I have been thinking about making a 20 cabinet for sometime. The biggest holdup has been trying to figure a way to cut the scroll in the front panel. The only way that I could think of was an over arm pin router. I couldn't afford to buy one so, I took an old cheep Black and Decker router that I have had for years and made one. It's a little crude but it works pretty well.
Homemade Overarm Pin Router by
Steve Davis, on Flickr
Homemade Overarm Pin Router by
Steve Davis, on Flickr
And the finished front panel.
Philco 20 Replacement Front Panel by
Steve Davis, on Flickr
It may be a while before we have a complete cabinet. I still have to grind a set of shaper knives to make the base moulding.
Steve
Wow, Steve...you are a regular wizard, do you know that?
Another method might be to use a Dremmel with a router plate attachment, thought one would have to make a jig for it unless you have steady hands. A lot of cabinets have grooves cut into them in that way to add details like a frame around the dial, or to make a fake panel, it's nice to see a practical way to reproduce such a detail.
Regards
Arran
Arran, the problem with using an ordinary router (or Dremel router) with a pattern on the top side would be the curly-que near the bottom. With the over arm router, there is a guide pin located directly under the router bit that follows a pattern on the underside of the work piece.
The pattern used to cut the vein and the grille.
Philco 20 Front Panel Pattern by
Steve Davis, on Flickr
Steve
(1) 20 deluxe front panel please!
me
No....there are way more those than plain ones in good condition....or at least it seems so.
And the plain front panel to me is more intricate, this curly groove is harder to make than to just slap a piece of pre-cut wood at the top.
There are many talented people here, neat to see a gifted woodworker ply his craft. Thanks for the photos Steve.
Paul
Need a ARM,,,like when doing spindles,,,,to follow old Pattern,,on wood
really, Steve, when I watch your work it's like watching Sorcery.
I can't wait to see the finished product but I am sure this will be a marvel.
If I wore hats, they'd all be on the floor right now.
PS. BTW, are there nails at the bottom in the original cabinet or not? If not, are you going to somehow conceal them?
PPS. I still consider this cabinet more complex in making than the DeLuxe version. Or for that matter, any of the Coombs designs.
Am I wrong?
Excellent craftsmanship!!
Living at the lake and building radio cabinets what a way to live.