08-04-2009, 12:27 AM
Thanks for all of the great replies. It's nice to know the decals are available at Radio Daze. I've purchased odds and ends there so if I'm not happy with the Restore A Finish I'll look into it.
Lacquer. I haven't tested the current finish yet. The Philco 40-201 I worked on has shellac. Nice but tricky to use at first. Blushes easily. I've never rubbed lacquer so perhaps I'll give it a try. I will not use polyanything on it.
I need a full piece of walnut for the top. Easy to find. Stains. Hate them. would rather leave it natural but I suspect I'll have to do some color and shade matching. Not looking forward to that.
First impression of the chassis and the electronics. Lots of metal. All original parts except for the tubes. No metal tubes in the 30's right? The tuner assembly was a little tricky removing. Lots of links attached to the dial face but only the hub attached to the selector switch needed to be loosen to remove the "Magic Brain" - the tuner, coils, tube, etc for the RF, 1st Detector and Oscillator part of the circuit. The Brain is enclosed in a removable box that occupies the center of the chassis. Very clean inside. The electrical connection from the Brain to the chassis is made through cord attached to a multi-prong plug. I'll be sure to check the wire condition. Good news is there are only three paper caps that need replacing in the Brain. As with all 18 paper caps, the lugs aren't all that easy to get to so I may end up desoldering a few wires and resistors that I would rather leave alone. I'll do this one lug at a time. I have noticed that some of the wire insulation is beginning to crack but on the whole, the physical condition appears pretty good for something that old.
My next step is recapping. The original electrolytic cans are in place. One has a very corroded terminal. Never seen the inside of one. Guess there's a first time for everything.
Lacquer. I haven't tested the current finish yet. The Philco 40-201 I worked on has shellac. Nice but tricky to use at first. Blushes easily. I've never rubbed lacquer so perhaps I'll give it a try. I will not use polyanything on it.
I need a full piece of walnut for the top. Easy to find. Stains. Hate them. would rather leave it natural but I suspect I'll have to do some color and shade matching. Not looking forward to that.
First impression of the chassis and the electronics. Lots of metal. All original parts except for the tubes. No metal tubes in the 30's right? The tuner assembly was a little tricky removing. Lots of links attached to the dial face but only the hub attached to the selector switch needed to be loosen to remove the "Magic Brain" - the tuner, coils, tube, etc for the RF, 1st Detector and Oscillator part of the circuit. The Brain is enclosed in a removable box that occupies the center of the chassis. Very clean inside. The electrical connection from the Brain to the chassis is made through cord attached to a multi-prong plug. I'll be sure to check the wire condition. Good news is there are only three paper caps that need replacing in the Brain. As with all 18 paper caps, the lugs aren't all that easy to get to so I may end up desoldering a few wires and resistors that I would rather leave alone. I'll do this one lug at a time. I have noticed that some of the wire insulation is beginning to crack but on the whole, the physical condition appears pretty good for something that old.
My next step is recapping. The original electrolytic cans are in place. One has a very corroded terminal. Never seen the inside of one. Guess there's a first time for everything.
