[Winky Dink]

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

[Radioroslyn]

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.

[mcusi]

How did you pop it off of the shaft without breaking the rivets?

[Winky Dink]

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.

[Radioroslyn]

<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.

[Winky Dink]

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.

[Scott D]

Wow, great tip. Thanks for posting!

[Winky Dink]

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]