Reclaiming Pye Fenman1 damaged knobs

[Yorkie]

I've mentioned before that the knobs on this radio are known to be very fragile, and are often broken when attempting removal. They're push-on knobs, made of poystyrene which goes brtille as it ages, and they consist of a thin disc - about 6mm thick (or rather thin!) on a flimsy push-on shaft all moulded in one piece, and held on the flats of the spinldes with a circular spring.

Knowing how fragile they are, to try to prevent damage, rahter than try to pull them off and fracture them, I removed the entire chassis with the dial and knobs attached, from the cabinet. I wass then able to push the knobs off from behind - a much safer way to remove them.

However, although I removed them intact, they were crumbling away, so I decided to 're-manufacture' them by salvaging the top of the knob with it's brass disc intact, and carefully removing the shaft by gently turning it off on the lathe leaving just the top in the chuck. I then made new shafts from 30mm diam Perspex rod sourced off e-bay. I made the shafts thicker (15mm) than the originals, drilled the shafts 6.5mm to fit the spindles of the controls, and fitted a 4BA grub screw to attach the knobs to controls on the set, such as wavechange, volume control etc. I attached the new shafts to the knob with clear 90 secs Araldite. It was a delicate time consuming task, but I've done two and another two remain to be done.

I was inspired to attempt this repair by my chum Colin ('Retired') who'd undertaken a far more ambitious tasks of restoring a large knob rather like a Bush TR82 knob, which ws so badly damaged that it looked beyond redepemtion. Colin did posts the pics for that, but I suspects they'll have disapeared from the post due to the forum's transition to it's new phase.

I've attached a few pics to explain, along with the chassis mounted upside down on a cradle, as is my normal practice when restoring a chassis. It's going to be a slow job, due to other commitments. It has 16 paper caps and six electrolytics which are going to need replacement to do it justice!


Hope it's of interest.

[AlanBeckett]

David,

A couple of comments and questions:-
Wouldn't a solvent adhesive or straight solvent - Acetone? - have been better. I've never had a lot of success with Aradite on Acrylic unless it's very rough.
The snag with the grub screws is you can't get at them in normal circumstances. I suppose some suitable holes in the bottom of the case would work.

Anyway, a splendid job.

Alan

[Joe]

Epoxy wouldn't have been my choice of adhesive either, Alan. Still, we're not doing the job and it's results that count.

Having never taken one of these sets to bits I can't comment on the screws. However, if David could take the chassis out with the knobs on I can't see them being a problem. Besides, if he restores it properly (as he will) it shouldn't need taking to bits again for a good while.

Nice to see your little metal-working lathe in use, David.

Cheers

Joe

[Yorkie]

Thanks for reading my post guys, and taking the trouble to comment!

I did give some thought as to what adhesive to use, and had I been confident that both faces would mate up accurately I probably wouldn't have used Araldite. However, as the knobs (what was left of them!) were wafer thin, I couldn't shave any more off the inside, so I opted for clear Araldite, which is gap filling, so when viewed through the front of the knobs it isn't apparent that they consist of two parts mated together. I've done three and hope to do the fourth tomorrow if I get a spare hour.

As to using grub screws, the only time the knobs will need to be removed will be if the chassis needs attention, and it's just as easy to remove the chassis with the dial and knobs attached as it is to take the knobs off before removing the chassis.

Acrylic takes a nice shine when buffed up with burnishing cream while on the lathe. We had a very talented and creative professional woodturner to demonstrate at our Woodturing Club a few months ago, called Sarah Thirlwell, who has made quite a name for herself. She works in 'mixed media', sandwiching a wide range of materials together to create attractive objects. In addition to acrylic sheet, some of the materials she uses include slabs made from recycled melted down yoghuts pots with twinkly fragments of foil embedded in the material, recycled fridge doors, leather, perspex, plywood and even layers of card glued together such as recycled Christmas cards. (She doesn't melt the yoghurt pots and fridge doors down herself - you can buy the stuff, but it's eye-wateringly expensive).

When glued together to make a block to turn on the lathe, the material looks quite attractive. Her work is exibited in several top galleries and commands quite high prices. She doesn't hollow out her creations, but does include a 'bud vase' (rather like a test tube) in which a single stemmed flower can be placed. Her website is here:

http://www.sarahthirlwell.com/

Some woodturners are turning offcuts of Corian - the stuff that expensive worktops are made from. No doubt it turns up on e-bay from time to time, like most things!

[AlanBeckett]

Recycling plastic and other cast-offs is spreading - see http://www.bags2riches.co.uk/index.htm
Anna lives next door and has a shop down the road.
I'm maintaining a low profile on the subject of lathes and turning.

Alan

[Mark R]

Nice one David! Makes me think a lathe should be on my wish list!

cheers Mark

[Yorkie]

Recycling plastic and other cast-offs is spreading - see http://www.bags2riches.co.uk/index.htm
Anna lives next door and has a shop down the road.
I'm maintaining a low profile on the subject of lathes and turning.

Alan

What a talented and creative lady!

I notice that one of her outlets is the Ropewalk gallery at Barton on Humber, which we visit quite often as it's just the other side of the Humber Bridge. Until the 1980s it was a working rope factory which had been established for 200 years. The ropewalk, along which they walked as they made the ropes is the longest brick building in Britain - a quarter of a mile long, to make hawsers for ships, which were exported the world over. It now houses artists workshops and a gallery where a wide range of artwork is on sale such as glass, pottery and paintings. It also has exhibitions and a small concert hall where they show films and hold gigs.

What's with the "I'm keeping a low profile on lathes and turning" malarkey Alan? You're not turning into a monk or something are you:-/

[AlanBeckett]

David,

I fear that one of these days she might turn up and say 'Can you do this?'
She's ever so nice, but of course from our perspective nutty as the proverbial Fruitcake.
We knew her dad, Vic _ http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Rugby-c...fetime.htm
She does a splendid barbeque
Alan

[Yorkie]

David,

I fear that one of these days she might turn up and say 'Can you do this?'
She's ever so nice, but of course from our perspective nutty as the proverbial Fruitcake.
We knew her dad, Vic _ http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Rugby-c...fetime.htm
She does a splendid barbeque
Alan

Ah, I'm with you now.

What an amazing guy her dad was, and what an interesting life he led, with so many accomplishments to his name.

And yes, 'arty types' are all barking mad, but very endearing in a world of their own.

When we were down in Putney for a week or so a couple of weeks back with our elder son and his family there was an 'open house' event at artists houses in and around Putney. We went to about half a dozen, and the artists were surrounded by utter chaos, with people traipsing through their houses, but totally oblivious to it all. One lady had about 20 people in her lounge and kitchen scoffing her fairy cakes, drinking here wine and coffee. She specialises in screen printing and one intriguing picture had a recipe on it. I was squinting at it, trying to work out from the list of ingredients what it was, and she said 'it's marshmallow - I've just taken a batch out of the oven', and offered us some, which I was happy to accept! So with all the noise and confusion around her, there she was, baking, entetaiing, selling pictures. I don't honestly think that any of them make much of a living from it, but they're happy in their own skin, and there's a lot to be said for being contented.

Theres' a wonderful glass blowing studio (Gilles Jones) in Rosedale, N Yorks which we occasionally visit. One of the techniques they use is to make glassware with two layers of glass - for example, one layer blue, the other clear, then they apply tough masking tape to the glass cut to shapes like leaves, then sandblast away the blue to leave the clear glass showing through. The end result is superb. We were there in June around the time of my birthday, and while I was atching them blow the glass, mty wife was buying a small bowl as a birthday surprise. I've attached a pic to show the level of skill involved and the end result.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks for the kind comments in post #1 David. I'll dig out the knob pictures and put them on the appropriate thread.

What a lovely job you've made of these knobs and also christened your Lorch Lathe whilst doing so.

Bron and I have excellent examples of your wood turning and now you are also moving over onto an engineering lathe which will give you a great deal of pleasure. I bet once you start to really use the Lorch you will wonder how you ever managed without it.

I wouldn't worry too much about using epoxy because if the worst happens and the joints fail you still have the lathe to make more. Well done David you've done a good job at your first attempt and I hope it won't be long before you are teaching me new tricks.

Its a lot different to wood turning isn't it?

I wouldn't be without a lathe and have just been in the garage for a couple of happy hours working on mine.

Kind regards, Col.