Thread by @MatthewHarrold

Ahoy!

Seller described it as "Works as new" - seems a bit optimistic

The dial is slooow and needs cleaning. There's some evidence of grease. Don't grease your dials...

I guess this a thread now so I'll start from the top. Here's the dial with the finger plate attached. The dial label retaining clip is missing.

Removing (just) the middle screw reveals the number plate. It should have a springy wire securing it but it's missing... I have spares

Front of the dial with the number plate removed showing gears and governor, & rear showing the contact springs, cam & trigger.

A coiled spring makes the dial rotate to its home position. The governor controls the speed.

Faster = wings go out = more friction = dial goes slower

Switching contacts and trigger removed. Don't lose that little washer.

Undoing the stop screw at the 12 O'Clock position in the photo releases the tension on the spring.

Undoing this screw is going to free the cam and spring box from the main spindle. The spring might launch itself across the room - it didn't this time but I'm going to carefully remove it from the spring box anyway.

Boing. These springs are identical on all the standard dials from 1930 - 1984 ( ? ish). Don't make things like they used to.

Spindle, Clutch Governor and it's gear removed.

Rear of the casing removed. On the older dials this was a single bit of metal, but using plastic is cheaper

Label holder removed from the finger plate

Everything except the number plate having a bath in white spirit

Scrub the bits with an old toothbrush. They don't need to be spotless, just better. Let them dry in a well ventilated area.

Before and after polishing the shiny bits with Greygate Polish No.5

Heres the dial with the governor, governor gear and stop screw re-fitted. Everything is finger tight as it'll need adjustment. The shafts are oiled with a tiny drop. Don't oil the governor cup!

Note: The washer on the screw at the 10 O'Clock posistion shouldn't be there!

The spring after being wiped down with oil and re-wound back into its box.

After re-inserting the main spindle and fitting the cam, trigger and spring set. The misplaced washer in the previous photo actually belongs underneat the trigger.

Tiny drops of oil should be applied to the spindle shaft and trigger pivot.

The two parts of the casing after being combined. The spindle should be wound until you feel it getting tight, then loosened off one turn, then the stop screw (12 O'Clock) should be tightend. I swapped one of the badly corroded screws on the finger stop with a spare.

Mounted back in the phone with the 3 screws into the dial case. I've not seen these holes on other dials that are otherwise pretty much identical.

Fitting the number plate back to the dial, and adding a spare retaining clip. Note you actually have to do this once its back in the Telephone due to the screws underneath!

Dial back in the phone with the finger plate fitted. I'll have to locate a spare number lable securing clip at some point.

Much better after a clean although it still need adjusting - thats a story for another day.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk