How do you support your Scott chassis while working on it?

[Scott Seickel]

Well, that was my dilemma when I got my Philharmonic.   Most radio chassis are a lot smaller and have a power transformer that you can rest on to hold the chassis.  There is no way I could work underneath this chassis without damaging something on the top side.  What I needed was a chassis stand.  So off to the shop.  I welded one out of thin wall (0.049") 1-1/4" sq tubing.  It is very strong and light weight at 13 pounds.  It will handle a Philharmonic and allow 360 degrees of rotation, and it will also allow an AW23 to bolt to the flanges. Loosen the end knobs and the chassis rotates easily and is fairly well balanced due to the offset of the pivot points.   Probably 10 hours of work, but well worth it.  The pictures below are of one that I just made for a member here who is trading me for this stand.  I have one just like it that I previously made for myself.  The pics show an AW-23 mounted and a Philharmonic.  The AW uses 4 thru bolts to hold it and the Philharmonic uses 2 tapped holes it has in the bottom plus 2 bolts that act as clamps.

 

[Bill Liers]

Ken,

Sure. I've thought of making a full tilt chassis fixture for years. Somehow, I'm always impressed by how this simple set up serves the purpose.

[Lou deGonzague]

I used 2 pieces of plywood screwed into the bottom plate hole

[Ken Carr]

Bill and Lou - Thanks so much for the great photos and ideas! I presently have the rig balanced on one end with wedges underneath to make it balance. It's rather stable but not as good as the solutions shown here. I'l be constructing my own fixture tomorrow!

[Ken Carr]

My Philharmonic is supported on 3/4" plywood between two sawhorses. I took an easy (but admittedly less flexible) path to supporting the receiver chassis.

The top side of one end has a couple of old 1950's road maps (modern maps not appropriate) underneath for cushioning and balance. The other side (under chassis side) is secured by several pipe clamps held to the plywood with 1/4" screws, washers, and nuts. It is quite sturdy with no wobble at all. If I need to change my access angle (rarely) I just drill a couple more holes.

[David C. Poland]

Bill, --- I like the simplicity.
Lou, --- I have something much like yours of plywood., that I copied off the Scott industrial film on Scott Fifteen.
And my other device is a pair of "H" shaped 2 x 4 frames that I screw to the flanges of receivers like the AW12, 15 & 23 that functions much like Lou's, but I can have the chassis upside down, right side up or tipped on either end. And I can set the "H" frames on an old swivel TV table top platform I have.
Ken --- Your use of conduit clamps provides me a way to secure the later chassis that lack the earlier Scott's flanges (Sixteen, Philly ...). For the platform on the saw horses, have you considered a 2nd sheet of plywood with a turntable (like for swivel chairs) so you can rotate the platform as needed?

[Ken Carr]

Excellent idea, David, regarding the second sheet of plywood. 

I had not considered that.It just makes too much sense!  LOL

 
David C. Poland said:

Ken --- Your use of conduit clamps provides me a way to secure the later chassis that lack the earlier Scott's flanges (Sixteen, Philly ...). For the platform on the saw horses, have you considered a 2nd sheet of plywood with a turntable (like for swivel chairs) so you can rotate the platform as needed?

[Richard Majestic]

Nice but... the Allwave 12, 15, 23, 27 and Philharmonic have a near flat top plane and sit upside down on the bench just fine. After taking off the bottom cover of the 12, 15 and 23 the turret cover and the turret the chassis is fairly lite and easily flipped over for getting to the two or three capacitors under the RF can. The power supply amplifier does also sit upside down with all the tubes removed and there are no serviceable parts on the topside other than the tubes.

 

I prefer 10X12 1/2" plywood and four "C" clamps for working on all large Zenith chassis. It will protect the dial and allow stable access to the underside of the chassis. This doesn't work for Philco or German Coo-Ccoo-Clock radios because I charge $100 an hour and $45 an hour to work on EH Scott and McMurdo Silver radios.

[palegreenthumb]

I have a pair of Steve Strong chassis stands (large and small).  Probably the best equipment purchase I've made in the hobby.

The large one was easily adjusted to my Masterpiece VI chassis, so I imagine it would fit a Philharmonic.

You can see photos of his stands at ARF: http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=311306&... 

[David Wilson]

It looks like a great stand design that Steve Strong has came up with and he is selling these for a very fair price!

Thanks for sharing this information!

palegreenthumb said:

I have a pair of Steve Strong chassis stands (large and small).  Probably the best equipment purchase I've made in the hobby.

The large one was easily adjusted to my Masterpiece VI chassis, so I imagine it would fit a Philharmonic.

You can see photos of his stands at ARF: http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=311306&...