marv
:Hi all, Has anyone refinished any of the paper over wood radios? This one is pretty bad. Do you have to take the paper off and just rely on the wood(my guess). Probably just pine underneath I suspect. And while on this subject has anyone used Bret's videos. They look as though they're good. Thanks for any light shed on this. John
I have a Motorola phono/radio with a zebra faux inlay across the bottom. The case has a crack, so I was thinking of refinishing it anyway. I really don't care all that much for the zebra...to me it looks a bit cheesy. How would you recommend that I remove it?
Paul
:John,
:This may or may not help. I took a full size .jpg of woodgrained paper band across the top edge of the tilt-out phono tray on a Philco 42-1008. Then cleaned it up and sized it properly w/PhotoShop. Printed it then several coats of cellulose lacquer, before gluing it to the bare wood. I tried reproducing it manually several times, but not being an artist, was unsuccessful. I have before/after .jpg's by email if interested.
:
:marv
:
::Hi all, Has anyone refinished any of the paper over wood radios? This one is pretty bad. Do you have to take the paper off and just rely on the wood(my guess). Probably just pine underneath I suspect. And while on this subject has anyone used Bret's videos. They look as though they're good. Thanks for any light shed on this. John
marv
:: Marv,
:
:I have a Motorola phono/radio with a zebra faux inlay across the bottom. The case has a crack, so I was thinking of refinishing it anyway. I really don't care all that much for the zebra...to me it looks a bit cheesy. How would you recommend that I remove it?
:
:Paul
:
::John,
::This may or may not help. I took a full size .jpg of woodgrained paper band across the top edge of the tilt-out phono tray on a Philco 42-1008. Then cleaned it up and sized it properly w/PhotoShop. Printed it then several coats of cellulose lacquer, before gluing it to the bare wood. I tried reproducing it manually several times, but not being an artist, was unsuccessful. I have before/after .jpg's by email if interested.
::
::marv
::
:::Hi all, Has anyone refinished any of the paper over wood radios? This one is pretty bad. Do you have to take the paper off and just rely on the wood(my guess). Probably just pine underneath I suspect. And while on this subject has anyone used Bret's videos. They look as though they're good. Thanks for any light shed on this. John
It's definitely mounted on a substrate all right...you can see a pretty defined leading edge. I usually prefer not to drastically refinsh cabinets, but in this case, simply because there's a significant crack on the one side with some splintering, I am thinking of replacing the faux with a nice contrasting veneer of some sort...bird's eye or burl. The zebra's got to go, I'm afraid.
Paul
:Paul,
:Assuming all the horror stories about Philco faux finishes (paper) were correct, tried removal with a knife, scraper etc. In my case, it acted like enamel over a thin substrate (celluloid/paper??) that had printed-on wood grain, then sponge work contrast. I used paint/varnish remover down to bare wood. It came off in a gooey mess, much like old varnish.
:
:marv
:
::: Marv,
::
::I have a Motorola phono/radio with a zebra faux inlay across the bottom. The case has a crack, so I was thinking of refinishing it anyway. I really don't care all that much for the zebra...to me it looks a bit cheesy. How would you recommend that I remove it?
::
::Paul
::
:::John,
:::This may or may not help. I took a full size .jpg of woodgrained paper band across the top edge of the tilt-out phono tray on a Philco 42-1008. Then cleaned it up and sized it properly w/PhotoShop. Printed it then several coats of cellulose lacquer, before gluing it to the bare wood. I tried reproducing it manually several times, but not being an artist, was unsuccessful. I have before/after .jpg's by email if interested.
:::
:::marv
:::
::::Hi all, Has anyone refinished any of the paper over wood radios? This one is pretty bad. Do you have to take the paper off and just rely on the wood(my guess). Probably just pine underneath I suspect. And while on this subject has anyone used Bret's videos. They look as though they're good. Thanks for any light shed on this. John
Personally, though I wouldn't want to do a whole radio in zebrawood, if applied in the right places I think that it might look quite interesting, if not a bit modern, which often was the theme on those radios. If anything, the name is what makes it sound strange.
Regardless of what you choose, fine woodworking stores carry many kinds of veneer, so you can make the radio look the way you want. I only wish that the woodworking store in my area carried woods with more fire and detail, such as interesting cuts of oak or walnut. I suppose that the interesting cuts are rare, though, and are often from old growth. I was refinishing a Hamilton clock for a friend of mine once, and it had a chip in the rather ornate bookmatched walnut veneer in front. I used what walnut I had at hand, and it was quite boring. I wound up disguising the repair spot a bit with colored varnish, so that it'd look like a gently fading stain--a slightly darker area.
T.
It's really ashame that I have to do anything to this radio at all...the cabinet was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, well, until UPS smashed it up...thank goodness they honored the insurance claim, so I got it for free:
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WOOD-MOTOROLA-TUBE-RADIO-WITH-PHONOGRAPH_W0QQitemZ250201708064QQihZ015QQcategoryZ38034QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I did recap it already. Sounds really good, but this is the one that I have having trouble picking up broadcasts on the high end of the dial. I don't see any breaks in the Aero Vane...still investigating.
When I do refinish it, I am planning on masking off the nice lattice and surround, keeping that original. I will probably go with darker edges that comprise the legs, and lighten up the rest to highlight the lattice. You can see the zebra on the bottom...I was thinking perhaps replacing that with a veneer similar to what is within the lattice? What do you think?
Paul
:I remember the first time I saw greenish inlays (I forgot what wood that is) on Zenith radios. I thought it was a bit strange, but it also looks sort of exotic. Knowning that Zenith radios were high-end helps me understand why finer and rarer woods were used.
:
:Personally, though I wouldn't want to do a whole radio in zebrawood, if applied in the right places I think that it might look quite interesting, if not a bit modern, which often was the theme on those radios. If anything, the name is what makes it sound strange.
:
:Regardless of what you choose, fine woodworking stores carry many kinds of veneer, so you can make the radio look the way you want. I only wish that the woodworking store in my area carried woods with more fire and detail, such as interesting cuts of oak or walnut. I suppose that the interesting cuts are rare, though, and are often from old growth. I was refinishing a Hamilton clock for a friend of mine once, and it had a chip in the rather ornate bookmatched walnut veneer in front. I used what walnut I had at hand, and it was quite boring. I wound up disguising the repair spot a bit with colored varnish, so that it'd look like a gently fading stain--a slightly darker area.
:
:T.
marv
:Thomas,
:
:It's really ashame that I have to do anything to this radio at all...the cabinet was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, well, until UPS smashed it up...thank goodness they honored the insurance claim, so I got it for free:
:
:http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WOOD-MOTOROLA-TUBE-RADIO-WITH-PHONOGRAPH_W0QQitemZ250201708064QQihZ015QQcategoryZ38034QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
:
:I did recap it already. Sounds really good, but this is the one that I have having trouble picking up broadcasts on the high end of the dial. I don't see any breaks in the Aero Vane...still investigating.
:When I do refinish it, I am planning on masking off the nice lattice and surround, keeping that original. I will probably go with darker edges that comprise the legs, and lighten up the rest to highlight the lattice. You can see the zebra on the bottom...I was thinking perhaps replacing that with a veneer similar to what is within the lattice? What do you think?
:
:Paul
:
::I remember the first time I saw greenish inlays (I forgot what wood that is) on Zenith radios. I thought it was a bit strange, but it also looks sort of exotic. Knowning that Zenith radios were high-end helps me understand why finer and rarer woods were used.
::
::Personally, though I wouldn't want to do a whole radio in zebrawood, if applied in the right places I think that it might look quite interesting, if not a bit modern, which often was the theme on those radios. If anything, the name is what makes it sound strange.
::
::Regardless of what you choose, fine woodworking stores carry many kinds of veneer, so you can make the radio look the way you want. I only wish that the woodworking store in my area carried woods with more fire and detail, such as interesting cuts of oak or walnut. I suppose that the interesting cuts are rare, though, and are often from old growth. I was refinishing a Hamilton clock for a friend of mine once, and it had a chip in the rather ornate bookmatched walnut veneer in front. I used what walnut I had at hand, and it was quite boring. I wound up disguising the repair spot a bit with colored varnish, so that it'd look like a gently fading stain--a slightly darker area.
::
::T.
The zebra IS really distracting...well, apparently to us anyway. I really feel that if it were eliminated, and with the lighter shades around the lattice, completely bordered by the darker legs, the lattice will jump out from the front of the cabinet. It's very detailed and quite attractive...I liked it enough to buy the radio anyway. While we're on the topic of this Motorola 58-FRC radio/phono...the phono doesn't work. Do you suppose it's 78 or 33 1/3 RPM or perhaps both? It does have a mechanism that allows you to select the size of record, thereby repositioning the stylus. If it's 33 1/3 RPM, I'll fix it. It's probably not worth the trouble at 78.
Paul
:Paul,
:The same Philco I mentioned had the Zebra wood pattern on the 6 vertical grille bars afront the speaker, and horiz. across the top at the veneer junction of cherry and curly maple band. This horiz. band distracted from the beauty of the cabinet, and was raised above the finish of the cherry/maple veneers, so eliminated it. The pattern on the grille bars was inset/glued below the raised vertical edges. I found another restorer on the web that had duplicated this wood in several .jpg's. I copied a couple with what appeared to be the exact tone/pattern/color, then sized (5/8' x 22") for my application in Photoshop. Placed 8 dups on a 24" x 14" canvas, and had that reproduced on shiny paper (not photo) at a local print shop. Several coats of clear cellulose lacquer, then cut the individual strips and glued to the grille bars. Overcoated with several more coats of lacquer.
:
:marv
::Thomas,
::
::It's really ashame that I have to do anything to this radio at all...the cabinet was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, well, until UPS smashed it up...thank goodness they honored the insurance claim, so I got it for free:
::
::http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WOOD-MOTOROLA-TUBE-RADIO-WITH-PHONOGRAPH_W0QQitemZ250201708064QQihZ015QQcategoryZ38034QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
::
::I did recap it already. Sounds really good, but this is the one that I have having trouble picking up broadcasts on the high end of the dial. I don't see any breaks in the Aero Vane...still investigating.
::When I do refinish it, I am planning on masking off the nice lattice and surround, keeping that original. I will probably go with darker edges that comprise the legs, and lighten up the rest to highlight the lattice. You can see the zebra on the bottom...I was thinking perhaps replacing that with a veneer similar to what is within the lattice? What do you think?
::
::Paul
::
:::I remember the first time I saw greenish inlays (I forgot what wood that is) on Zenith radios. I thought it was a bit strange, but it also looks sort of exotic. Knowning that Zenith radios were high-end helps me understand why finer and rarer woods were used.
:::
:::Personally, though I wouldn't want to do a whole radio in zebrawood, if applied in the right places I think that it might look quite interesting, if not a bit modern, which often was the theme on those radios. If anything, the name is what makes it sound strange.
:::
:::Regardless of what you choose, fine woodworking stores carry many kinds of veneer, so you can make the radio look the way you want. I only wish that the woodworking store in my area carried woods with more fire and detail, such as interesting cuts of oak or walnut. I suppose that the interesting cuts are rare, though, and are often from old growth. I was refinishing a Hamilton clock for a friend of mine once, and it had a chip in the rather ornate bookmatched walnut veneer in front. I used what walnut I had at hand, and it was quite boring. I wound up disguising the repair spot a bit with colored varnish, so that it'd look like a gently fading stain--a slightly darker area.
:::
:::T.
:: Marv,
:
:The zebra IS really distracting...well, apparently to us anyway. I really feel that if it were eliminated, and with the lighter shades around the lattice, completely bordered by the darker legs, the lattice will jump out from the front of the cabinet. It's very detailed and quite attractive...I liked it enough to buy the radio anyway. While we're on the topic of this Motorola 58-FRC radio/phono...the phono doesn't work. Do you suppose it's 78 or 33 1/3 RPM or perhaps both? It does have a mechanism that allows you to select the size of record, thereby repositioning the stylus. If it's 33 1/3 RPM, I'll fix it. It's probably not worth the trouble at 78.
:
:Paul
:
:
::Paul,
::The same Philco I mentioned had the Zebra wood pattern on the 6 vertical grille bars afront the speaker, and horiz. across the top at the veneer junction of cherry and curly maple band. This horiz. band distracted from the beauty of the cabinet, and was raised above the finish of the cherry/maple veneers, so eliminated it. The pattern on the grille bars was inset/glued below the raised vertical edges. I found another restorer on the web that had duplicated this wood in several .jpg's. I copied a couple with what appeared to be the exact tone/pattern/color, then sized (5/8' x 22") for my application in Photoshop. Placed 8 dups on a 24" x 14" canvas, and had that reproduced on shiny paper (not photo) at a local print shop. Several coats of clear cellulose lacquer, then cut the individual strips and glued to the grille bars. Overcoated with several more coats of lacquer.
::
::marv
:::Thomas,
:::
:::It's really ashame that I have to do anything to this radio at all...the cabinet was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, well, until UPS smashed it up...thank goodness they honored the insurance claim, so I got it for free:
:::
:::http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WOOD-MOTOROLA-TUBE-RADIO-WITH-PHONOGRAPH_W0QQitemZ250201708064QQihZ015QQcategoryZ38034QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
:::
:::I did recap it already. Sounds really good, but this is the one that I have having trouble picking up broadcasts on the high end of the dial. I don't see any breaks in the Aero Vane...still investigating.
:::When I do refinish it, I am planning on masking off the nice lattice and surround, keeping that original. I will probably go with darker edges that comprise the legs, and lighten up the rest to highlight the lattice. You can see the zebra on the bottom...I was thinking perhaps replacing that with a veneer similar to what is within the lattice? What do you think?
:::
:::Paul
:::
::::I remember the first time I saw greenish inlays (I forgot what wood that is) on Zenith radios. I thought it was a bit strange, but it also looks sort of exotic. Knowning that Zenith radios were high-end helps me understand why finer and rarer woods were used.
::::
::::Personally, though I wouldn't want to do a whole radio in zebrawood, if applied in the right places I think that it might look quite interesting, if not a bit modern, which often was the theme on those radios. If anything, the name is what makes it sound strange.
::::
::::Regardless of what you choose, fine woodworking stores carry many kinds of veneer, so you can make the radio look the way you want. I only wish that the woodworking store in my area carried woods with more fire and detail, such as interesting cuts of oak or walnut. I suppose that the interesting cuts are rare, though, and are often from old growth. I was refinishing a Hamilton clock for a friend of mine once, and it had a chip in the rather ornate bookmatched walnut veneer in front. I used what walnut I had at hand, and it was quite boring. I wound up disguising the repair spot a bit with colored varnish, so that it'd look like a gently fading stain--a slightly darker area.
::::
::::T.
Hmmm...well, I guess then the questions are where the heck I begin looking for a motor, as I have voltage there but no rotation...and then, how much can I expect to pay for one? I dread even asking these. LOL
Paul
:Paul,
:I suggest it is for both 10" & 12" 78's only. I still have about 200 old 78's. I did make a changer change though. The orig. was Philco's Beam of Light, but missing when I got it. Those things, even in need of restoring are scarce. A friend offered a later (much) 4 speed free (16, 33 1/3, 45, 78), which I adapted to the tilt out phono compartment, and added some circuit enhancements for the newer cartridge. Plays fine on 3 speeds, but don't have any of the 16 RPM talking books. Even with my changes, got a premium sale price.
:
::: Marv,
::
::The zebra IS really distracting...well, apparently to us anyway. I really feel that if it were eliminated, and with the lighter shades around the lattice, completely bordered by the darker legs, the lattice will jump out from the front of the cabinet. It's very detailed and quite attractive...I liked it enough to buy the radio anyway. While we're on the topic of this Motorola 58-FRC radio/phono...the phono doesn't work. Do you suppose it's 78 or 33 1/3 RPM or perhaps both? It does have a mechanism that allows you to select the size of record, thereby repositioning the stylus. If it's 33 1/3 RPM, I'll fix it. It's probably not worth the trouble at 78.
::
::Paul
::
::
:::Paul,
:::The same Philco I mentioned had the Zebra wood pattern on the 6 vertical grille bars afront the speaker, and horiz. across the top at the veneer junction of cherry and curly maple band. This horiz. band distracted from the beauty of the cabinet, and was raised above the finish of the cherry/maple veneers, so eliminated it. The pattern on the grille bars was inset/glued below the raised vertical edges. I found another restorer on the web that had duplicated this wood in several .jpg's. I copied a couple with what appeared to be the exact tone/pattern/color, then sized (5/8' x 22") for my application in Photoshop. Placed 8 dups on a 24" x 14" canvas, and had that reproduced on shiny paper (not photo) at a local print shop. Several coats of clear cellulose lacquer, then cut the individual strips and glued to the grille bars. Overcoated with several more coats of lacquer.
:::
:::marv
::::Thomas,
::::
::::It's really ashame that I have to do anything to this radio at all...the cabinet was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, well, until UPS smashed it up...thank goodness they honored the insurance claim, so I got it for free:
::::
::::http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WOOD-MOTOROLA-TUBE-RADIO-WITH-PHONOGRAPH_W0QQitemZ250201708064QQihZ015QQcategoryZ38034QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
::::
::::I did recap it already. Sounds really good, but this is the one that I have having trouble picking up broadcasts on the high end of the dial. I don't see any breaks in the Aero Vane...still investigating.
::::When I do refinish it, I am planning on masking off the nice lattice and surround, keeping that original. I will probably go with darker edges that comprise the legs, and lighten up the rest to highlight the lattice. You can see the zebra on the bottom...I was thinking perhaps replacing that with a veneer similar to what is within the lattice? What do you think?
::::
::::Paul
::::
:::::I remember the first time I saw greenish inlays (I forgot what wood that is) on Zenith radios. I thought it was a bit strange, but it also looks sort of exotic. Knowning that Zenith radios were high-end helps me understand why finer and rarer woods were used.
:::::
:::::Personally, though I wouldn't want to do a whole radio in zebrawood, if applied in the right places I think that it might look quite interesting, if not a bit modern, which often was the theme on those radios. If anything, the name is what makes it sound strange.
:::::
:::::Regardless of what you choose, fine woodworking stores carry many kinds of veneer, so you can make the radio look the way you want. I only wish that the woodworking store in my area carried woods with more fire and detail, such as interesting cuts of oak or walnut. I suppose that the interesting cuts are rare, though, and are often from old growth. I was refinishing a Hamilton clock for a friend of mine once, and it had a chip in the rather ornate bookmatched walnut veneer in front. I used what walnut I had at hand, and it was quite boring. I wound up disguising the repair spot a bit with colored varnish, so that it'd look like a gently fading stain--a slightly darker area.
:::::
:::::T.
marv
:::: Marv
:
:Hmmm...well, I guess then the questions are where the heck I begin looking for a motor, as I have voltage there but no rotation...and then, how much can I expect to pay for one? I dread even asking these. LOL
:
:Paul
:
::Paul,
::I suggest it is for both 10" & 12" 78's only. I still have about 200 old 78's. I did make a changer change though. The orig. was Philco's Beam of Light, but missing when I got it. Those things, even in need of restoring are scarce. A friend offered a later (much) 4 speed free (16, 33 1/3, 45, 78), which I adapted to the tilt out phono compartment, and added some circuit enhancements for the newer cartridge. Plays fine on 3 speeds, but don't have any of the 16 RPM talking books. Even with my changes, got a premium sale price.
::
:::: Marv,
:::
:::The zebra IS really distracting...well, apparently to us anyway. I really feel that if it were eliminated, and with the lighter shades around the lattice, completely bordered by the darker legs, the lattice will jump out from the front of the cabinet. It's very detailed and quite attractive...I liked it enough to buy the radio anyway. While we're on the topic of this Motorola 58-FRC radio/phono...the phono doesn't work. Do you suppose it's 78 or 33 1/3 RPM or perhaps both? It does have a mechanism that allows you to select the size of record, thereby repositioning the stylus. If it's 33 1/3 RPM, I'll fix it. It's probably not worth the trouble at 78.
:::
:::Paul
:::
:::
::::Paul,
::::The same Philco I mentioned had the Zebra wood pattern on the 6 vertical grille bars afront the speaker, and horiz. across the top at the veneer junction of cherry and curly maple band. This horiz. band distracted from the beauty of the cabinet, and was raised above the finish of the cherry/maple veneers, so eliminated it. The pattern on the grille bars was inset/glued below the raised vertical edges. I found another restorer on the web that had duplicated this wood in several .jpg's. I copied a couple with what appeared to be the exact tone/pattern/color, then sized (5/8' x 22") for my application in Photoshop. Placed 8 dups on a 24" x 14" canvas, and had that reproduced on shiny paper (not photo) at a local print shop. Several coats of clear cellulose lacquer, then cut the individual strips and glued to the grille bars. Overcoated with several more coats of lacquer.
::::
::::marv
:::::Thomas,
:::::
:::::It's really ashame that I have to do anything to this radio at all...the cabinet was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, well, until UPS smashed it up...thank goodness they honored the insurance claim, so I got it for free:
:::::
:::::http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WOOD-MOTOROLA-TUBE-RADIO-WITH-PHONOGRAPH_W0QQitemZ250201708064QQihZ015QQcategoryZ38034QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
:::::
:::::I did recap it already. Sounds really good, but this is the one that I have having trouble picking up broadcasts on the high end of the dial. I don't see any breaks in the Aero Vane...still investigating.
:::::When I do refinish it, I am planning on masking off the nice lattice and surround, keeping that original. I will probably go with darker edges that comprise the legs, and lighten up the rest to highlight the lattice. You can see the zebra on the bottom...I was thinking perhaps replacing that with a veneer similar to what is within the lattice? What do you think?
:::::
:::::Paul
:::::
::::::I remember the first time I saw greenish inlays (I forgot what wood that is) on Zenith radios. I thought it was a bit strange, but it also looks sort of exotic. Knowning that Zenith radios were high-end helps me understand why finer and rarer woods were used.
::::::
::::::Personally, though I wouldn't want to do a whole radio in zebrawood, if applied in the right places I think that it might look quite interesting, if not a bit modern, which often was the theme on those radios. If anything, the name is what makes it sound strange.
::::::
::::::Regardless of what you choose, fine woodworking stores carry many kinds of veneer, so you can make the radio look the way you want. I only wish that the woodworking store in my area carried woods with more fire and detail, such as interesting cuts of oak or walnut. I suppose that the interesting cuts are rare, though, and are often from old growth. I was refinishing a Hamilton clock for a friend of mine once, and it had a chip in the rather ornate bookmatched walnut veneer in front. I used what walnut I had at hand, and it was quite boring. I wound up disguising the repair spot a bit with colored varnish, so that it'd look like a gently fading stain--a slightly darker area.
::::::
::::::T.
I have a fine collection of over 1,000 78 rpm records, and I wouldn't have it any other way. When they are clean, and you know a thing or two about needles and cartridges, they have velvety smooth sound with a nice booming bass. I don't consider my records a waste of money or time. I also don't consider my 78 rpm phonographs, with their good looks, to be junk as opposed to the ugly phonos made in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Though many wouldn't go this far, I'd much rather retrofit my original phonographs so that they had more speeds than to drop in a new turntable. For now, however, I keep an ugly modern turntable, with its gentle tracking, out of site for occasional use with my small collection of fine LPs and 45s. One thing you must keep in mind if you ever do convert an old phonograph for multiple speeds is tracking force. Though the new phonographs are uglier, they're much kinder to the records. The tone arm in many an old phonograph lacks the bearing smoothness of some of the more modern, light weight pick-ups. What's okay for 78s is detrimental to vinyl. There are some phonographs, too, from the 1950s and early 60s, which are quite attractive. Mixing 50s/60s styles with 30s/40s styles, however, makes for a big clash as far as aesthetics are concerned.
T.
Paul
:Try some oil for starters. If everything is seized up, disassemble and soak the bearings and rotor in mineral spirits. Dry. Soak felt with light weight oil (5W or 3-in-1). Reassemble. Snug screws. Smack side of frame against bench. Spin shaft to assure free spinning. Tighten screws evenly. Spin shaft again. Be sure that rotor is in correct direction. If you flip it upside-down, the motor will spin backwards. Keep oil off of the drive surface of the shaft. Some rubber drive wheels can be rebuilt with o-rings. Others have to be re-vulcanized. www.west-techservices.com (I may have the hyphen placed incorrectly) will resurface your idlers for a reasonable price.
:
:I have a fine collection of over 1,000 78 rpm records, and I wouldn't have it any other way. When they are clean, and you know a thing or two about needles and cartridges, they have velvety smooth sound with a nice booming bass. I don't consider my records a waste of money or time. I also don't consider my 78 rpm phonographs, with their good looks, to be junk as opposed to the ugly phonos made in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Though many wouldn't go this far, I'd much rather retrofit my original phonographs so that they had more speeds than to drop in a new turntable. For now, however, I keep an ugly modern turntable, with its gentle tracking, out of site for occasional use with my small collection of fine LPs and 45s. One thing you must keep in mind if you ever do convert an old phonograph for multiple speeds is tracking force. Though the new phonographs are uglier, they're much kinder to the records. The tone arm in many an old phonograph lacks the bearing smoothness of some of the more modern, light weight pick-ups. What's okay for 78s is detrimental to vinyl. There are some phonographs, too, from the 1950s and early 60s, which are quite attractive. Mixing 50s/60s styles with 30s/40s styles, however, makes for a big clash as far as aesthetics are concerned.
:
:T.
:Hi all, Has anyone refinished any of the paper over wood radios? This one is pretty bad. Do you have to take the paper off and just rely on the wood(my guess). Probably just pine underneath I suspect. And while on this subject has anyone used Bret's videos. They look as though they're good. Thanks for any light shed on this. John
:John,
: See the post below a ways concerning your Bret's
:Old Radios Video question. I have them and a few other guys have responded that they have them too. I think we all had postive comments about them.
:Bob E.
:
::Hi all, Has anyone refinished any of the paper over wood radios? This one is pretty bad. Do you have to take the paper off and just rely on the wood(my guess). Probably just pine underneath I suspect. And while on this subject has anyone used Bret's videos. They look as though they're good. Thanks for any light shed on this. John