Rebuild a flip palette from Copal 602

[ik1zyw]

Hello.
While looking for old devices with vacuum fluorescent display I came across a Copal 602 (wood/black): too nice to be true. There I came home with my first flip clock.

Luck is that it works, maybe it is 10"/hour on the fast side. It misses one of the date setting knobs, but for now I can live with it. The real "problem" is that one palette was found floating free inside the case, and the attached picture shows the damage.

Are there chances that I can cut a thin piece of plastic, superglue it in place and return the flap into its original position? Can this be done without unfastening the mechanisms?

Last but not least, the attached knob does not come off: is it supposed to unscrew in anti-clockwise direction, right?

Thank you for reading.
Paolo - Italy
(working with electronics)
[clocks designed and built: with Nixie tubes, with vintage HP LED display]

[Mackey]

...
Are there chances that I can cut a thin piece of plastic, superglue it in place and return the flap into its original position? Can this be done without unfastening the mechanisms?

Last but not least, the attached knob does not come off: is it supposed to unscrew in anti-clockwise direction, right?

Yes. You can repair that flap. The mistake I've made in the past is being in too much of a hurry. Keep that superglue off your hands and away from the rest of the clock. It will leave marks! Don't even have your clock out when working on the tile. Also.. People get in to much of a hurry with superglue. Glue the pieces and
Let it cure overnight. The bond gets stronger. The tile can be easily replaced. See my video below.
That's an older Copal than I'm used to working on. Often the knobs pull off.. It won't hurt to try to screw it off. Either way the knobs get stuck on sometimes. It's scary because there's always a chance you'll break the clock. I might suggest you wait until you're sure from someone else before screwing or pulling too hard.

[ik1zyw]

Thank you Mackey. The video is very helpful. I am now looking for a suitable donor piece of plastic.

As for the stuck knob, I will need to remove it if I cannot align the mechanism back into the case: now I have to do it with the back panel hanging from the shaft.

I will report back how it proceeds. In the worst case I will build an electronic device that pauses the AC source for enough time once an hour so that the clock catches up the missed minute (and the few seconds it apparently gains).

Paolo

[oldclockradios.com]

Stuck knobs will usually break free with a spray lubricant. Let is sit awhile.