[Boatanchors] Johnson Ranger VFO Access Question

[Whitebear1122]

> The one time I was in a Johnson VFO was back around 1996 when I had to get into my Valiant VFO cabinet to replace both tubes and the charred 18K VR current limit resistor.
> 
> Today I'm looking inside my Ranger VFO.  I was given this Ranger by an SK last year. It had sat on his floor next to the operating desk since at least 1970.  It looked horrible, corroded, and I know he had a mouse problem it the shack.  Imagine my surprise when I took some GOJO to the cabinet and front panel and it cleaned up to an 8 out of 10.  It was 40 years of floor grime, not corrosion after all.   I opened it up and the insides look like new other than a bit of grime.  No mouse scat at all. I need to recap the electrolytics of course.  I powered it up this afternoon and it works for the most part, good power output, but the VFO is jumpy by several hundred cycles, not sure if it's mechanically induced or what.   Tuning the main tuning suggests it may be mechanically induced.
> 
> I would like to open up the VFO to retighten all the screws and nuts, put a little DeOxit on the variable capacitor, and make a few measurements.  I removed the side of the vfo cabinet.  Oh my gosh, I had forgotten how tight things are in there.  If I want full access to the vfo, I need to remove the top.  There are screws holding the top to the sides along the front panel side so I can't get at them.  Looking at it, I'm wondering if the only way to get good access to the VFO for mechanical tightening is to completely remove the front panel.  Wow, that sounds like a huge effort!
> 
> How on earth do you get good access into that VFO cabinet without removing the front panel or is it even possible?
> 
> 73, Scott WA9WFA