[R-390] What I did on my winter vacation

[odyslim at comcast.net]

So Far, I re-built 14 multi-section capacitors. I did my project pretty much the usual method everybody uses with only a couple of changes. I used a large tubing cutter and made precise cuts along the bottom of the can.  After removing the can from the base, I screwed in a 3 1/4" long eye-hook with 1/4 thread diameter all the way into the center of the muck.  I then made a loop out of 1/4"  parachute cord about 3 1/2 ft diameter.I Put the can in my vise with just enough overlap on the jaws of the vise to keep the can from slipping through. After that, I attached the loop of cord to the eye-hook, put my foot into the loop and pushed down. Like starting an old Harley. The entire contents of every can popped right out. I then drilled the pins out in the usual way. This was a good excuse to buy a nice bench top drill press since I had 14 to re-build. I then did the standard 4-40 tap job and installed the brass screws and finally soldered in the caps. I did try a new ( to me ) item I discovered called alu-weld with poor results. The heat from the torch melted the base of the caps before the alu-weld would solder the cans. Therefore I used  JB Weld.  
 I was installing quad 20 FP type cans to replace the older caps but decided I would like to return the radios back to the original appearance. It made a good winter project but did not last long enough. Now I guess it's shack cleaning time :-)

 Scott W3CV