[Greggshere]

Great Job, it is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

[rfeenstra]

thank you!  got a couple of coats of clear on it today.  I'll let that dry for a couple of days and then a final sanding.  Then a couple of wet, finish coats.  There has to be an easier way!

[rfeenstra]

A big thank you to Russ!  I took your suggestion on VD Walnut toner and am very pleased with the result.  You were correct - it doesn't take much!  I thought I was ready for the final coats of lacquer. Unfortunately, my foot got caught in the sprayer hose while spraying one of the final coats of lacquer and stopped the motion for a second causing a run.  Now I have to sand that out.  I may do some wet sanding on the burled walnut and the top,  then a final couple of coats of lacquer.

It's really tough to get a good color balance on photos taken with incandescent and florescent lights in the shop.  the photos don't perfectly reflect the actual colors.  The Van Dyke brown toner not only helped mask the transition but got rid of some of the red on the trim pieces.  They are a little darker than the original, but I like it.  This cabinet has been a great learning experience in using toners etc.  I'm too old to ever catch up to Russ's expertise, though!!!  Having fun, and I appreciate that. 

               

[rfeenstra]

Not a huge visual change, but a lot of hours difference.  Some toner, several coats of lacquer  and a lot of sanding gives me this.  In a couple of weeks I'll rub it out. for production furniture, they sure know how to make it pretty!

           

[rfeenstra]

Couldn't resist!  I'll play this for the next couple of weeks while I wait for the lacquer to fully dry before rubbing it out.  Sounds great for a 1932 radio. Did a video but it gets too big to post.

   

[Greggshere]

It's Gorgeous! Really nice job.

[Phlogiston]

Good job.

[rfeenstra]

Thanks guys. Russ,  I liked the light on your 15 so I decided to add an easily removable light on on here.  I can't seem to get rid of the grainy photo!

[klondike98]

Very nice!!!!

[Nathan Slingerland]

Really beautiful job! You should be very proud of it - came out perfect.

[rfeenstra]

Thanks!  I listen to it regularly but am having a couple of tube issues.  I want to keep all globe tubes in it but am having issues with more than 1.  Microphonics and slow warmup with sound coming on very suddenly with a pop, rather than slowly coming up in volume.  I haven't taken the time to substitute tubes to find the culprits.

Another odd thing in the finish.  If you look at the bottom of the sound board, you'll see bubbles at the intersection.  It appears that later layers of lacquer pulled away from the first layers.  Not sure why.  Trying to repair that not so serious issue.

[Phlogiston]

27s (UY227s) can make all kinds of noises. Sometimes a really hot tube is not the best choice. They are notorious for having H - K leakage.

[mark123]

Hi rfeenstra -

Nice work. Was curious as to how you treated the fluted columns on both sides. The grooves look much darker than the surrounding material. Very striking. Did you intentionally tone these grooves somehow or do they just appear darker because of shadow effect?

[EdHolland]

I think that is perhaps one of the most elegant pieces of radio cabinet design I have ever seen, and your restoration brings out the absolute best in it. Well done, sir!

[rfeenstra]

Thanks! It is a nice cabinet though I like the 15 with the legs better.

Mark123: The fluted pieces are toned dark.  I masked them off and used toner until they were as dark as they were originally.  if you look at the beginning of this thread, you will see a photo of the original finish.  You can see where the original toner in the flutes came off due to this thing having set in water at one time.