[Ron Ramirez]

Folks, there is a new fellow in town, and he is making accurate reproduction cabinets for Philco Models 16B (cathedral), 17B, 18B, 19B, 71B and 91B.

Take a good look at these two Philco 16B cathedrals.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/16B/16b_26.jpg]

Now tell me:

Which one is a genuine, authentic, 1933-34 Philco 16B cabinet (it has been refinished, though), and which one is a reproduction cabinet?



More to come...and I will reveal the source of the new supplier on Friday (and no, it isn't me...I'm nowhere near that talented...cabinets are a weak point with me, I much prefer electronic restorations).

[Ron Ramirez]

Bump.

Anyone care to guess? Which cabinet is which?

[gary rabbitt]

Hi Ron,
I am going to say the cabinet on the left is the repro. I see a couple of things on the right cabinet but I won't say what.

The cabinet looks great, and I doubt most non-collectors would not know the difference. Will check back when you reveal the details.
Take care,
Gary.

[John R]

Hi,
I'M no expert however I agree with Gary that the left cabinet is not the original. I do see a few minor details that hint at it
being the repro. If so it is a very good reproduction.
John

[Steve Chambers]

I'd say the cabinet on the left is the reproduction. It's very good. It seems as though the cutouts just above the escutcheon are not quite the same as the original. The curves are not quite deep enough and the peak of the wood extends too far above the escutcheon. I have to say though I had to run upstairs and look at my 16B to be sure. Whoever is doing this is very skilled. The grain on the veneer looks just like my 91, especially on the front face.

Steve Chambers

[Chuck Schwark]

Left cabinet is repro. VERY good!

[DeckApe]

I'm going to go left cabinet as the repro as well, and I'll even say why--the one on the right appears in the photo to have a veneer repair near the top of the arch. And that's even after noting the speaker cloth on the right is in better shape.

[Glenn Roberts]

I vote for the one on the left as well.;-).
Glenn

[codefox1]

I'm leaning toward believing the left hand photo is the repro. But I could be wrong. The grille cloth on the left hand photo needs to be replaced (unless this is a reflection.) The photo on the right seems to have some wear marks, but that could be intentional. The trim color is correct on the right from other examples I have seen, but that doesn't mean the left hand photo is the original, and it was refinished.

I guess we all pretty much like to make old cbinets look like new. Lets see some views of the bottom and inside, then we'll know for sure. One thing about the cathedral shape is you never see a flowerpot ring on top.

Both examples are very nice though.

[Ron Ramirez]

You guys are good! Yes, the cabinet on the left in my first post is the reproduction cabinet.

To review, here's my old, rough, 16B cathedral.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/16B/16B_1.jpg]

Now, here's the same 16B chassis, speaker, and knobs in a new, reproduction cabinet.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/16B/16b_27.jpg]

I put the original cloth from my old, rough 16B cabinet in the new, reproduction cabinet to see if I could fool anyone. But you guys have sharp eyes.

The "new fellow" - the identity of whom I shall reveal tomorrow - can also reproduce Philco 17B, 18B, 19B, 71B and 91B cabinets, and he will also offer reproduction bottom trim for these cabinets.

Here's a reproduction 17B:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/17B/17b_08.jpg]

and a 19B:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/19B/19b_01.jpg]

[Chuck Schwark]

Fantastic cabinets! "Factory fresh!"

BTW, does every 19B cabinet come with a house
fly, or just on the prototype pictured?

He could start a trend!

Chuck

[Ron Ramirez]

It's time to reveal the source of these cool new reproduction Philco cabinets.

First, let me say that I have two of these now in my possession - a 16B cathedral and a 17B. Both of these are pictured above. I am very impressed with the quality and workmanship of these cabinets. As far as I am concerned, these look like they were pulled from a time capsule from 1933; and the fact that we will now have these cabinets available to us is nothing but great news to the radio collecting community.

Let's say you have a Philco cathedral that you would like to keep, but the cabinet is on the verge of firewood quality, such as the rough 16B cathedral pictured above. It's very much worth while to obtain a new, reproduction cabinet versus spending a long time trying to salvage a very rough cabinet.

Another example: You find a Philco chassis that you want to make part of your collection, and then try for years to find a cabinet. This was the case with the 17B I now have - I have owned a chassis for several years now, but I never did find an original 17B cathedral cabinet. Now, I have a reproduction 17B cabinet that, as far as I am concerned, is just as nice as an original. Actually, it is much nicer, because it does not have the bumps, scratches and flaws of a 78 year old cabinet.

The cabinets are being offered by Steve Davis, and these are handcrafted right here in the USA by Steve and Theresa.

For the purists, notice that Steve marks each cabinet as a reproduction - see this bottom view of the 16B cabinet:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/16B/16b_21.jpg]

If you can't see it very well in the photo above, here is a close-up:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/16B/16b_22.jpg]

Steve and Theresa are also offering reproduction trim for 1932-34 Philco cathedrals:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/16B/16b_29.jpg]

There will be a web page, hopefully available within the coming week, with more details and photos of the cabinets and parts being offered. When the page is ready, I will announce it here.

For now, please contact Steve for more information on how you can obtain one of these fine cabinets, or the trim for same:

stevd47 AT aol DOT com

While you're writing to him, how about saying thank you to Steve and Theresa for making these products available to us?

[Ron Ramirez]

Prices are as follows (and those of you out there who are cheapskates...you'd better be sitting down, because you won't believe how low these prices are):

PRICES FOR CABINETS:

Complete reproduction 21, 35, 46 or 70 Baby Grand cabinet, unfinished: $250

Complete reproduction 90 Baby Grand cabinet, unfinished: $275

Complete reproduction 16B, 17B, 43B or 91B cabinet, unfinished: $220

Complete reproduction 18B, 44B or 71B cabinet, unfinished: $210

Complete reproduction 19B cabinet, unfinished: $200

Complete reproduction 89B cabinet (flat-face as shown above), unfinished: $180

Add $175 to finish any cabinet in lacquer, hand rubbed, satin finish with pores filled to give a beautiful, smooth "piano finish."

Reproduction cabinets do not include grille cloth, chassis, escutcheon or knobs.

Contact Steve for shipping costs on complete cabinets.

PRICES FOR BOTTOM TRIM AND SPEAKER BOLTS:

Set of bottom trim for Models 21, 35, 46 or 70 cathedrals (one piece or two piece style): $25

Set of bottom trim for Model 90 cathedrals (one piece or two piece styles): $35

Set of bottom trim for Model 60B or any of the "Clyde Shuler" style cathedral cabinets: $20

One pair (set of two) reproduction speaker bolts - $6.00/pair

Prices subject to change.

I expect Steve will soon be overwhelmed with orders!

Prices for all cabinets and cabinet parts will be given in his web page which will hopefully be up within the following week if at all possible. I'll provide a link here when that page is ready.

Finally, I am not a part of Steve and Theresa's cabinet replication business, nor do I profit financially from the sale of any of their products. I only wanted to let the collecting community know about what I think are really great items now available to us! (And I am also very grateful to now own the prototype 16B and 17B cabinets, which I like very much indeed.)

[TA Forbes]

Gosh!!!! Very nice work!!! I just sent an email to Steve to see if he would be interested in doing a Philco 43 cabinet for me. As I mentioned before, my 43 has about 1/2 inch ground from the top of the cabinet arch.

Color me impressed!!!!

[Ron Ramirez]

There is a webpage now online which gives more information about these cabinets, and also the reproduction trim and speaker mounting bolts being offered by Steve.

http://www.philcoradio.com/davis.htm

Check it out!