[TenTec] Tuning knob play: Omni V

[Tim and Nancy Logan]

Hi folks -

I've been cruising along with my Omni V and thoroughly enjoying it. I do
have a question though (well probably zillions - but I'll stick to one).
The tuning knob rotation has always been extremely smooth and feels very
good. Last nite however - for some reason I grabbed the knob and
"wiggled" it - only to discover that it seems to have a lot of play
(side to side, up-down, etc). 

I removed the knob and noticed two things. The actual shaft has some
play in it - tho probably acceptable or reasonable (the external knurled
nut appears to be nice and snug). The knob itself appears to have
several pieces and also has play. It looks as tho the black plastic ring
(which you find right under the removable rubber grip) has four plastic
shafts which go through the knobs baseplate and are "melted" flush
against the baseplate to hold it in place. However, it doesn't hold it
snugly. This makes the plastic ring have a loose fit and when you shake
it you hear and feel the parts rattle quite a bit. Since the plastic
prongs are melted you can't snug it up with a screwdiver etc. 

It could be that the fit of the knob to the shaft isn't perfect and it
only has one set screw - in which case a bid of judicious use of felt or
whatever inside the knob would snug it up on the shaft. 

If I were to compare the knob play to my K2, the K2 is a 1 (zero play)
and the Omni is about a 9 (until I fix it). 

As I say, rotation and tuning are beautiful, and it took all these
months to notice that it has play in it if you jiggle it -  definitely
doesn't seem like it should have that kind of play on this level of a
rig. (On the other hand maybe I'm just an obsessive Ham nut).

My questions:
1 - Do all Omni tuning knobs have this type of play?
2 - Are the melted plastic prong ends normal or was this somebody's
makeshift fix - ie do other knobs have screws to allow you to
disassemble the knob? Maybe a new knob would be puit together a little
better?
3 - If I remove the face plate will, I find a way to tighten up the play
in the shaft itself or is that likely overkill? 
4 - Am I nuts? (Don't answer that one).

Thanks folks, Tim Logan KB7OEX