Philco 38-10 Restoration

[FrankieKat]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Here are some photos I took when I restored mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7003980...644064/detail/

Nice pics!

I saw the slide where you rebuilt the vernier drive for the tuner and got it "smooth as silk". I'm working on a Philco 37-630 and I've disassembled mine many times and have de-greased it to the point surgically clean, but no matter what I do it still turns very jerky and has a grinding. It's less noticeable on the fine tune, but the outer shaft has a lot of resistance. I've tried WD-40, machine oil and lithium grease and the performance is all about the same. What kind of grease did you use?

If I put the course tuning shaft into the stationary base piece, it turns like silk -- likewise if I place the fine tuning shaft in the course tuning shaft without the bearings it also turns like silk. It's only when I assemble it with the bearings that it becomes rough.

I actually picked up another one from someone and cleaned that up as well, but the same exact problem! On both of them there is a fairly pronounced groove in the stationary piece where the bearings ride inside the inner ring. Wonder if it's possible that is what is causing the roughness? It's tempting to try to smooth out the inner surface with a dremel and very fine polishing tip, but I'm concerned I'd just end up with it no longer perfectly round and make it worse.

I've swapped around the balls and it's also pretty much the same... doubt I have 6 bearings that are misshapen? Same with the tip on the fine tuning shaft -- both of them seem to be round.

Anyone fought with these before? Or am I just using the wrong grease?

[bandersen]

I'm sorry to hear you're having troubles. It's been a while since I worked on this set, but I think I used white lithium grease. Is there anything that provides pressure on the bearings like a spring ?

[Reece]

A slight cleanup of the shaft with very fine wet/dry paper may smooth out the roughness. If you can find the right size ball bearings it wouldn't hurt to replace them. They may be damaged from running dry and oxidizing over the years.