[Scott_Fraser]

I've got a 51-1731 (AM/FM/Phono) that works. The veneer is pretty beat-up, the wooden edging is almost down to the bare wood and there aren't any labels over the control knobs.

[Image: http://www.scottssweaters.com/images/per...-front.JPG]

There's a brand new left over sheet of mahogany veneer laying around my shop, and I was thinking of simply applying this new veneer over the old and bringing it a nice new luster.

Questions:

1. In the world of radio restoration, would it be considered sacrilegious to replace the old veneer with new?

2. If anyone has a closeup showing the control knob labels, it'd be helpful to know what they said and how these labels were applied.

[Image: http://www.scottssweaters.com/images/per...3_dial.JPG]

3. As I began to break-it-down, it seems the interior shelves are supported by wooden brace board that were glued to the side panels. So I'm thinking I'd need to break these bonds to disassemble the side and top panels. Does this sound about right?

[Image: http://www.scottssweaters.com/images/per...k_open.JPG]

4. On the slide-out phonograph, opposite the playing arm, there's a pivoting arm atop a mount. My best guess is that this arm applied pressure to stacked records as they were waiting to drop, thereby keeping them from flopping around. Is this guess anything close to accurate?

[Image: http://www.scottssweaters.com/images/per...oto_CU.JPG]

5. Any idea how these wooden trim board around the front were finished originally. They seem to have a deep mahogany color paint that's since mostly fallen away. Yet I have no idea if this is how these trim boards were originally finished, or this is something applied later.

[Image: http://www.scottssweaters.com/images/per...front2.JPG]

5. The tag notes not only the model number, but "Code 121" as well. I'm curious what this code indicates.

[Image: http://www.scottssweaters.com/images/per...-lbael.JPG]

Thanks,

Scott