The PHILCO Phorum
Philco 86 - Printable Version

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Philco 86 - texan george - 02-24-2022

I have never done cabinet work and need a little help. One of the front legs on my low boy is weak, not broken off but moves. How can I fix this? If I can fix this then I will try to restore the cabinet.
Thanks, George

Went ahead and cut the leg off with a fine saw with the idea of inserting a wooden dowel and gluing it back on. It already a dowel in there. I suppose it had been repaired in the past.

RE: Philco 86 - klondike98 - 02-26-2022

Its possible the leg is simply coming unglued and removing it, scraping off the old glue, regluing and clamping it might fix it. If its actually broken then a repair depends on how its broken. There are a million furniture repair videos on youtube but one I've found to be particularly helpful with antique cabinet repairs is Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Repair. See: https://www.thomasjohnsonrestoration.com/

RE: Philco 86 - GarySP - 02-26-2022

A picture is worth a thousand words. If you can get a few shots posted it would help. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary

RE: Philco 86 - texan george - 02-27-2022

Thanks for the responses they are always helpful. I inserted a wooden dowel and reglued the leg. Seems to be OK. Years ago, my cat used the front legs for scratching post. I don't think I can make it good as new but will do the best I can. I am still researching all I can before getting started. I am sure I will have questions for yall in the future. Here is a pic of the leg.
Thanks,
George

RE: Philco 86 - GarySP - 02-27-2022

Kitty sure must like your console! A good quality wood filler, a little filling and tooling, and some toning laquer should get you an acceptable repair. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary

P.S, lemon oil extract rubbed on the scratched wood will usually keep felines away.

RE: Philco 86 - texan george - 02-28-2022

Thanks, Gary for the post. That was my daughters cat that she left with me after getting married and moving away. After 18 years he went on the great beyond. I am trying to find sources of tinted lacquer in Pensacola. I will let you know how things progress.
George

RE: Philco 86 - texan george - 03-16-2022

Havent been able to work on this much. I had use a lot of wood filler, trying to get it shaped is a pain. questions: should I use something on the filler before putting on the tinted lacquer? Did Philco use gloss or semi-gloss for the clear finish coat? I wont be able to make it look new but close I hope. Picture attached.

RE: Philco 86 - John Bartley - 03-16-2022

May I suggest checking local woodworking clubs, wood turning clubs etc for someone to turn a new leg? You could remove one of the good remaining legs for a pattern?

RE: Philco 86 - texan george - 03-16-2022

Thanks, John, for the idea, I don't know of any off hand here in Pensacola but will check.

RE: Philco 86 - Arran - 03-23-2022

Fortunately the late 1929-30 Philco lowboy cabinets were sold with a multitude of chassis, so they built a lot of them. It might be an idea to post an ad looking for the legs, and posts from a junk cabinet, I remember Rodney out in Washington found one that had been stored outside under some stairs, but salvaged the chassis, and some solid wood cabinet parts, there may be others out there. Actually the cabinet you have is different from the one Rodney had, so I think it may be a 1928 model console.
Regards
Arran

RE: Philco 86 - texan george - 03-23-2022

Thanks, Aaran
I did talk to my son in law who does woodworking and can turn new legs, but, he is in Illinois and I live in FL. I would have to cut a good one off and send it to him
I will use that as a last resort. It seems to me that the upper part of the legs that are on the cabinet is a lighter shade of walnut. I ordered Mohawk medium walnut and it seems 
darker than the rest. Does anyone know the original shades on this radio?
Thanks,
George

RE: Philco 86 - John Bartley - 03-23-2022

The photos at Radiomuseum are of my radio. I believe it to be all original.

RE: Philco 86 - texan george - 03-24-2022

Thanks John,
From what I can see it appears to transition from dark to light from bottom to mid cabinet. I have some light walnut on the way that I will experiment with before doing any more on it. As I stated at the beginning I am learning.

RE: Philco 86 - texan george - 03-29-2022

Well, I do not know what I am doing. Applied the wood filler and when I was putting on the Mohawk ultra-classic medium brown walnut tinted lacquer in came out reddish and shinny.
Could not get a good color over the filler unless I used several coats. Took some 0000 steel wool to the legs and re applied the toner. Still reddish and shinny. So what can I do now.
I would like to get the legs finished so I can do the top. I really don't want to cut one of the good ones off and then have to re-mount 3 legs. Any and all ideas will be greatly appreciated.
George

RE: Philco 86 - GarySP - 03-30-2022

That really doesn't look all that bad. 0000 steel wool is a polishing grade, and wont cut the shine all that much. Try a coarser grade of steel wool and gently rub down the finish until it dulls to your liking. You may want to spray further than the repair to help blend the wood tones. There are much better wood finishers than me on this phorum. You have nothing to lose by trying. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary