[ARC5] BC-458 - ball bearings. (Was: I should have seen ...)

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 6 Jan 2016 at 13:46, Leslie Smith wrote:

>   With the right grease on a screwdriver (or skewer/match) you may be
>   able to stuff balls into the bearing space.
>   I've never done this - only thought about my tactic were I in your
>   situation.
>   I think Ken "G" may know something about this.

Sigh....yes, I surely do.

I had a BC-454 in which the main tuning cap had been hit so hard that all the 
small bearings around the shaft nearest the drive had been knocked out and 
were lost.

By carefully forcing the rotor of the cap back against its tensioner, AND using 
grease to hold those I managed to get in there in place, I managed to get 
enough of the little balls, taken from a ruined cap, back in there to center up 
the rotor and to keep it there.

Although only about 2/3 of the original balls made it back in, the tuning action 
was perfect after I was finished.

I used a small flat-blade screwdriver with a bit of heavy grease on the end to 
hold and place the balls. Once I started, it wasn't all that difficult to complete.

And you are correct in that one can buy any size of balls he needs from any 
good machine shop.

Ken W7EKB