[Steve Davis]

Ron, they turned out very nice

Steve

[Ron Ramirez]

Thanks, Steve Coming from a true pro such as yourself, that is a huge compliment indeed!

Glenn - Yes, my reason for starting this thread was two-fold: one, of course, to seek help for myself; and two, to hopefully help others out who would like to do this but are, as you pointed out so well, intimidated by the process (as I was).

I should mention at this point that I have discovered that the proper consistency for grain filler - at least for me, anyway - is more like a gel. A bit thicker than ketchup or mustard. Maybe like honey. Ketchup/mustard consistency, I think, is a bit too thin.

And here is the source of the trouble I was having earlier. I now believe I had my filler thinned too much. And if it is too thin, it won't fill the pores properly.

Today, I went out to the garage and opened up my can of grain filler. It had sat long enough that the mineral spirits were rising to the top, and the solids were settling to the bottom again. I poured some of the liquid off the top, stirred it back up, and found it was now the consistency of gel - or honey, if you will. Just like the filler mixture that Etech sent me.

I started a new project today - a 40-155T. I used Etech's filler on most of it, but used my filler on part of it. I have found that, if the filler mixture tends to run off the surface, it has been thinned too much. If it tends to stay in place on a vertical surface, it seems to be correct. At least, it is working for me now.

I brushed it on, rubbed it into the pores with a piece of an old T-shirt, scraped the excess off after 10-15 minutes. And it appears that this time, I succeeded. The cabinet looks good, and the pores appear to be filled.

[Eliot Ness]

Great thread and very good information Ron!

[codefox1]

Respect Gravity. I always do one side of a cabinet at a time, because I don't have a controlled humidity and temperature environment like a woodworking plant of yore.

But, your results look truly great.

[Ron Ramirez]

Gravity is respected.

Following the advice of many of you (including you, Codefox), my latest applications of grain filler have been done indoors, at my workbench, in a climate-controlled environment (A/C, low humidity).

My confidence is building the more I do this. For those of you who have not tried this, there is no reason to be intimidated. Get some grain filler, maybe practice on a junk cabinet (which I probably should have done), and go for it.

[Ron Ramirez]

I decided to take some photos of the 40-155 I am now working on, to help illustrate what we have been talking about here.

Let us begin by taking a look at the patient.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/5.jpg]

As you can see, it was coated with what appears to be one or two thin coats of lacquer (fortunately, it isn't polyurethane!). The "PHILCO" name and the lettering around the knobs looks like dry transfer lettering instead of decals. The grille cloth is all wrong, as are the 1932-1936 Philco speaker screws.

I had previously repainted the escutcheon. The 1940 escutcheons are painted steel, by the way, not brass.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/6.jpg]

A close-up of the escutcheon, dial glass, and the odd "PHILCO" lettering above the dial. You can easily see open pores in the wood here.

The goal here is to fill those pores, properly refinish the cabinet with Medium Walnut overall, and apply a darker tone on the left and right edges as well as the two "feet" at lower front.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/1.jpg]

And so it begins, after the cabinet was thoroughly wet sanded and dried off. As you can see, I am applying grain filler with a brush, brushing with the grain. The grain filler is the consistency of a gel, or of honey if you prefer.

I forgot to take a photo as I rubbed the filler into the pores with a piece of T-shirt material. But, hey, it's hard to use a camera with your left hand when you are right-handed anyway...

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/2.jpg]

After 10-15 minutes, having allowed the filler to "flash" or begin to set up, I started scraping away the excess with an old credit card. Unlike my experiences with the 38-14 and 39-7 cabinets, the filler seemed to really fill the pores this time and stayed in place as I scraped away the excess.

After repeating this process in sections until the cabinet was completely scraped, I found a problem...

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/3.jpg]

Yes, the top left side was pulling free from the top.

So, I brought out the heavy artillery...some Titebond II wood glue and two long clamps.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/4.jpg]

I'll remove the clamps tomorrow, by which time the cabinet will be ready for sanding, followed by the first coats of lacquer.

[codefox1]

Got me thinking, haven't done one for a while.

I have a set of somewhat disposable plastic spackle knives ranging from 1 to 4 inches which I use for filling grain as well as spackling. Unlike metal ones, you really have to try to damage the fragile veneer. In addition, it is a little easier to maintain an even distribution and motion. I also work at a random angle to the grain, not with or against it. I still like shellac as a substrate and sealer, maybe just I like the fumes, but it does kind of level the playing field and is reversible if you screw it up.

Most top coats will eventually completely fill the pores, again gravity helps, and actually the slower drying finishes tend to level out the surfaces better (remember Bar-Top varnish?)

[Chicago Jimmy]

Ron,
I think you've got the hang of it now! They look fantastic...nice work!
When you get a chance (or you might already have some) could you post pictures of your work bench? I'm sure a lot of us (newbies) would like to see it. Your caps/resistor cabinets,testers etc.

[Ron Ramirez]

As a follow-up, here is the completed 38-14T, after the cabinet was rubbed down with polishing compound, hand waxed, and everything reinstalled in (and on) the cabinet:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/38-14T.jpg]

And here is the completed 39-7T, after the same treatment:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/39-7T.jpg]

The station call letter tabs are new, printed on ivory paper. "WRON" is my Talking House transmitter, set at 660 kc. I set it there because there are no AM stations on 660 within 100 miles of Ferdinand. Plus, having the Talking House set to the low end of the AM band allows any of my radios, including the older ones which do not tune above 1510 kc, to receive my transmitter.

The grille cloth is also new, pattern #14 from Radio Grille Cloth Headquarters.

I still need to clean and polish the knobs on both the 38-14 and 39-7. But both sets are "practically" finished now. Both play quite well, and they don't look too bad.

I've sprayed the lacquer on the 40-155 cabinet. Now, I'm waiting for the lacquer to completely dry before giving it the hand rubbing. Here's how it looks right now:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/41-255.jpg]

One more thing. Don't use staples to hold the grille cloth and backing board in a cabinet with very thin wood! See the closeup of the 38-14T:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/oops.jpg]



Chicago Jimmy - I'll post a photo of my workbench later on. It's quite messy right now.

[etech]

Ron,

It's good to see you got the grain filling technique down pat now. Once you have it, just use the same technique every time and your results will be consistent. I'm glad I was able to help a bit. Your cabinet work is looking very good. Keep up the good work.

Ed

[w4rtc]

Hey this is a good thread, some very good info. I am getting a lot of info to start the Maggie I mentioned in another thread. Ron glad you started this. Joe

[codefox1]

And a dab of oil color followed by a dab of nail polish, and another 10 minutes later should take care of the staple hole. Fill it over flush and rub it out gently the next day.

[vinzer]

I would like to know how they grain filled in the factory I bet they hand a fast way to do it.