[HowardWoodard]

Well, the paint thinner didn't get the job done but some heat did.  I got it apart, got everything cleaned up, re-lubed, and then back together.  As I was putting the retaining pin back in, the vernier shaft popped out.  The ball at the end of the shaft that, along with the three bearings that sit down behind it and holds the shaft in, had separated.  I thought that it had broken off but on closer examination it appears that it is a completely separate piece.

Before I start trying to source a vernier tuning shaft I want to see if I can understand how it was manufactured in the first place.  Maybe I can fix it.

When I first looked at the shaft, I assumed that it had been machined out of one piece of metal, but it isn't.  The small metal ball shape at the end, used to retain the vernier shaft inside the course shaft, is a completely separate piece and is attached to the end of the shaft, either with solder or glue of some sort.  You'll note in the picture that the ball is perfectly round and, under microscope, shows a faint color outline that matches the rim on the vernier shaft.  The end of the shaft is hollow.  The ball does not sit down inside but rests on the lip around the top.  I don't see anything on the ball that looks like pieces of the shaft or residue of any sort.  That's part of why I think it might have been soldered.  I had to heat the unit quite a bit to break the coarse shaft loose and maybe I got it hot enough to melt solder, which would account for the clean separation of the ball and vernier shaft.  Anyway, as you can probably tell, really, I don't have a clue.

Do any of you know how its attached and have you ever heard of anyone successfully repairing it?

Thanks in advance...
============================