Hello, Last summer i picked up a Philco 16l chassis for just a $1 known it was a steal and threw it on the shelve of future projects. It was just the other day looking at it again when i noticed asbestos going around the rubber part of the dial on both sides. I had taking the chassis outside wearing a respirator to be on the safe side and removed the dial carefully without disturbing the asbestos any and got rid of it. I just don't see the purpose of why Philco would use asbestos there, any ideas?


Corey

Hi Corey,
Are you sure what you were looking at was "A"? I also couldn't see why they would use it in that position. No heat or anything there.

I don't have the model, but someone else mght. Have you posted this on the Philco Phorum?
Ron or Chuck would probably have an answer for you.

Gary,

I'm rather positive that it's asbestos as i can't imagine it being anything else. The picture below i had taking before i got rid of it. Never posted on the Philco Phurom before but i see how it goes here first...


Thanks, Corey

Dial lamp heat.

Personally I think it would have been best to leave the item in place. You may have exposed yourself to more of it then if you have left it alone, and now you have a potential fire hazard. Nitrocellulose is VERY flammable.
Also we have tried to avoid use of the word 'A' as it relates to radios. All we need is an investigation of vintage radio hazards, do to 'A' being in old radios.
Dan

You could sniff that tiny amount for decades and not be bothered. The A brings the worry warts out of the rafters

Carl

(I've edited my post.)

Dial lamp heat, as I recall, those dial lamps ore on each side of the dial itself. I don' know how that material would keep the dial cool. It wouldn't act as a heat sink to absorb heat.

What I'd do is paint the stuff wih some clear. It is rather fuzzy, and that might prevent flaking.
Have you tried a duplicate post on the Philco Phorum?
http://philcoradio.com/phorum/

AKA Messaphreekinoia

Bruce Webster

Its not asbestos , (and nothing to do with the Dial lamps ) it's a disintegrating dial dive belt that was made with rubberize canvas like material . Remove it . I think its replacement is a 2 1/2 " I D 1/8 "rubber o-ring .

http://youtu.be/QQV2f21FH-c

It might be a disintegrating dial dive belt though i do find it hard to imagine as it looks so close to be like "A" as i guess its now called here. There is a difference between the philco 16l and 16b dial. Watching the video compared to the way mine was and the belt didn't go around the bottom of the gear shaft it simply rubbed up against the gear with pressure. I had got rid of the dial after i had removed it so i no longer have it as i knew that i can just get a reproduction one. Someone with great experience and knowledge of Philco's may have seen this before and know for sure so I'll create a account on the philco Phorum and ask...

Why did this get moved to cabinet restoration category as its nothing to do with a cabinet?


Thanks, Corey

So now you're a medical and hazardous waste expert? Don't bet your life on it.

Before anybody listens to this guy they should do their own research. It's not like an infection where a shot of penicillin will cure it, you get it you die, and usually within one year of being diagnosed. It's true some people breathed it for years and never got meso but it's also true that wives and children got meso from breathing minute amounts of fibers carried into the house on their husband's work clothes. There's no such thing as "You could sniff that tiny amount for decades and not be bothered", that's just nonsense. There is no correlation between the amount breathed and getting meso so to make a statement like that is irresponsible.

Some radios do have it in them and precautions need to be taken to avoid any risk; seal it with varnish or soak it with water so fibers can't get airborne and then remove it, seal it in a sealable baggie and dispose of it.

http://www.asbestos.com/exposure/

Larry

You did the right thing by removing it whatever it was . I remove all asbestos from all radios .
I doubt that was asbestos or if it was someone put it there for their own reasons . It was probably a rotten rubber part as mentioned before .

Hi Corey.
This page may help you with restoring the rubber parts on the dial drive.

http://www.philcoradio.com/tech/drive.htm

Good luck!

Sorry Larry but Im not going to fall for your usual insults and scare tactics. Find someone that actually believes you.

While it is wise to take care with something unfamiliar I also suggest others read up on responsible reporting of the subject. I emphasize responsible since that is not Larrys strong suite. His goal is only to harass me.

And since that dial is not even A the subject is moot.

Carl

Those dials are often made of celluloid, aren't they? That would be quite an incentive to put a fire-retardant near there.

Hi Blue,
If you look at the link I posted, you can see how the dial works with the rubber drives. It's rotted friction material.

No, I don't think they are celluloid, or they'd probably be badly warped, or completely gone at this point.
Adding a 'retardant' would do nothing, in the impossible event that it ever would catch on fire.

Hopefully the thread will not get locked, now that we know what the 'material' is, and we can go ahead and help the OP with his issue of repairing the dial drive.

Great link Gary . Duh, I don't know how it forgot it ... then again I've been under a lot of stress ..... For Peter a wanted to spell it alot to get your blood flowing

The subject is moot but your bad and dangerous advice isn't. What we have here folks is a sign of the truly desperate, always insinuate that credible authorities are wrong. Who knew Carl was the world's eminent authority on the dangers, oops, non-dangers of A? Wow, right here on ARF. We should feel honored. Not really folks, I'm betting he never even clicked on the link or did any other research; Do Not Listen To Him.

For your information Carl, I put in nearly 25 years in the industry breathing in A dust almost every day. I've been to the doctors. My name is on the national list. I know I'm sitting on a time-bomb that could go off at any time. You haven't got a clue. Over and out.

Larry

Same here. I'm a mechanic and due to changing brakes and clutch pads I've got the junk in my lungs. My dad was a pipe fitter in the navy during the 50s and a welder in the 70s when it wasn't well known about the dangers of it. we both have breathing problem and are more prone to pneumonia than normal.

If anything, its better to err on the side of caution and assume it is and deal with it accordingly. the stuff is just nasty. True, at the time it was all we had and it did a bang-up job at it, but we now know the dangers.

Another fact that alot of people fail to thing about. Mechanics were constantly getting lead poisoning up until the 70s due to the leaded gasoline. we constantly had it on our hands, used it to clean oil off our skin, Heck, during WWII, GIs washed their clothes with it!

Our lack of knowledge on the dangers caused a lot of mechanics acute lead poisoning, cancer, and other problems. I always hear the gripe that leaded gas is better, but I'd rather sacrifice a slight decrease in performance than my health.

Just my two cents,

Paul

My friend Mike was over today . He has restored 2 of these type dials . He went to the auto parts and found an oil filter . Oil filters have a gasket on them . He found one with the exact size gasket for the Philco dial .

As for asbestos and those really concerned about it . That is why i remove it from any radio i find it in . I use caution during removal doing it outside and slowly . I believe it is better to remove such substances so people in the future dont have to wonder about it or be in any contact with a possible hazard . 98% of the asbestos pieces in radios are held in with a few staples and are easy to lift out .