1935 Gilfillan 43-A - Printable Version

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - jrblasde - 07-20-2026

I saw Bob Ross’ name mentioned, and had to hop in on the conversation!   I know I mentioned it recently, but I was born the day that Bob passed away (July 4th, 1995). Big fan of The Joy of Painting!

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - klondike98 - 07-20-2026

LOL….here ya go… some Bob Ross and Van Dyke Brown action…

https://youtube.com/shorts/yQgOIUQ1ePg?is=gaHA1s0Av9qQ0-As

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - jrblasde - 07-21-2026

Haha, I love it! I think one of the funnier comments Bob made in passing was while he was painting a tree. It turned out a bit lopsided, and he remarked, “Oh, what a crooked little tree! Let’s send him to Washington.” He had some hilarious remarks.

Edit: I’m at work, and thought I’d share a picture of my Bob Ross edition of the Mr. Potato Head 

   

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - klondike98 - 07-25-2026

Time to put this one to bed. I finished the finish, rubout and waxing; replaced the escutcheon and Gilfillian plate; glued in the new grill cloth (cutting the center out was an adventure) and reinstalled the chassis. All went well until my volume control extension failed and I had to reglue it. Some super glue seemed to work better. Before and After...

   
   

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - jrblasde - 07-25-2026

Beautifully done! Excellent work!

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - Paul Philco322 - 07-25-2026

Super deluxe. Love the look. Paul

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462ron - 462ron - 07-26-2026

Better than factory, phenomenal job!

Ron

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - klondike98 - 07-26-2026

Thanks guys. My wife said “that one’s DOA” when I brought it home but when finished she found a spot in the house for it! Learned some skills on this one as well.

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - jrblasde - 07-26-2026

I’ve come to find that none of these radios are ever truly “goners” if you can invest endless time, skill, and money into them. I never intend to, but it seems I always outdo myself by finding a new project that’s in even worse shape than the previous one. When a model with higher production numbers starts out in such deplorable condition, is it worth the expense of restoration? No, probably not! But they are worth the enjoyment one gets out of the restoration, and the time spent listening to and admiring the beauty of the completed product.

P.S.: My wife also allows a spot for each one I complete. Nine times out of ten, that means it goes in my office, but she’s already liking the looks of the 47-1230 so much that she’s said it can go in the living room when it is complete.

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - Arran - 07-26-2026

Joseph;
There is definitely a point when there is a law of diminishing returns, I once bought a basement room full of radios, and maybe 1/3 or more were beyond reasonable restoration for one reason or another. Some had major parts missing, or were too hacked up. An AC/DC set with a broken cabinet, no dial, and no knobs was pretty much scrap to me. Another was a radio-phono table top combo unit, with no phono, and the dial glass was peeling, that wasn't worth much even complete, most of them are ugly, awkward, and have a pedestrian five tube radio of one kind or another inside. I always tried to keep ones that were complete, or near complete, and had something special about them.
One in that lot that I intended to do something with was an earlyish AC radio, an RCA Radiola 44, but I will need a parts set to finish it, that chassis is good mechanically, but the cabinet has been badly hacked up, apparently many of these have disintegrating pot metal in the tuner chassis, this one does not.
Regards
Arran

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - Paul Philco322 - 07-26-2026

Many perspectives, you can go through periods of what you might like to have comes at you with issues, sometimes you gotta pass, but that feeling of bringing it back from the dead is a good vibe too. Sometimes things just appear, a friend gave me his Aunt's Bendix 526, simple set would I have gone out of my way for it, no, the thing was pristine, sat on her table in her bedroom. Label looked new, case not a scratch, it cleaned up as if I just bot it in 1946. With the caps, and a cord it is a real looker simply because it was so lightly worn, and its ok to listen to. That what makes the hobby interesting, the story of the comeback!

Paul

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - TV MAN - 07-26-2026

Bob, that turned out beautiful! Wow! Great work!!

I'm kinda with the mentions above, pick your battles! Anything can be fixed/restored, but when to say when and how much is too much? I've rescued TV's and radios moments before the excavator takes down the house! Some parts, some - well, use your imagination!

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - MZip - 07-26-2026

Amazing work! Your collection of before/after shots is incredible. Beautiful work!

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - klondike98 - 07-26-2026

Thanks, I enjoy the restoration process, both cabinet and electrical, learning new skills and also the “bring ‘em back from the dead” thrill that Paul mentioned. Many of my restorations have gone to friends, family, swap meets or Goodwill or other charity. I’ve also restored a few for people I’ve bumped into and want one fixed for sentimental reasons and those I do for the cost of the parts. I usually put more into it than you can get on the resell, at least when I’ve done it. Probably if you market it right to the right audience you can get more. The one’s my wife likes stay in the house. I like looking for a new project or working on a project.

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - MrFixr55 - 07-27-2026

Bob, that set is gorgeous!!! Another of your beautiful restorations!

I forget the name of the seller but there is a person on eBay who commands and actually gets a very nice price for his radios (In the $300 Zone for late depression wooden sets), precisely because he does the kind of restorations that you do.

Joseph, Ms. Fixr is a big fan of Bob Ross ("Happy little trees") Where did you get the Bob Ross Potato Head, I gotta get one for her.

My reason for collecting a radio is not for the value or even for complete restoration (I am not a woodworker), but for the history. My collection spans the history of radio from the early broadcast age (1920s) through the Depression and the maturation of the technology (1930s), WWII and the late 1940s to the end of tube radios and the beginning of the transistor age. As I handle and restore these sets to operating condition, I can't help bit to think of who built them owned them, the times that they lived in and the importance of the radio to their lives, especially the balm from isolation that farm sets provided the rural farmer, the information from shortwave in the 1930s documenting the seeds of war being planted in Europe and Asia, the music and opinions that changed our society for better or worse, etc. Some of these sets are from my childhood, given to me by people long passed. Handling these sets, causes me to think of and pray for the people whose hands touched these sets.

Some of my more iconic and one or 2 "Holy Grail" sets are:
Westinghouse RC (RA DA) ca 1922, one of the first commercial broadcast receivers, introduced 1920
Westinghouse Aeriola Sr (no RCA markings, wood panel) ca 1922, introduced late 1921
RCA (GE) Radiola II ca 1923
FADA 160 ca 1923, early Neutrodyne set
RCA (Westinghouse) Radiola III
3 tube kit set (unbranded) ca 1923
A-K Models 10, 20 ca 1924
A-K Models 32, 35, 36, 40, 44 ca 1926-1928
RCA Radiolas 16, 17, 18, 60, ca 1927-1928
Philco 20 ca 1931-1932
GE S-22A (RCA R-7A) ca 1932
Canadian Victor Talking Machine (RCA) R-28 ca 1933, used 2A7 Pentagrid Convertor, sold for $20 after price war with Philco 80 Jr
GE BX (RCA R-17M) ca 1933 4 Tube AC-DC TRF, sold for $14.95
RCA T7-5 AM/SW ca 1936
RCA 6BK AM/SW (Farm Set), ca 1936
Zenith 6-S-52 AM/SW (Chassis only) ca 1936, in my possession since 1967
Philco 37-116 AM/SW Console (Code 122 w/ Magnetic Tuning) ca 1937
BF Goodrich Mantola 419 Battery portable ca 1940
Philco 41-255 AM/SW ca 1941
Philco 46-350 Battery/ AC-DC Portable ca 1946
Philco 48-206 ca 1948
Zenith Transoceanic AM/SW 8G005 ca 1948
RCA 1R91 Livingston AM/FM ca 1948
Zenith 7H820 AM/FM (old and new bands) ca 1948
GE 547PH AM Clock Radio w/ Phono input ca 1956
Emerson 859 Pocket Transistor, ca 1955
Emerson 888 Transistor ca 1956
Sears Silvertone Silvertone (Arvin) 1025 AM FM Stereo (via AM FM simulcast), Phono / Aux inputs ca 1958
Telefunken "Allegro" 5083W AM FM (w/ "Stereo" amp for stereo external inputs and extra speaker) ca 1960
Fisher 800 C AM/FM Stereo w/ Phono / Tape inputs, Stereo via AM FM Simulcast or Multiplex
SABA Trans-Europa I AM/FM/LW/SW Portable (available with slide-in bracket for car) ca 1965
Various Boomboxes, AM FM Stereo Cassettes, CD Players that I have not catalogued, and other radios that are not iconic

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