silly? question about 'O' rings on 500 dials

[recyklotron]

Greetings,

   Should all WE500 dials have an 'O' ring? I have both a yellow & a black w/ 1962 dates which are lacking an 'O' ring on their dials. The yellow was re-furbed in 1984 but the black looks original.
   Thanks as always,
             Jonathan

[Phonesrfun]

I don't know for sure, but I think the "O" rings were dropped at some point.  I don't know when.

[Greg G.]

I remember asking the same thing a while back, here it is:  http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=7705.0

[Adam]

In all of my Western Electric sets which do not have the O rings, it doesn't seem to make a difference.  All the dials look properly seated and flush with the cover.

HOWEVER, I do own one 6 button set (a 565HK) who's dial was a bit "wobbly" because the dial mounting bracket wasn't as tightly riveted to the base as it should have been.  This set is from the period where the dial would not have had an O ring.  BUT!  Adding an O ring to this dial from another dial in my parts box permanently fixed the dial wobble by seating the dial in the cover more tightly.

So, even though more modern dials don't need them, they can come in handy sometimes....