I have a Crabtree 9 gang gridswitch which is a mixture of dimmers and
switches. Must be pushing 40 years old. ;-) The dimmers were made by Home
Automation and came with fittings for both Crabtree and MK grids.

Both the plate and the knobs are showing signs of wear, so since I've just
decorated, decided to do something about it. The lacquer on the brass
plate was poor so I've stripped that and re-done it which looks fine.

Bought new brass knobs (for dimmers) off Ebay - but they are designed to
fit the standard D shaped 6mm spindles and most of the dimmers have 4mm
round shafts. One has been replaced, and that has the correct 6mm
spindle.)

All the knobs consist of a centre part and a cover which is in the brass
finish. If I could separate the two, I might be able to fit the new covers
to the old knobs.

Or any other suggestions? I have a few spare new knobs so don't mind
experimenting.

--
*What boots up must come down *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Wed, 31 Jul 2013 16:45:48 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Or any other suggestions? I have a few spare new knobs so don't mind
experimenting.

New knobs grub screw fixing with round hole or D shaped push on?

Thinking you could find some 1 mm thick plastic to form a sort of
roll pin and pop it into the knob with a gap for the grub screw or
where the flat section is. Might need some trial an error for push
fit with shimming bits of thiner material to get a satisfactory fit.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article o.uk,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Wed, 31 Jul 2013 16:45:48 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Or any other suggestions? I have a few spare new knobs so don't mind
experimenting.

New knobs grub screw fixing with round hole or D shaped push on?

New knobs are push on. Old ones a bit of a mixture.

Thinking you could find some 1 mm thick plastic to form a sort of
roll pin and pop it into the knob with a gap for the grub screw or
where the flat section is. Might need some trial an error for push
fit with shimming bits of thiner material to get a satisfactory fit.

Thanks - another way to think about.

--
*Husbands should come with instructions

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

I thought this was another post about harry..

--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

On 31/07/13 16:45, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I have a Crabtree 9 gang gridswitch which is a mixture of dimmers and
switches. Must be pushing 40 years old. ;-) The dimmers were made by Home
Automation and came with fittings for both Crabtree and MK grids.

Both the plate and the knobs are showing signs of wear, so since I've just
decorated, decided to do something about it. The lacquer on the brass
plate was poor so I've stripped that and re-done it which looks fine.

Bought new brass knobs (for dimmers) off Ebay - but they are designed to
fit the standard D shaped 6mm spindles and most of the dimmers have 4mm
round shafts. One has been replaced, and that has the correct 6mm
spindle.)

All the knobs consist of a centre part and a cover which is in the brass
finish. If I could separate the two, I might be able to fit the new covers
to the old knobs.

Or any other suggestions? I have a few spare new knobs so don't mind
experimenting.

are these knobs with set screws? if so you can e.g. get some brass shim
and wind it round the shaft until its a decent fit..

Or fill the new knobs with car body filler and re drill them to 4mm and
re-tap the hole through the filler afterwards

--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
I thought this was another post about harry..

Would you believe me if I said that was my first thought when I saw the
post?

--
Adam

On Wednesday, July 31, 2013 6:34:51 PM UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article o.uk,

Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Wed, 31 Jul 2013 16:45:48 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Or any other suggestions? I have a few spare new knobs so don't mind
experimenting.

New knobs grub screw fixing with round hole or D shaped push on?

New knobs are push on. Old ones a bit of a mixture.

Thinking you could find some 1 mm thick plastic to form a sort of
roll pin and pop it into the knob with a gap for the grub screw or
where the flat section is. Might need some trial an error for push
fit with shimming bits of thiner material to get a satisfactory fit.

Thanks - another way to think about.

I have on my desk an offcut of plastic tube with 6mm od and 4mm id - might it be worth experimenting with that? If you're interested e-mail me and I'll drop it in the post.

In article ,
wrote:
On Wednesday, July 31, 2013 6:34:51 PM UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article o.uk,

Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Wed, 31 Jul 2013 16:45:48 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Or any other suggestions? I have a few spare new knobs so don't mind
experimenting.

New knobs grub screw fixing with round hole or D shaped push on?

New knobs are push on. Old ones a bit of a mixture.

Thinking you could find some 1 mm thick plastic to form a sort of
roll pin and pop it into the knob with a gap for the grub screw or
where the flat section is. Might need some trial an error for push
fit with shimming bits of thiner material to get a satisfactory fit.

Thanks - another way to think about.

I have on my desk an offcut of plastic tube with 6mm od and 4mm id -
might it be worth experimenting with that? If you're interested e-mail
me and I'll drop it in the post.

Thanks for the offer - I'll get back to you if needed.

With a day to think about it, I have lots of pots with the correct sized D
spindle - and all far too long for what is usually needed. So I'm thinking
of cutting a bit off the end, drilling a 4mm hole up the middle and
glueing to the small spindle. I'm hoping PVC waste pipe solvent cement
will do it.

--
*Would a fly without wings be called a walk?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.