WE #7 Dial

[trainman]

I was wondering if I can dissasemble this part of the dial without destroying it.  You know the shaft the finger wheel attaches to? There is a gear on the end of this shaft  held in with a nut. I was wondering if I took the gear off and the shaft out, will the spring come undone? It is something that can be put back together, or is it impossible? And if I can come apart and go back together how many turns of the spring will it need for proper tension. I want to take this dial down completly for cleaning and lube.

The plastic cam that breaks the pulse contacts, what is it's proper orientation?

[Dennis Markham]

Trainman, the answer to your first question is yes.  The answer to your second and third question is yes also.  The 4th question is yes and not impossible.  The answer to the next question is two turns.  Finally the last question about the plastic cam is about a 45 degree angle, pointing about the 10:00 - 11:00 position. 

Now I will try to explain my responses and maybe show a photo or two. 

Is your dial one of the earlier #7 dials?  The one in which the gear assembly is held together by three screws or is it held together by pressed pins?  The screw type is easier to work on...mostly for reassembling.

Give me a few minutes and I'll type a document explaining how/what I do when I disassemble the dial.  I'll then make a PDF out of it and post it in the technical section.  Meanwhile go ahead and disassemble your dial and clean it.  Hopefully I'll have the document finished by the time you're ready to reassemble.

One tip to begin with.  I like to remove the little cam when I clean the dial.  I don't put it back in place until the very last thing, once the dial is finished.  Take a small screw driver and carefully pry it upward.  There are two very fragile brass clips under the plastic.  Just under the cam is a small brass washer...very thin and very small.  Once the cam and washer are removed,  there is another plastic part that has the flange that pushes against the contacts while at rest.  Below that is a springy brass washer.   Remember the order in which you remove these.  Springy washer on the bottom, plastic flange, small washer, cam. 

Doing it this way makes aligning everything easier than trying to get the gears in perfect alignment with the cam already in place.

On my recent computer crash I lost my Adobe Photo Shop so I can't make photos (at the moment) with arrows and things.  So Ill do the best I can to explain the procedure without those tools.

Meanwhile Trainman, if you haven't seen this posting, look here:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=285.msg2467#msg2467

Some of the photos may be helpful.

[trainman]

The Dial is 7d and uses screws to hold it together. I wasn't going to take the cam off, for fear of it breaking or being too loose once presses back on, but it will be eaisier.

I saw the post. It will help.

Thanks.

Tony

[benhutcherson]

Here's how I put the springs back:

Generally, I turn the spring as far as it will go. I then back off enough, and lock it in to the point where the dial can freely and easily make a full rotation.

That may sound confusing, but it will (hopefully) be self-explanatory when you actually get into the dial.

[Dennis Markham]

Tony, are your questions answered, or do you need me to expound further on the reassembly of the dial?

[trainman]

Dennis, my questions are answered. Thanks.

Well... Do you have an easy way to put the shaft spring back together?

[Dennis Markham]

Did the spring come apart from the end with the "pointer" on it?  It's really not that difficult.  Just put the end of the coiled spring with the small wire tip into the hole and allow the first coil of the spring to snap into place.

I then put the shaft through the hole and allow the spring's tab to fit into the slot.  Then I complete a turn and tuck the pointer under the stop, holding it in place.  I count that as one turn.  Then I give it one more turn, lifting it past the stop and then under the stop tab.  I then put the dial down on the bench with pressure to keep the pointed from coming out far enough to unwind.

Then when I reassemble it is very difficult to replace the gear train assembly with the main gear already in place.  So I will build the gear train assembly on the back side of the dial while making sure not to unspring the spring you just wound.  I screw the bottom brass plate into place first and put the gears into their respective holes.  Once there I put the top piece on and align the axles into their holes, careful still not to unwind the main spring.  I screw the long screws just into the threads and then work the main gear into place while everything is loose.  It sometimes take a few tries to get it right.  Make sure the little nerd on the main gear is facing the bottom of the dial.  This is the part that will separate the contacts later.  Once the gear is in place so that nothing is jammed I put on the washer and nut onto the main gear.  Then tighten down each long screw of the gear train assembly.  I semi-tighten them until they are all down and then tighten each one.  The dial should turn at this point and return.  If it grinds, you will have to adjust gear train using the upper left screw and move the entire assembly as I showed in that other posting.

Confused yet.  It's difficult to explain.  Let me know if I can clear something up that I described.

[trainman]

I haven't taken the spring apart yet. Want to make sure I can get it back together first.  Maybe each dial is diffeent,but I havebeen able to take the dial assemble out and back together as one piece with the main gear in place.

[Dennis Markham]

Yes, I'm sure the dial gear assembly will come out and back in in one piece.  I like to take them apart to make for easier cleaning.  Whatever works for you is good.