I have decided to mass restore some cabinets in each step but I will be separating them into 1 post for each rado
Here is the Philco 20 before:
Nightmare!
Thought this was going to be a somewhat easier restoration but it is not going well. There are about 10 breaks in the grill and some very bad repairs too.
I began cleaning the grill that has about 1/8 of an inch of wax build up all over the inside of the grill.
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Then As I am gleaning the grill starts to fall apart in my hands. Someone stuffed the grill with wood putty where there was wood missing and we know glue doesn't stick well to putty by itself. So now I have lots of grill work to do.
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I began by cutting new wood strips, fitting and placing and now that part of the grill is gluing and clamped.
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Yikes. The guy claimed it was undisturbed and I even left him a pos feedback despite that veneer piece.
I even remember his name - Grampaczerniak.
Ron actually pointed me to it, I remember, he said the colors were quite correct on it.
Original colors yes, original repairs... no. It's ok, I am mailing you the silvertone 45 chassis as punishment.
Got the grill together for the most part. A few more gluings and then stripping.
Kirk
Notice the colors before stripping, maybe make some photos. The colors are original and well-preserved. Makes sense to keep them this way if possible.
I guess they used repwood in the latticework for grill.
I think that I am beginning to understand why Philco 20 grills are so fragile, if that's the sort of plywood they used. A thick core laminated by two thin layers of veneer on either side. Had they used several thinner layers, each with the grain alternating 90 degrees to each other, they would have been much stronger.
Regards
Arran
They seemed to use a lot of that style plywood in those days and in thickness that is so uncommon today like 3/8 and 5/16. You can get Baltic Birch in 10mm and they make it in 8mm but you would have to purchase a whole container to get any. Next time anybody goes back to the old country, ship out some plywood for me, would you?
I have had to make my own plywood several times to duplicate an original grill. That thick layer is tough though it can be salvaged from old radio cabinets. Also I have used my plainer to cut down some to 5/16 less the thickness of the finish veneer. Plaining plywood is a PAIN!
I was not refering to the overall thickness of the plywood used in the grill but the thickness of the laminations. I have managed to pick up some Baltic Birch plywood, of 3/8'' thickness, they also have some in 1/8, 1/4, and 5/8'' thickness, 3/8'' and full 1/4'' seems to have been the most popular stuff used in old radio cabinets and furniture? If you can't get the Baltic Birch you can use Douglas Fir plywood of a decent grade. The problem with most cabinet plywoods is that they often have a poplar or a luan core, which is soft, and they are nominally sized.
Regards
Arran
Yep, so was I. Some of the old plywood was only 3 plys, with a thick one in the center.
It is the 5/16 (8mm) Baltic Birch that is hard to find. They do make it.
+5
Planing ply is a real pain in the buttox.
I am not planning on stripping the original colors from the face or arch but if something goes wrong, How would I replicate the dark shading it has?
That scares me....A lot.
when Is K-town? September?
I better be back in action for that.
Kirk