06-08-2011, 06:18 PM
Two years ago, Debbie bought a Philco 645B cabinet at a local antique shop, and gave it to me. The cabinet still has its original finish, with some scratches and scuffs; certainly not bad enough to refinish. More on the cabinet later.
Last year, I obtained a very rough Philco 655B in order to get a chassis to use in this cabinet. The cabinet was literally falling apart, badly delaminated, and beyond reasonable repair. Someone like my friend Kenny Richmond, or Exray, or Steve Davis, or one of our other Phorum members who is very skilled at cabinet work probably could have saved the cabinet; but it was also scratched all over with the name of the organization which I assume was the original owner of the radio - Brentano School (now known as Brentano Math & Science Academy), which is located in Chicago.
Whoever scratched the name "Brentano School" all over the cabinet also scratched the school name on the chassis; on the power transformer, filter choke, and half of the tubes.
Anyway...here is how the chassis looked originally.
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/002.jpg]
Back view:
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/005.jpg]
I started working on this chassis over a week ago, in between summer college classes. Today, I finished it up:
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/060.jpg]
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/062.jpg]
Yes, the tuning condenser was replaced with one from a junk 650. Both the 650 and 655 use the same tuning condenser (they even have the same part number). The original tuning condenser was badly rusted and had rubbing plates. It was easier to just replace it.
Once the chassis was done, it went into the 645B cabinet. In case you're wondering, the 645B and 655B cabinets are identical.
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/076.jpg]
I would like to encourage other collectors not to throw out those "rust bucket" chassis - like the very rough cabinets, the chassis can also often be brought back from what appears to some as "parts only" condition.
Last year, I obtained a very rough Philco 655B in order to get a chassis to use in this cabinet. The cabinet was literally falling apart, badly delaminated, and beyond reasonable repair. Someone like my friend Kenny Richmond, or Exray, or Steve Davis, or one of our other Phorum members who is very skilled at cabinet work probably could have saved the cabinet; but it was also scratched all over with the name of the organization which I assume was the original owner of the radio - Brentano School (now known as Brentano Math & Science Academy), which is located in Chicago.
Whoever scratched the name "Brentano School" all over the cabinet also scratched the school name on the chassis; on the power transformer, filter choke, and half of the tubes.
Anyway...here is how the chassis looked originally.
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/002.jpg]
Back view:
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/005.jpg]
I started working on this chassis over a week ago, in between summer college classes. Today, I finished it up:
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/060.jpg]
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/062.jpg]
Yes, the tuning condenser was replaced with one from a junk 650. Both the 650 and 655 use the same tuning condenser (they even have the same part number). The original tuning condenser was badly rusted and had rubbing plates. It was easier to just replace it.
Once the chassis was done, it went into the 645B cabinet. In case you're wondering, the 645B and 655B cabinets are identical.
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/655B/076.jpg]
I would like to encourage other collectors not to throw out those "rust bucket" chassis - like the very rough cabinets, the chassis can also often be brought back from what appears to some as "parts only" condition.
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
