[klondike98]

Am working on the cabinet of an 80 Jr which had been in 3 or 4 inches of water at some point.  The veneer buckled and bubbled so I've disassembled the bottom, front and arch to be able to get at gluing down the veneer.  
[Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4jm0ru1e8cxvxy....jpg?raw=1]
[Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sn6398trh3iq7z....jpg?raw=1]
Was able to get the arch away from the front with only one small veneer tear which will glue back together easily.  

Question: When reassembling the arch to the front do you guys glue it back in place or just press fit it into the front and then glue the glue blocks that connect the base to the arch sides??  Thanks!!

[Mondial]

I just finished gluing together a model 80 with a similar problem of water damage at the bottom. It seems that the front panel was originally fastened to the arch by glue in the groove, along with the two glue blocks near the bottom, so that's the way I redid it. Without gluing the groove, the cabinet would be very weak and flexible. Its a pretty flimsy structure overall and needs all the strength you can give it.

[klondike98]

Thanks Mondial. That seems reasonable. I was unsure since it seemed to come apart without all that much effort but that must have meant the old glue was failing. My chassis was a bit rusty on this one as well... but that's a story for a different thread.

[Art Hoch]

I feel for you brother. 8) Here's a picture of my 90 that met the same fate years ago. But there is hope...2nd picture.

[klondike98]

Hey Art, nice job on that!! Thanks for the encouragement. I think these radios must be attracted to wet basement floors! This is my first attempt at repairing a cabinet. Earlier I restored a 42-322 but its cabinet came up very nicely with a good cleaning and some Howards restore-a-finish. This 80 needs more help than that. I'm always amazed at the repair/restoration that some of the folks on this phorum can do with veneer repairs. I do a lot of reading on what people have done but until you actually start into a cabinet and learn by doing it all seems a bit intimidating. Another question: the trim that goes around the base of the front and sides on my 80 was nailed to the base and definitely no longer had any glue if it was ever there. I think that may have been an older repair. Was the trim originally glued to the front and sides or glued & nailed?

[Mondial]

I believe it was glued and nailed. There is no trace of the original glue on mine, but this was the area exposed to the most water. I know the nails are original because they were set below the surface of the trim and then the heads were covered with putty before being sprayed with the toner. My cabinet was never worked on before and there are 3 or 4 nails through each piece of trim.

There were also tiny glue blocks under the radio which also had a nail in each, passing through the bottom into the front and sides.

[klondike98]

Thanks again! There were a couple nails (very rusty) set below the surface which I suspect were original and then some that were not set which I think were the "repair". Those small glue blocks under the radio are also missing. Very helpful!

[Mondial]

Not sure if all 80's had the glue blocks underneath. Mine is a very early model (run #1) which also had the same grille cloth as a 70 or 90. I think I may have seen later models with no glue blocks.

Do you see any nail holes underneath where blocks might have been nailed? There was only one nail per block.

[klondike98]

I don't see any evidence of the small glue blocks but the more I look at the actual base of the cabinet it looks like that might have been a replacement piece of plywood as well. The chassis mounting holes were drilled and then a second set redrilled at a slightly offset position from the first.