[mis4tun81]

Is is sacrilege?

New to the forum, and wanted to find out before I start ripping into it.

My Girlfriend has had in her house a pretty clean Philco looks similar to a Model 37-33F that she got at a garage sale or similar years ago. Thanks to this forum, I will confirm the type next time I see it, I didn't know there were so many models made.

We like to keep the house looking tidy, and are remodeling to make that easier.

What I would like to do is empty the electronics out of the philco, and use the shell to hide the higher tech electronic things in the house. Router, cable box, Blueray player, amp etc.

But after searching online and in this forum this morning I cant find any info on anyone doing something similar.

It has been and always will be decoration. Is there any reason why I should not go for it.

Thanks for all opinions in advance!!!

[jerryhawthorne]

Is it sacrilege? Yes, this is a 73 year old piece of radio history. Makes you wonder where your router, DVD player etc. will be in that amount of time? There is something nice about listening to an old radio play. Of course it is your girlfriends radio and free to do with what you wish. I doubt you will get much encouragement from here on "gutting" it.
Regards, Jerry

[w4rtc]

No, no,no,

[Doug Houston]

There's a new one for you: "Repurpose" New synonym for "trash" (verb).
I fail to understand why our modern self-flattering "artistes" are motivated to taking a piece of well-preserved history, gutting it, and packing some other contemporary items into it, and displaying it as a perverted notion of "art".

Following that rape of an artifact, they often slobber off white paint on it, paint cute flowery things all over it.

Once gutted, painted, and decorated, they call it "shabby". Better name is "garbage".

Better idea: Go out to the appropriate store, buy a cabinet for your modern stereo and sell the vintage item to someone who has a feeling for the preservation of historical things, and they can preserve the item for more time.

The world is overflowing with bad ideas.

[Arran]

What you need is an empty cabinet, there are more then enough of those around of many makes and models. Gutting out a complete old radio is just senseless, especially when it's to follow a stupid design fad. I've never seen one of these "repurposed" radio cabinets that looked good after they were done with it, they just look like butchered radio cabinets. I think you would be much better off either using an already empty radio cabinet, custom building something from scratch, or buying a smaller bookshelf or cabinet with doors from a flea market or garage sale. Have a look at a recent thread in this thread called "Restoration Complete" and you will see why there is more to an old radio then just a wooden box.
Regards
Arran

P.S If it is a model 37-33F, 37-34F, 37-38F, 37-60F, 37-61F, a 37-89F, or a 37-611F that nice grain pattern on the front panel is a faux finish, do not use furniture stripper on it of it will come off.

[shaler78]

mis4tun81 DON'T DO IT! Listen to this Phorum's Experts and Senior Members! If this Philco 37-33F radio is in as good a shape as you say it is, You would get much more satisfaction in restoring the original electronics and use an inexpensive external device (small AM transmitter) to listen to audio thru it. This is a basic 6 tube set that would fairly easy for a beginner to restore. Learn some basic electronics, practice on some old junk with your soldering iron, and learn to read schematic drawings. Some time and patience and last but not least, ask any question on this Phorum for any problems you might have, no matter how vague, and it will be expertly answered here. Believe me, I started out 6 years ago, with absolutely no intentions of any type of restoration, with a decent 40-180X that my wife bought at an antique shop for $25 with the same idea as yours to gut it or repurpose it. I had second thoughts as I was just about to "rip it apart" but then started to carefully disassemble it, saving all old parts. I took all the precautionary steps to clean the chassis and test it as recommended by the good people on this Phorum. I eventually got a hold of some new buttons and a dial scale and proceeded to reassemble everything. It still works quite well sitting in a corner of my living room. I listen to baseball, hockey and football quite often with it. Luckily, Pittsburgh, PA. radio has a few Hall of Fame local team announcers. I now have 4 more Philco and 3 Zenith consoles that I have personally restored to respectability with another Philco on the bench. Once started, I'm now hooked!

[shaler78]

On your original subject, to hide some stuff, I built a small shelf into the back of my restored 39-35 to house a cable modem, internet router, a remote controlled HD cable receiver and an 8 plug surge protector power strip in my family room. As this unit uses only a long wire for an antenna, there is plenty of room in the back of this cabinet, as there should be in your 37-33F, for you to hide all of these devices. If you don't restore original electronics, leave it in the cabinet, cut off the old power cord and at least make a night light with a 6 to 9 volt flashlight bulb and socket wired to a matching low voltage wall wart transformer and programmable timer to illuminate the dial from the back. These small bulbs do not get hot because their low voltage DC current and they last forever. These 4 items can be purchased at Radio Shack for under $20

[chris25260880]

I have to believe there is a special place in H**l awaiting anyone who does this, I had an otherwise sainted grandfather-a carpenter by trade who desecrated an absolutely impeccable 1933 Atwater Kent
living room console and turn it into an insipid bookcase. The entire family, many who had listened to the announcement of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and all of WW II on this radio were furious and those alive are still incensed. Buy an entertainment cabinet
DO NOT DO THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES

[codefox1]

As you wish, but you will not have any reason to continue posting here

[PhilcoMike]

We did what you are thinking with the home A/V electronics by getting a sideboard and cabinet from an old dining room set. If you hinge the fronts of the drawers and allow for proper ventilation you can hide a lot of electronics. Add remote IR controls and you can operate the equipment with the drawers closed.

Mike

[mis4tun81]

I was fully enveloped in one of the top of the line flame suits when I joined and posted this first post. And I appreciate the brutal honesty.

Most of which I was expecting. Also thanks for posting some suitable alternatives. Like the dining cabinet that PhilcoMike suggested.

Don't ever let this thread disappear so others through history know the crime they may be about to commit.

It was my assumption that since there were tens of thousands of each model made every year for decades, and they can be found cheaply and occasionally nearly free all over the place, that doing this would be more common.

I am now leaning towards not doing it.

[Art Hoch]

You would make many of us happy if you keep the radio intact. As was suggested, you might sell it if you can and use the money to purchase something to hold your components.

[mis4tun81]

Doug,

Not exactly sure how to reply with quote on this forum

you wrote :

"RE: Repurpose a Philco
There's a new one for you: "Repurpose" New synonym for "trash" (verb).
I fail to understand why our modern self-flattering "artistes" are motivated to taking a piece of well-preserved history, gutting it, and packing some other contemporary items into it, and displaying it as a perverted notion of "art".

Following that rape of an artifact, they often slobber off white paint on it, paint cute flowery things all over it.

Once gutted, painted, and decorated, they call it "shabby". Better name is "garbage".

Better idea: Go out to the appropriate store, buy a cabinet for your modern stereo and sell the vintage item to someone who has a feeling for the preservation of historical things, and they can preserve the item for more time.

The world is overflowing with bad ideas. "


I am not an artist, and wouldn't consider what I am suggesting art. in the car world they call it resto-mod. My intention was to restore the cabinet to look like it did in the 30's, and modify it to hold all the luxuries available today without having to look at them.

I very much have a great deal of respect for all things vintage. Which is why I asked before getting out the prybar... I just cleaned up an old Schwinn bicycle for my GF to ride in a vintage "tweed" ride this spring. Because she does too.

There are many areas in our lives where we much prefer old over new.

Home entertainment is not one of them, but our problem is, we hate looking at the pieces. The philco has been ignored in the side room for years, and we are looking forward to having it in the new larger living room.

Much more so, than a rack of flashing lights and whirring fans next to the rolltop desk with the computer in it across from her grandmas hutch. Hence my search for combining the two.

Perhaps there is a nondestructive option Like shaler78 suggests, keep it intact and put some of the smaller components in it as is. I also like the idea of getting the dial light to work.

The subwoofer might fit but I fear rattling the Philco to pieces so I probably wont try that.

Thanks again for all opinions.

[mis4tun81]

Art,

Certainly it was not my intention to freely do something that you guys would despise.

The money is not the issue, we like looking at the philco, and despise all the flashing lights that are associated with todays technology, and we have no intention of giving up either.

We were just trying to figure out if a tasteful way exists to merge the two.

and it is clear at least in this world (which I kind of expected) that is not possible.

Which is cool with me.

[mis4tun81]

If you guys came back and said have at it, 30k of those were made and something close can be found in every attic in America, it might have been a different story.