Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

With required holiday work around the house under control now, I have been able to get a little more work done on the restoration of the case for the Coil, Aerial Tuning No. 2 A.

I have been able to strip the old paint off the two Brass Mounting Plates used to secure the Coil to the top of the Carriers No. 4.

The attached photos show the original state of the left plate, after it was stripped and of both the left and right plates after stripping. Both plates still need to be cleaned further with a small brass wire wheel, as well as the hardware for both plates. This work was on hold because I only had one brass wire wheel for my Dremel available, and it was worn out. I have worn out six of these wheels now with this project and at a local cost of just under $13.00 Canadian a pair, that novelty was wearing off. I then discovered I could order 15 such wheel from Amazon for just under $18.00 Canadian and went that route. The last photo shows what was left of my remaining brass wire wheel, along with the new ones.



David

[David Dunlop]

Thanks for the words of encouragement on decal work, James. Much appreciated.

I plan to practise a bit before playing for keeps with the actual Coil front panel.

I know the flat white base coat will go down nice and thin. However, I have never worked with a spray neutral luminous green paint before so have to figure out how thick is goes down and to some extent how intense it becomes as it goes down. Next will be how well that paint behaves with the decal chemicals and finally, how well the decal will snug down over pads of paint the smallest of which will be roughly 1/4-inch by 3/4-inch and of as yet unknown thickness. Fun times ahead.



David

[David Dunlop]

Another small roadblock in restoring the Coil, Aerial Tuning No. 2 A was related to the zinc plating work all the brass hardware was going to need.
The two brass Mounting Plate assemblies are going to be the largest items I have ever had to plate and the small plastic containers I have been using for the acid etch and water rinse removal were nowhere large enough to do the job.

I could find nothing available on hand around the house the right size and on finally mentioning it to Debbie a few days ago, she suggested I check out the local Dollarama Store to see what they might have. Went in the other day and worked my way through the isles and ‘Bingo’! On a shelf marked as Drawer Organizers, I found stacks of 8.5” x 2.5” x 1.5” plastic trays that were perfect for the task and only $1.25 each, so I picked up two one for the acid and the second for the alcohol needed to remove all the water when the acid is rinsed off.

I also picked up an extra bottle of Muriatic Acid, and Isopropyl Alcohol, just in case they are needed.



David

[David Dunlop]

It is always a nice feeling when things start going back on during a restoration.

That started with the restoration of the Coil, Aerial Tuning No. 2 A with the 52-Set Project when the green wool felt pad that protects the coil chassis was the first part to be glued, and reattached to the floor of the case.

I had to take another look at the back of the pad first to be certain it was a running bead of glue which had been squirted over the back to originally mount it, and then follow suit with the new glue. It was relatively easy process. One only needs to get the two rear holes for the mounting hardware that comes up through the floor of the case to secure the coil chassis centred and lay the pad down. It will move fairly easy for a couple of minutes allowing for fine tuning of the placement and then I used an old, smooth, steel sanding block I had to firmly press the entire pad down in its final placement. This is the same glue I had used a few months back to install the reproduction Parts Lists I had to make for the Spares Cases, at it dries a yellowish colour very similar to the wartime mucilage glue used by Canadian Marconi Company. Should be all dried and set by Sunday.



David

[James D Teel II]

Is the glue dry?

[David Dunlop]

Indeed it is James.

As you can see in the first photo I had posted, several pieces of the original factory paint came up with the felt when I removed it. I left it as is primarily because the locations of these patches, along with the silvery, slug like trails of where the original glue was applied, gave me a very good idea of where the original run of glue bead had been located. The size of the bead was a bit of a guess but I must have come pretty close to what was originally applied because only a small bit of glue oozed out in three small locations.

It was all dried and cured in about 10 minutes. I had initially thought of brushing the glue on but Debbie advised against that. her logic was that a bead would be thick enough to allow me to carefully adjust the felt pad into its correct, fine position for a few minutes and let me press it down firmly once in place with an old steam iron. She was correct. I got almost three minutes of play time with the felt pad, whereas a brushed on approach would have meant near instant, permanent sticking of the felt in whatever position it touched the floor of the case.


David

[David Dunlop]

A good day yesterday and this morning.

I was able to use the new brass wire wheels to final polish the Left Coil Case Mounting Plate and hardware, acid etch and rinse it all and get into the electroplating solution for a new coat of zinc. My 2-Amp 12 volt trickle charger was getting quite. workout with such a large piece, so after an hour, I switched up to my 10-Amp charger for another two hours last evening, rinsed the plate assembly off and let it dry overnight. Blew through one brass wire wheel getting it done but expected that, given the size of these plates. Great to be able to just pick up another wheel, swap it in and keep right on working.

This morning I was able to reinstall it on the case and now I am ready to repeat the process with the mounting plate assembly for the right side of the case.



David