Philco 38-7 CS restoration
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It's finally time to tackle the modified 38-7 chairside I picked up over two years ago. I was in pretty good condition except that someone hacked in a 78 rpm turntable 
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I decided that had to go. First, I stripped the cabinet. Then, patched in the hole with a combination of wood and filler. Finally, some new bookmatched veneer was applied.
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No more hole 
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Joined: Dec 2008
City: Chicago, IL
That leaves this panel to patch up. From what I've seen in photos of others sets, the cutout at the top is original. I think it was for ventilation ? Or maybe to allow for easy removal. I think the radio chassis was serviced via this removable panel.
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City: Clayton, NC
Nice job covering the hack job! I have a model 650 MX that needs a total re-skin. Previous owner stripped ALL the veneer off of it. Not sure I'm up to the task, at least for now.
Does the cone centric tuning work on your set? I have heard that they can be tempermental....
Posts: 797
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Joined: Dec 2008
City: Chicago, IL
Thanks! I'm not crazy about applying new veneer, but luckily this was a small job and went smoothly.
I haven't finished restoring it electrically yet. So far, I have cleaned the gunk out of the mechanism and re-lubed it. It operates smoothly now and I hope electrically too. Worst case scenario I have a spare cone-centric assembly salvaged from a 38-4 I can use.
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City: Sandwick, BC, CA
What sort of putty did you use to help fill the hole in the shelf? Auto body filler? As for the hacked up access penel I would be tempted to make a duplicate out of Baltic birch plywood of the correct thickness and veneer it rather then trying to patch the old one, it would be less work if you have the right tools.
I need to do some similar work to a Philco 620 cabinet, someone took a disk sander to the front and crudely carved two holes in the top. A friend of mine fixed it up as best as he could and gave it to me as a Christmas gift but you can still see the scars up close, he stained the cabinet dark so it wouldn't show as much but I still think that I will redo it at some point.
Regards
Arran
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I cut a piece of hardwood to fill most of the void and filled in the rest with Minwax high performance wood filler. It really stinks, but sets up fast and sands easily.
Aside from a drill press, all I have are a few hand tools. I figure I can patch the holes and apply new veneer like I did one the shelf.
I've been applying Constantine walnut paste grain filler tonight and am almost done.
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City: Sandwick, BC, CA
Bob;
I was just thinking, if you don't have many tools or the time maybe you could contact Steve Davis if you need some cabinet parts made up. In don't know if he will make any part of any model Philco (or other makes and models) but he makes reproduction cabinets and parts for the 1932-34 Philco line that are frighteningly authentic.
Regards
Arran
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City: Clayton, NC
I'll second the motion about Steve. Excellent workmanship!
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City: Ferdinand
State, Province, Country: Indiana
Motion carries. Steve does amazing cabinet work. 
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Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
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City: Sandwick, BC, CA
It's a little off topic but does Steve make parts for non Philco cabinets too?
Regards
Arran
Posts: 797
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Joined: Dec 2008
City: Chicago, IL
I'm curious too. My RCA 222 had it's legs amputated and I'd like to have new ones made.
I finished with the grain filler and have moved on to lacquer sanding sealer. The changing grain orientation makes sanding a challenge.
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Joined: Oct 2008
City: Merrick, Long Island, NY
Your work is absolutely stunning. Don't know what the original legs looked like, but there are at least 100 ways to make them up again at least including scrounging, lathe, planing, etc... Take your time.
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Thanks! I've been collecting pictures of the original RCA 222 legs and lower shelf. Someday I'll scrape up some money and have replicas made.
I finished with sanding and moved on to toner lacquer.
First, I masked off the area around the lower shelf and sprayed a few light coats.
Once that dried, I masked it off and sprayed the top. Next up I'll move on to the sides.
I find it a lot easier to work in small sections rather than attempt to get an even coat over the whole cabinet at once.
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Posts: 13,776
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Joined: Sep 2005
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State, Province, Country: Indiana
Looks great. No one will ever know about the hack job done to it at one time.
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Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
Posts: 1,400
Threads: 70
Joined: Oct 2007
City: Linn Creek, MO
Bandersen, You have done a wonderful job repairing the hole in your cabinet.
Arran Wrote:It's a little off topic but does Steve make parts for non Philco cabinets too?
Regards
Arran
Yes, I would make a one off part for a non Philco cabinet (or a Philco that I don't normally make reproduction parts for), if it is within my capability.
Steve
M R Radios C M Tubes
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