[Geoff]

Saw this mentioned in the other forum:

http://richmonddesignsinc.com/the_stratosphere_page_one

What a work of art!

- Geoff

[morzh]

Wow, this is certainly a serious woodworking for grownups.
Looks naissssssssssssss.

[thirtiesradio]

Very nice. Great craftsman!

[PhilcoJohn]

Wow that cabinet took a lot of time to do. You do not see that craftman ship anymore. A very nice job!

[Steve Davis]

All I can say is WOW!!! It would be an understatement to say Kenny is a master craftsman.

Steve

[Eliot Ness]

It is a beautiful work of art. I had the privilege of seeing it in person a few months ago. While not yet completely finished I was able to watch Kenny do some of the intricate inlay work. Kenny was able to source every exotic veneer used on the original cabinet.

[Arran]

You can find most any species in a veneer, it often just a question of price. One good thing about the 1000Z cabinet is that they tell you what species of wood were used in the cabinet in the advertising literature, not every manufacturer did that, and even if they did they did not do so with every model. Often you need to compare the wood on an existing cabinet and take a guess based on comparing it to samples of assorted species and cuts.
One you can't get is Cuban mahogany, not because of an embargo but because it's been a protected tree since the early 1920s, so you have to find another species that looks sort of similar from Africa or South America. But since most people can't tell the difference between black walnut and red oak there would maybe be be 1% of 1% of the population who would know the difference, and I'm not one of them.
Regards
Arran

[PhilcoJohn]

That is a really beautiful Zenith Strat. cabinet! it took a lot of work to get it complete. Hats off to the completed radio and hope their are more to come....

[Richmond Designs]

I thank you guys for all your kind compliments here. I sincerely appreciate it.
Now that I have joined here, I can reply to many things that were said around Radio City, but I won't get into it too deep.
Out of 123 post on the OTHER forum, only about four of them were floundering amongst the extremely respectful and kind ones offered there. All four of those were from Eddie Bauer,..I , I , I mean Brimer.
He gently states that my workmanship is good, but powers full steam ahead to call my cabinet a fake. Even after about 12 post stating that I mark all my duplications,.. he still just kept repeating himself.
His latest offer of constructive criticism to keep the thread alive, is his questioning the hours I claim to have put in on the project. Once again, even after I sent emails and others stated, that those hours included making patterns for every single piece on the cabinet, documentation of measurements, drawings , and all the time it took to create the Strat bible,.... hand made parts and inlay, he still insist that 700 hours was a chin scratcher.
Well, I am certainly glad to be here, and the only reason I would even think of joining another forum is because of Ron Ramirez. He is gentleman of fine integrity and a great friend.
I thank you gentlemen for the nice welcome,and once again the compliments. I also appreciate you all allowing me to clear up a few things about the Strat project.
I wish you all the best of these Happy Holidays.
I sincerely believe 2014 is to be a great year for all of us.
Merry Christmas,
Kenneth Richmond, Jr.

[morzh]

Ken

Maybe because we here do not pretend to be experts in this and masters of that and hold ranks and nobilities and such, we try to learn, and when we see a work of art (which it is) we simply admire it and call it for what it is - a work of art.

And on my part I have to say "I am sorry" to you personally as I judged your cloth pattern buying experience by the eBay feedback (I hope you do not blame me for it - this is what it is for) but then Ron's opinion was to the opposite and his opinion is good enough for me to accept over eBay's.

In any case, welcome and I hope you stay.

Mike.

[Steve Davis]

There are a lot of great guys over on that other forum but there is also a handful that are ready to pick apart anything you do. That is why I seldom post on that forum

As far as saying one should not make a reproduction cabinet for a wonderful and very rare set of chassis that have no cabinet is nonsense.

Steve

[jontz]

Ken,

We are thrilled to have you here! Thank you so much for all your work to get the Chevron pattern reproduced! I have a 37-116 that I had all but given up hope of finding a replacement piece. I ordered two pieces yesterday and I can't wait to see them.

As for your Stratosphere cabinet and certain people's reaction to it, just remember this: Those that can, do. Those that can't, become keyboard commandos and make negative comments from miles away. If you're getting a reaction, it just shows how awesome a job you did!!!

[Phlogiston]

Nice job

[klondike98]

Kenneth, your craftsmanship is superb, the final result is outstanding, and you clearly note that its a reproduction. I'm happy if I can just get the lacquer down without drips and runs. My hat is off to you...keep up the great work.

[Ron Ramirez]

All I can say is WOW!!! It would be an understatement to say Kenny is a master craftsman.

Ditto! Ditto!

I think that 1000Z reproduction is, quite simply, outstanding! Great job, Kenny! And thank you for the kind words also, very much appreciated.