[Gene Pederson]

Ron,
I am using Internet Explorer which I have been right along. I may give the Firefox a shot; I used to use that a few years back. I have no trouble on any other site other than Photobucket............

Gene

[Gene Pederson]

Morzh wrote:
Can you look, what is that bracket that goes next to that rod that goes through the center? How is it secured? There is some kind of cloth there at the base, but I am not sure what it is, and what part it plays

I don't know where you are talking about, can you give me a pic?

Gene

[Gene Pederson]

OK got some toning done on the pieces today. Thought I better stop as rain is coming and the humidity is increasing so I didn't want any blushing.

Since this is my first case refinish, I don't expect it to look like a million dollars, but I believe it will be presentable.
[Image: http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z345.../tonee.jpg]
[Image: http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z345.../toned.jpg]
[Image: http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z345.../tonec.jpg]
[Image: http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z345.../toneb.jpg]
[Image: http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z345.../tonea.jpg]

Gene

[morzh]

You know, no matter what anyone says (not close to the original etc) it looks good. Not everyone is an expert enough to critique this. I am certainly not.

The only thing is, I would choose a lighter stain, as, first, the original is lighter quite a bit, and then the black dial looks better with lighter surroundings, due to contrast.

[Gene Pederson]

I started with a lighter stain; "perfect brown", but because I had used some wood filler on some cracks and dings, the filler came out darker than the rest so I had to go to a darker toner to cover.

Like I said, it's my first full cabinet resto and there is a learning curve to this also, but I am enjoying it and I think it will look OK.

Gene

[Arran]

Also don't give up on the idea of finding another cabinet for this set, Rocketeer found one identical to yours (without the sanding damage) at the Kuntztown swap meet so they are out there. I think a lot of 1938 brand Z console chassis are stolen from consoles and used to make fake "Walton" tombstone sets.
Regards
Arran

[Gene Pederson]

I have thought about another cabinet. There is one on the auction site that is about 2 hrs from me, but the guy wants $145 for the case and speaker........not worth it to me. It's a different model case than mine but is in better shape.

Gene

[morzh]

Gene

I put the photos in my thread.

Also, just have found the Zenith full spare parts reference, and there is our Candohm divider, PN 63-570. p.14, right column closer to the bottom, here:

http://www.tuberadios.com/zenith/zenithcomponent.pdf

It is likely it has suffered. A guy at ARF made a guess one of my 11K sections is open (he was not answering any question, he just said "it is there and I can bet it is open", so I guess it is a usual thing).
So check yours just in case.

[Eliot Ness]

Your cabinet is coming along nicely Gene. I like the darker brown look better than if you had used black like you once hinted at. I'm also curious to see how well the Pond Cove Paint graining system works out for you. For your first cabinet refinish you're doing quite well

[Gene Pederson]

Morzh,
Thanks for posting that link!

John,
Thank you for the kind words. Just think, this is keeping me off the streets and out of the bars (although at my age I can't do much damage anymore)

Gene

[Geoff]

I'm not a brand Z aficionado but it also looks like someone may have removed the veneer from the shoulders on top of the cabinet, it would not have been solid wood like that.

I have the exact same model and the top of the shoulders was not veneered. Mine will need some refinishing as well so over time I have collected many photos of this model off of the internet and eBay auctions. None of them were veneered on top of the shoulders. As far as I can tell what you have done to the shoulders is almost exactly as I've seen it in prime unrestored examples. The original color was most likely a solid dark toner.

Question... how did you separate the different sections? On mine I have an area where the top of the right shoulder (from back to front) is separating slightly from where it should be touching the middle body section. I'm a little nervous about putting clamps on it and forcing everything together. I was thinking it might be best to separate the entire right section and reglue it but have no idea how to remove the entire section.

- Geoff

[Arran]

I have the exact same model and the top of the shoulders was not veneered. Mine will need some refinishing as well so over time I have collected many photos of this model off of the internet and eBay auctions. None of them were veneered on top of the shoulders. As far as I can tell what you have done to the shoulders is almost exactly as I've seen it in prime unrestored examples. The original color was most likely a solid dark toner.

I see that now since the edge has a bullnose/rounded over profile, normally if it were veneered it would have an edged profile to give it some seperation, before the green paint was stripped off it looked like it had such an edge. Even though brand Z sets have a rather impressive look it's a rather cheap cabinet design when you get right down to it, but at least they used real veneer for inlay unlike the dinoc crap they used on some of the later models.
As for how to get the cabinet apart I can't answer in this particular case but if it's fairly easy to get apart there should be some blocks with screws holding the major parts together, if not it means they used rabbet joints and glue blocks.
Regards
Arran

[Gene Pederson]

Geoff,
The case is screwed and glued together and there are some dowels used.
As I looked the case over, it appeared that the previous owner had disassembled the case to paint it green. First thing I noticed was that the chassis mounting board wasn't in the case solidly. Apparently he never reglued that. Upon further inspection there appeared to be loose joints in several areas of the case. Here are a couple of pics that show the hammer marks on the underside of those top rounded pieces. If you look you can also see the glue blocks for the chassis board. He glued the case back together, but didn't do a real fine job (which actually helped me out).

So my assesment of the case is: if you want to disassemble it you will have to be very careful nothing gets broken. I used small screwdrivers and chisels to wedge in between the pieces of wood to break the glue bond again. Fortunately nothing broke.

Looking at the consoles I currently have, it doesn't appear that disassembling the cases is a good option. I fear most of them would wind up as scrap wood.
[Image: http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z345...ker/13.jpg]
[Image: http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z345...ker/14.jpg]

Gene

[Geoff]

Gene,

What color toner did you use on the shoulders? It's perfect!

- Geoff

[Arran]

I've only taken one console cabinet apart to this extent, and it was similar but by no means the same as this Zenith. The only reason that I did was because it had been stored in a rather humid basement and most of the joints were very loose and needed regluing alond with some of the veneer which was near impossible to work on while the cabinet was together. Even so I was extremely careful in taking the cabinet apart and it was not easy to do even though have have dismatled earlier floor model cabinets and other furniture before. Pretty well what I had to do was search for every screw, nail, and other fastener and remove them, then I had to gingerly tap and or wedge things apart with a thin bladed putty knife.
It was a Canadian General Electric JK76, and while I managed to get it apart with minimal damage I still haven't finished the project. I would not recommend taking a cabinet apart unless you have a very good reason to do it like extensive moisture or physical damage. In fact I walked away from a 1941 era Canadian Westinghouse set listed on Craigslist because it would have required something similar and the seller was very unrealistic about the asking price.
She figured that she already had that factored in when she set the asking price of $120 dollars just because she foolishly paid $200 for it 20 years ago, had it in her rec room, and then had it stored in a shed to deteriorate for 10 years. 20 years ago it likely still worked and did not have mouse droppings in the back, to me it wasn't worth $50. As I keep explaining to people new to this hobby, it's not just how much a radio costs to buy it's how much it costs to restore it, this Westinghouse would have needed at least $200 worth of work to put it right and it wouldn't have been worth $225 once it was done.
Regards
Arran