The Fine Things are Always Hand Made

brass knobs?

A few months ago I acquired a Scott Phantom Deluxe FM with brass knobs. (see attached photo) I have searched the web and have been unable to find any other Scott equiped with brass knobs. The knobs are perfectly uniform and expertly machined right down to the knurl on the main tuning knob. This, of course, leads to the question, "Are they ORIGINAL E.H. Scott knobs?" One would have to be a skilled machinist and have some specialized equipment to produce these things in a garage workshop. If anyone else has seen brass knobs on a Scott radio please let me know.

As one might expect, the brass knobs do cause a "hand capacitance" effect when using the radio which leads to another question,."Would old E.H. himself, being the articulate engineer that he was, have approved of shipping a radio with such knobs?"

Any opinions, observations or comments would be greatly appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Kyle on November 10, 2010 at 10:54am

Very nice looking. I've never seen brass knobs on a scott before so I figure someone made them. Pretty. Jeff

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Permalink Reply by Norman S Braithwaite on November 10, 2010 at 11:21am

Scott did not use metal knobs on the prewar sets. The brass knobs on your Phantom do not show evidence of age. Unless very well cleaned or resurfaced brass knobs would be tarnished. The tarnish would be near impossible to remove from within the knurling. The original knobs would have been wood with the "S" patterned tops.

Norman

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Permalink Reply by John Neuman on November 10, 2010 at 11:18pm

Thanks for the input. I was about 85% convinced that they are not original, Be that as it may, someone did a great job crafting these knobs. They have the same basic shape and design as the originals. They are not just random knobs which happened to fit. They were machined specifically for a Scott radio. When I acquired the set, they were, indeed, very tarnished. I gave each one a 0000 steelwool treatment. It took about 20 intense minutes to clean each knob and I never was able to clean into the knurl on the main tuning knob. I do intend to seek out originals or decent reproductions, if available.
Stanley