Removing capacitor tops in the command receivers

Some of the lowly Sears flare tube cutters have a wide enough recess in the backing rollers to allow moving the cutting disk up to just under the lip of the capacitor. If the recess is at least .090" wide by .090" deep, you should be fine. Unless you have a collet similar to that shown, you still need something in a soft plastic to grip the capacitor while you turn the cutter, because you will inevitably get slight movement of the capacitor and some scuffing in the process. If the plastic "collet" extends almost to the lip, you can protect the capacitor from the rollers as well, though a bit of tape will probably protect that in a pinch. This example is a soft aluminum drawing (a worst case compared with the harder brass shells in many of the sets,) and shows the edge of the rollers imprinted on the capacitor housing that can result from too many rings around the rosie without such protection.





The deformation at the parting line can be removed with a burnishing tool - basically a polished cylinder held against the inside of the wrinkled edge. On the other hand, I prefer a bit of indentation as the increased surface area helps hold the top on when you apply epoxy after the rebuild. A bit of sanding and a coat of aluminum paint, and you're through!

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