ( for creating sliding clearance ) . . . and then the other piece is just nestled on top of and within the first duplicate piece and the top tabs soldered together. : : :When you cool down and pull out the temporary filler and shim, the resultant channel should be a truly squared channel, since you were using preformed stock with no bending (read as "C" shaped inner bends) involved. : : :Use a Dremel tool motor and a cut off wheel to further reduce the height of the top "tabs" that you soldered together, should they be too high. : : :Thasssit . . . : : : : : : :73's de Edd : : :  : |
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::Hi All,
:: I have recently developed a fettish for firestone 4A20 radios. They look great! They date from 1947. Their cabinets are so ornate that they can be mistaken for Ingram.
::
:: I have run into a jam, though. Most of them (I am not going to tell you how many I have) are missing their slide rule dial pointers. Do you know a source?
::
:: BTW, I am going to try Peter's varnish stripping idea on the naster ones.
::
::Best Regards,
::
::Bill Grimm
::
:
:
Thank you Edd!
Looks like I need to get busy. I am going to go over that a few times to make sure I got it all. Looks like I will need to start with the rust.
My enthusiasm for this type of radio has deminished a bit.
Best Regards,
Bill
Worth a try.
Steve
marv
:Another possibility is long thin clock hands that are straight and not tapered. Aluminum hands would work best for cutting and forming. Cut off the hub and tail and work with the pointer. You may have to hunt to find the right size. Try the clock kit suppliers online. Even some hobby shops might have them.
:Worth a try.
:Steve
:
:
:marv
:
::Another possibility is long thin clock hands that are straight and not tapered. Aluminum hands would work best for cutting and forming. Cut off the hub and tail and work with the pointer. You may have to hunt to find the right size. Try the clock kit suppliers online. Even some hobby shops might have them.
::Worth a try.
::Steve
::
:
:
By the way of the hobby shop. They have small brass rods, tubing, angled brass as small as 1/8' on a side up to 1/4' on a side. They also have flat stock. I use the flat stock to make the slider bent around the edge of a putty knife. I then solder a piece of small tube stock or solid rod stock as the pointer. I then shape a piece of flat stock bent on a 90 degree angle to solder to the back of the slider. I drill a couple of holes in the outward pointing angle piece on on the back of the slider and snip out the holes to make the slots for the dial string. All of this brass stock of all sizes and shapes solders, very easily. Further to make a rotary dial, I use round brass tube sized to fit close to the rotary shaft. I then cut a couple of slots into the end of the short piece of tubing to make an adjustable friction fit on the round tuning shaft. Then, I cut a piece of the flat stock into whatever shape I desire (square, hex, round) then solder the round tube, with the friction slots pointing away from the flat stock and ready to press onto the tuner shaft, to the back of the flat stock. to the back of the flat stock into the center. For the needle on the front I choose a sutiable round or flat or angle stock to go all the way across the dial and point to the opposing numbers. This stuff solders easily with our usual soldering irons. Hobby shops have great little cans of paint. (sorry for the long post)
Don
:
:marv
:
::Another possibility is long thin clock hands that are straight and not tapered. Aluminum hands would work best for cutting and forming. Cut off the hub and tail and work with the pointer. You may have to hunt to find the right size. Try the clock kit suppliers online. Even some hobby shops might have them.
::Worth a try.
::Steve
::
:
:
By the way of the hobby shop. They have small brass rods, tubing, angled brass as small as 1/8' on a side up to 1/4' on a side. They also have flat stock. I use the flat stock to make the slider bent around the edge of a putty knife. I then solder a piece of small tube stock or solid rod stock as the pointer. I then shape a piece of flat stock bent on a 90 degree angle to solder to the back of the slider. I drill a couple of holes in the outward pointing angle piece on on the back of the slider and snip out the holes to make the slots for the dial string. All of this brass stock of all sizes and shapes solders, very easily. Further to make a rotary dial, I use round brass tube sized to fit close to the rotary shaft. I then cut a couple of slots into the end of the short piece of tubing to make an adjustable friction fit on the round tuning shaft. Then, I cut a piece of the flat stock into whatever shape I desire (square, hex, round) then solder the round tube, with the friction slots pointing away from the flat stock and ready to press onto the tuner shaft, to the back of the flat stock. to the back of the flat stock into the center. For the needle on the front I choose a sutiable round or flat or angle stock to go all the way across the dial and point to the opposing numbers. This stuff solders easily with our usual soldering irons. Hobby shops have great little cans of paint. (sorry for the long post)
Don
::
::marv
::
:::Another possibility is long thin clock hands that are straight and not tapered. Aluminum hands would work best for cutting and forming. Cut off the hub and tail and work with the pointer. You may have to hunt to find the right size. Try the clock kit suppliers online. Even some hobby shops might have them.
:::Worth a try.
:::Steve
:::
::
::
:By the way of the hobby shop. They have small brass rods, tubing, angled brass as small as 1/8' on a side up to 1/4' on a side. They also have flat stock. I use the flat stock to make the slider bent around the edge of a putty knife. I then solder a piece of small tube stock or solid rod stock as the pointer. I then shape a piece of flat stock bent on a 90 degree angle to solder to the back of the slider. I drill a couple of holes in the outward pointing angle piece on on the back of the slider and snip out the holes to make the slots for the dial string. All of this brass stock of all sizes and shapes solders, very easily. Further to make a rotary dial, I use round brass tube sized to fit close to the rotary shaft. I then cut a couple of slots into the end of the short piece of tubing to make an adjustable friction fit on the round tuning shaft. Then, I cut a piece of the flat stock into whatever shape I desire (square, hex, round) then solder the round tube, with the friction slots pointing away from the flat stock and ready to press onto the tuner shaft, to the back of the flat stock. to the back of the flat stock into the center. For the needle on the front I choose a sutiable round or flat or angle stock to go all the way across the dial and point to the opposing numbers. This stuff solders easily with our usual soldering irons. Hobby shops have great little cans of paint. (sorry for the long post)
:Don
:
Sorry for the double.
Don