Refreshing old manuals. - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

ColinTheAmpMan1 · 8th Sep 2015, 5:42 pm

This might be considered off-topic, but I think it might be of use to some. There are examples of Service and Operators' manuals which use page tabs for navigation. I am thinking of Tektronix manuals in particular, which I usually find to be exemplary. After the possible 40 or more years of good service, these tabs, as well as some of the pages, become dog-eared, folded or wrinkled. I was doing some ironing (I don't do it that often) and wondered about the old butlers' trick of ironing the newpaper for his Lordship. I wondered if these tabs could be refreshed by the application of a hot iron. After a bit of experimentation, I found that a good bit of improvement could be made, though not complete perfection. The iron sole-plate was at 38 degrees C dry and was applied for 15 seconds per side, keeping the iron only on the areas needing flattening. I did both sides one after the other, but this might not be important.
I would love to be able to find some way of laminating the tabs to give them an even better improvement. This should be possible, as I have see modern publications with laminated tabs.
Colin.

stevehertz · 8th Sep 2015, 8:39 pm

Clear Fablon, cut oblong pieces, fold over the tab and carefully trim off the excess with a scalpel?

Nickthedentist · 8th Sep 2015, 9:00 pm

Or that stuff sold for covering textbooks.

Restoration73 · 9th Sep 2015, 7:23 am

Although laminating pouches are double sided, a single side can be used. To avoid
damage to the plastic, apply heat (e.g. from the iron) through a sheet of plain paper
or thin cardboard. Trim when cool.

ColinTheAmpMan1 · 25th Sep 2015, 5:35 pm

I think I have got this pretty well sorted, now

. I bought some 125 micron cold lamination film (from Rymans). For my Tektronix manuals, I cut it into 70mm x 10mm pieces and stuck these to both sides of each page-tab. I did this with a craft-knife, but a scalpel or similar blade would do just as well. The result is quite impressive. It is necessary to disregard the instructions for use and to place the sticky side of the film down onto the manual page-tabs rather than trying to shift the manual around to place it over the film. The knife-blade also comes in handy to separate the backing-paper from the pieces of film. It is a good idea to let the film pieces go over the edge of the tabs by 0.5-1.0mm, so that the tab becomes encapsulated, but this isn't truly essential. Rubbing with your thumb-nail is useful to make sure that both sides are stuck properly to the film. The final step is to trim the corners nicely. I did this with a professional toe-nail clipper, which gives a curve to the laminated tabs (I'm a great believer in multiple uses for tools, but I would never use a good chisel as a screwdriver - my father would come back and haunt me!). I suppose some kind of tool could be made up to get a better shape on the lamination, but this way seemed fine to me. The whole process can be a bit fiddly, but the result is rather good and anyone who has tried fixing a Tektronix 'scope is familiar with fiddly jobs.
Time for a reward

.
Colin.

8th Sep 2015, 5:42 pm	#1
ColinTheAmpMan1 Octode Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Wimbledon, London, UK. Posts: 1,465	Refreshing old manuals. This might be considered off-topic, but I think it might be of use to some. There are examples of Service and Operators' manuals which use page tabs for navigation. I am thinking of Tektronix manuals in particular, which I usually find to be exemplary. After the possible 40 or more years of good service, these tabs, as well as some of the pages, become dog-eared, folded or wrinkled. I was doing some ironing (I don't do it that often) and wondered about the old butlers' trick of ironing the newpaper for his Lordship. I wondered if these tabs could be refreshed by the application of a hot iron. After a bit of experimentation, I found that a good bit of improvement could be made, though not complete perfection. The iron sole-plate was at 38 degrees C dry and was applied for 15 seconds per side, keeping the iron only on the areas needing flattening. I did both sides one after the other, but this might not be important. I would love to be able to find some way of laminating the tabs to give them an even better improvement. This should be possible, as I have see modern publications with laminated tabs. Colin.

8th Sep 2015, 8:39 pm	#2
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,828	Re: Refreshing old manuals. Clear Fablon, cut oblong pieces, fold over the tab and carefully trim off the excess with a scalpel? __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

8th Sep 2015, 9:00 pm	#3
Nickthedentist Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oxford, UK. Posts: 17,841	Re: Refreshing old manuals. Or that stuff sold for covering textbooks.

9th Sep 2015, 7:23 am	#4
Restoration73 Nonode Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Surbiton, SW London, UK. Posts: 2,801	Re: Refreshing old manuals. Although laminating pouches are double sided, a single side can be used. To avoid damage to the plastic, apply heat (e.g. from the iron) through a sheet of plain paper or thin cardboard. Trim when cool.

25th Sep 2015, 5:35 pm	#5
ColinTheAmpMan1 Octode Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Wimbledon, London, UK. Posts: 1,465	Re: Refreshing old manuals. I think I have got this pretty well sorted, now . I bought some 125 micron cold lamination film (from Rymans). For my Tektronix manuals, I cut it into 70mm x 10mm pieces and stuck these to both sides of each page-tab. I did this with a craft-knife, but a scalpel or similar blade would do just as well. The result is quite impressive. It is necessary to disregard the instructions for use and to place the sticky side of the film down onto the manual page-tabs rather than trying to shift the manual around to place it over the film. The knife-blade also comes in handy to separate the backing-paper from the pieces of film. It is a good idea to let the film pieces go over the edge of the tabs by 0.5-1.0mm, so that the tab becomes encapsulated, but this isn't truly essential. Rubbing with your thumb-nail is useful to make sure that both sides are stuck properly to the film. The final step is to trim the corners nicely. I did this with a professional toe-nail clipper, which gives a curve to the laminated tabs (I'm a great believer in multiple uses for tools, but I would never use a good chisel as a screwdriver - my father would come back and haunt me!). I suppose some kind of tool could be made up to get a better shape on the lamination, but this way seemed fine to me. The whole process can be a bit fiddly, but the result is rather good and anyone who has tried fixing a Tektronix 'scope is familiar with fiddly jobs. Time for a reward . Colin.