Philco 650B, newly refinished
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Barry Jones, a local radio collector and cabinet refinisher, returned my 650B cabinet to me tonight.
Below, I have posted a single picture showing a "before" shot (left) and and "after" photo (right) which illustrates his work.
[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/ARF/650ba.jpg]
What a difference, eh? 
No, I have not yet restored the chassis. The grille cloth is from an old 1937 Philco console; there was just enough good cloth left to use in this tombstone. The pattern is correct for this model.
I am frankly amazed at how well the front panel looks now. Before, it was very dingy and dirty, darker than the picture at left indicates. Barry fixed the lifting veneer around the tone control shaft which can be seen in the left photo; no damage at all is evident in the right photo.
Whaddya think, folks?
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
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Looks like the photos in your books! ;)
Superb cabinet restoration.....
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Great looking cab Refin Ron!! Saving all that orig grillcloth is very impressive also!! That will be a Pfine Philco once you rebuild the chassis!! Have fun!!  Randal
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Hope my 116B cabinets come out like that. Nice job!
-Brian
If you collect or are interested in antique telephones, please visit Classic Rotary Phones
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Thank you, Chuck, Randal and Brian, but all the credit must go to Barry for this one. Like I said, I have yet to touch the chassis. I only added the grillecloth.
I've sent Barry a link to this page; I'm sure he will appreciate your comments.
The guy does great work with cabinets, quite frankly.
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
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Barry, You do GREAT work indeed!! Absolutely astonishing!! I have a orig 91-L lowboy cab needing attention!! HELP!!! Randal
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It's so refreshing to see that someone knows how to refinish these cabinets right. My 650B turned out sorta like this, but the tinted lacquer on the sides came out a smidge too red. Ron once had a picture of it. Now, I'm ashamed of myself.
And when it'll be re-capped......what a H**l of a radio!
Awright, Ron; I misspelled that word.
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Once recapped, I hope my 650B will be a H**l of a radio also, Doug! 
Ha-ha; word censor in action
Doug, I still have that picture of your 650B around here somewhere.
In case anyone is wondering, the top, sides and trim of my 650B are NOT black, but a very dark brown, very close to the original color.
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
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-Brian
If you collect or are interested in antique telephones, please visit Classic Rotary Phones
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Oh, that is soo nice! I can't wait to get mine fixed up too. 
For lively debate that is Libertarian/Classic Liberal oriented, try Ai-Jane.org. We aim to please.
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Brian, neat videos...thanks for sharing!
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Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
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Really makes you want to get that 650 or the like going eh This sets reception rivals my 116B. I need to do a real side by side comparison when I get my 116B back up & running.
-Brian
If you collect or are interested in antique telephones, please visit Classic Rotary Phones
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Well, now if a 650 can rival a 116, then you have my attention...
Yes, now I'm going to have to find time to restore the chassis of my 650B.
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
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To be fair, the 116B wasn't yet restored(still isn't) but it worked quite well. I also never aligned it to make sure sensitivity was on the up and up. Last time I used was spring of 07 and I don't recall it working any better than this set. In fact I recall SW reception being a little weaker. But again it's not a fair test yet. I need to get going on it again. I have it half way done but I've been to lazy to get back on her  Plus, I have a second one that is complete, but dead. Maybe next year for that one. I need to get both cabinets done. One was damaged in shipping due to poor packing. Long story on that one 
-Brian
If you collect or are interested in antique telephones, please visit Classic Rotary Phones
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I feel your pain, Brian.
If you look at the picture in my first post in this thread, you'll notice veneer damage around the left control - that lifting veneer was caused by poor packaging. The chassis bounced around during shipment, causing that veneer damage. The bolts were also out of the power transformer, for whatever reason, and that flipped up and down during shipment, breaking some wires. One of the back "feet" was also broken.
Barry fixed the cabinet problems, and as you have seen, did a great job.
Fortunately, I have two extra 650 chassis, so one will yield a power transformer for this one.
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
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