I have just finished the electrical repairs on my latest project, a very sad Healing 401E. Who would have thought a four tube set could have been such a bear to repair, but that's another story I am about to start on the case, which is going to be another challenge as it is cracked and chipped in several places. Any way, the dial glass is ok, but most of the print has worn of it. Can anyone tell me if there is anyone that does reproduction transfers of complete dial glasses for Australian sets? Please see image attaches.

Image Link

Thanks!
Peter

I have a Healing with pretty much the same problem though not as bad. I think this problem is widespread for Healing and a few other manufacturers such as Kriesler and AWV (valves) as they used a chalky substance to mark dial glasses and valves with instead of the enamel used by other manufacturers.

Once you go to clean them, which is more or less necessary after 50+ years, the stuff just rubs off and often before the dust and grime.

For someone offering replacement glasses it'd be easy enough to make some rubber stamps with the station call signs and the healing logo but what does one use for the ink? Does anyone know the recipe for the enamel used by some manufacturers?

I know how to cut glass but I get the idea that is the easy part. All the markings that are unique to each dial glass is something else. In the meantime my guess is that we just have to rely on spare parts that have been handled with care.

Thanks Brad! I might try and make a transfer. That is if I can find a good close up picture of a good dial. This is one area the Yanks have it over us. You can by many repro radio dials over there.

Hi Peter,

There are a number of members of the HRSA which offer repro dial scales for a number of brands/models. Let me know your email address and I'll forward their adds.

Cheers, Graham...

Not sure if this helps but...

I had a friend scan an image of the dial for me as it was cracked all the way through and wanted to preserve the dial incase it all went horribly wrong.

He then recreated the dial by tracing the scanned image using certain software I'm not sure of but not really important.

He was then able to print the recreated dial image onto a decal in reverse so as when you apply the decal to the new glass it's adhesive side is on the back of the piece of new glass. Just think about how the image is on a normal sticker and you will see why it has to be reversed.

If you don't have a friend who has a business in recreating vintage decals then find someone who can give you a scan of the same dial you have and then take the image and the new piece of glass to a printers/sign/sticker business and let them do the work for you. They should be able to make a decal or transfer for you.

Hope this helps.

It would be possible to scan an image to Photoshop, touch it up and then print to an overhead projector transparency sheet but you need a laser printer (ideally a modern coloured one) for this as transparency sheets for inkjet printers are opaque.

So yes, given a top-notch original artwork, this method would be okay - simply apply the transparency to the inside of a piece of plain glass the same size as the original dial glass.

The Americans do better with spare parts simply because of their larger market and the fact that even though Americans aren't quite the hoarders that Australians of yesteryear were, the sheer size of their market and the number of collectors there keeps opportunities for a spare parts and reproduction industry more viable than it would be here.

Whereas it may be prudent to make, say, 100 of these Healing dial glasses, one might make 5,000 for an equivalent radio in the US.

Hi Graham,
My email address is leeinv66hotmail.com and I would really appreciate any contacts you have for repro dials.

Restoring,
I am considering the method you describe, but getting an image I can clean up is the problem. There just isn't enough detail left on mine.

Brad,
I hear what you are saying about the size of the US market and why it would not be as viable to have the same services here. But having restored several American midget tube radios, I can tell you it sure is nice to be able to buy those last couple of parts of the shelf to finish your project. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the hunt for parts, but after searching for them for months, the fun soon goes out of it

I agree about part hunting getting frustrating. I have a light green AWA Radiolette from 1947 which needs a new dial pointer and I've been told by several people that it will be next to impossible to find a spare in the same colour.

I've since made a clandestine repair to this dial pointer and it does look better, especially from a distance but it'd be lovely to have a replacement. The thing is, I've been on an active hunt for one for about four years with no luck. This is probably due to the fact that my Radiolette is one of only about ten still known to exist. I have a few brown ones and it may be that I will simply have to paint one of them in enamel to match - leading to another problem. I'm not very good at colour-matching paint.

Guys, if you know anyone that offers reproduction services could you please get them to drop me an e-mail with their details so I can add them to the Services Directory though please let them know of this intention first so there are no surprises.