The PHILCO Phorum

There is a small sliver of veneer missing on the left front of my 16B tombstone. Anyone know what type of veneer was used here?

Thanks,
Geoff

In that particular spot I think it's some sort of cheaper hardwood like maple or beech that they then covered with that dark lacquer.
Regards
Arran

It's definitely a piece of veneer that is missing. I'll try and get a closer shot tonight and post it.

- Geoff

I think the veneer on my 16B is walnut. Of course, mine is the later cabinet than yours. The rest of the front is not veneer but cheap non-grained wood which got the dark toner treatment.

Here are some close-ups of the area. The 2 panels on the front are definitely walnut but they are undamaged. The damaged area is to the left of the left-most walnut panel. In the photos below the missing piece is on the front of the cabinet. It is flat in that area just like the 2 front panels. In the last photo I'm holding a piece of it up and away from the cabinet. I'm assuming that the entire dark-toned front section of the radio is veneered. Since the coloring is so dark in there anyways it probably won't make much of a difference what type of veneer was used originally. I was just wondering if anyone knew for sure what type of veneer it was originally.

- Geoff

It looks like it may be maple veneer, but it's difficult to know without stripping it, in short it's a bland and blond hardwood that they used. I would just get some maple, birch, or beech veneer and patch the damaged section with a narrow strip running from top to bottom parallel to the grain of the existing veneer.
Regards
Arran

I have saved old veneer off old shot cabinets and other furniture pieces and always have pieces to fix small places like yours. The best thing about "old" is that it is usually the same thickness as the radio cabinets of that era. Shouldn't matter what type you put on because it all will be toned the same color on that edge.