Radio From Hell - Page 2 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

leadlike · #16 11-05-2009, 04:00 PM

Reece,

I won't be able to take any new pictures for a while, as I fell in my front yard, and crushed our digital camera, as it was in my pocket. It won't power up as it is now, and the lcd is clearly broken. I'm hoping to at least get it powered up again....

As for the method of casting, it is simple enough that pictures probably won't be necessary. Just take play-doh right out of the can, flatten it out on a hard surface, and level the top side with a piece of glass or something smooth. You should now have a slab of clay that is of a consistent thickness. Let's pretend you are going to replicate a Zenith "Z" knob-just stick the knob Z face down into the clay (Play-doh contains silicone, so it will help to release your piece from the mold). To get a good mold, put it in as squarely as possible. Pull the knob, and your mold is already ready! This yields a very nice impression, and I'm sure experimenting with other materials you could cast in a wide variety of ways. Anyway, mix up your epoxy in the prescribed 1:1 for a solid knob, or add a little more catalyst than resin to create a rubbery material, this is very hit or miss, but add about 25% more. To fill the mold, pour in a bit at a time, and use a small spatula to spread the epoxy into the nooks and crannies, to help minimize air bubbles. When it is full, set it aside for at least 12 hours. For something as thick as a knob, maybe longer. Once it has sufficiently cured, you can remove it from the mold. The clay mold is a one shot deal, so just yank off the clay in chunks, and scrub the rest off under the sink with a soft brush. With that, VIOLA! You have your casting! For shaping, even 400 grit sandpaper will rapidly take down this stuff, so I use that and a set of needle files. To fill in holes and gaps, I use wood filler putty, and sand it level. For the finished piece, I spray it down with grey primer spraypaint. Hope that helps, if not, ask questions! This is cheap, and encourages experimentation. Good luck.

Reece · #17 11-05-2009, 05:01 PM

Thanks! When you say epoxy for the filler, I know you had referred to JB Weld before, is that what you meant, or some other product? Are there other products that might work, too? Would auto body filler be too brittle?

Reece

bandersen · #18 11-05-2009, 07:12 PM

Very cool!
I think I'll try making a few fine-tuning knobs for VT71s.

leadlike · #19 11-05-2009, 09:44 PM

Reece. in this case it was JB Weld, as I had a lot of that on hand, but I have successfully used lots of other stuff in the past to make my final casting-plaster, hot glue, and wax, for instance. Keep in mind that these will be very low grade castings, so you will need to take quite a bit of time to touch them up when you are done.

This isn't for everybody, but if you have lots of time, labor to expend, and no money, then this is the system to go for. If anyone gives it a go, please post your results!

bandersen · #20 11-05-2009, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leadlike

...
This isn't for everybody, but if you have lots of time, labor to expend, and no money, then this is the system to go for. If anyone gives it a go, please post your results!

Will do. The only thing I don't have on hand is play-doh - time to hit the toy store

leadlike · #21 11-06-2009, 05:18 PM

I hope all of you have been enjoying this restoration log so far. As this was a project where I had a free hand to make the best looking cabinet restoration I possibly could, I only felt it appropriate to share the experience.

Those epoxy castings were just about ready to go onto the cabinet, all they needed was a bit of shaping, to create truly squared edges. I simply used a belt sander turned upside down to act as a high speed shaper to true up those castings, and strip away any excess bits.

While I had the epoxy project going, I continued to work on the newly applied veneer. After waiting two days to ensure the veneer glue was dry and there was no cracking or peeling of the surface, I applied an oil based stain: Minwax Special Walnut. This brought out the grain very well, and after a staining period of fifteen minutes, I wiped off the excess with a shop towel and let the stain dry for two days. With that done, I could apply the trim.

Originally, the trim pieces were applied with brads. I used brads again to mount the wooden and epoxy trim pieces, but first I applied a thin bead of wood glue to the facing surfaces. The only thing I did differently to mount the epoxy castings was to put them in the microwave for 30 seconds, as it softened them up a bit. This in my mind, helped to eliminate the possible dangers of the castings chipping when a brad was driven through them.

With that done, I masked off the cabinet from the trim, and applied Mohawk opaque toner lacquer, Van Dyke Brown. I applied about four coats, buffing in between with 0000 steel wool to create a deep polished finish. Having that done, I removed the tape, and sprayed the entire cabinet down with a sealer coat of shellac. I used the shellac as a bit of a grain filler, vigorously buffing down the shellac between coats, so that the bulk of what was sprayed on was only remaining in the wood grain only. After about four coats, I felt I could start relaxing, as I now had a sealed shiny cabinet, ready for a top coat of clear lacquer next. It was so amazing to have come so far.
100_1869.jpg

bandersen · #22 11-06-2009, 05:49 PM

Looks fantastic - truly inspiring

I've used that special walnut atain before too - good stuff.

I've heard of using shellac as a pre-stain sealer but not filler. I'm trying to use lacquer like you used shellac as a grain filler, but it's taking forever. I think maybe each coat of lacquer is "melting" the previous layer and causing it to raise up again. Does the shellac work well as a filler? It sure looks good.

P.S. Are those robots on your wall ?

leadlike · #23 11-06-2009, 06:42 PM

You're statement about lacquer is correct-each new sprayed on layer melts into the previous ones. This can go both ways, as the flaws from each layer will add up, but you develop a beautiful, deep finish in the process. In sanding lacquer down to use as a grain filler, I have had little luck. Those little cans from Mohawk are pretty expensive, and I can buy Bullseye shellac from any hardware store for about half the price. The shellac seems to sand down much more nicely. For instance, I had a small run appear on the shellac with this cabinet. I simply buffed harder with the steel wool in this spot, and the run went away. If I did that with lacquer, I would have created a hole in the finish.

I have only used shellac to do what I would describe as a partial piano finish-the grain is filled in enough so that you have a nice highly reflective quality to the wood, but if you look at the finish from the right angle, some of the deeper grain is still apparent in the finish. There are many ways to truly fill grain, all of them difficult. Perhaps I will write about that a bit more later.

To answer your other question, yes, those are little vinyl robots on the wall in the background-also note our Philco Radiobar is also visible in the background as well.

Sandy G · #24 11-06-2009, 07:00 PM

Woah !! Dat's Puuuuurty.....(grin)

7"estatdef · #25 11-07-2009, 11:36 AM

Very Nice!!!! Tnx for sharing your methods all of us can use a little inspiration to carry over hump of a seemingly hopeless project. About ten years ago I manage to get a basketcase National SW-3. Always wanted one cause I had heard that they excellent performers. The SW-3 is a three tube regenerative designed in the late '20s with plug in coils from 90kc to 30mc special bandspreadcoils for the ham bands. The first came out in 1931 the production run ran to about the end of WWII. Lots of different versions from ac with 2.5v and 6v tubes, dc 6v tubes, battery which used 2v dry cell or one that you could use 1.5 or 6v tubes. Anyway this one was missing lots of parts one was a thumbwheel knob for the rf gain. Hens teeth. I manged to get silicon mold material from work. Made a mold and molded the knob from bondo. Worked great! Have also used bondo for molding odd shaped power connector for some military gear I've picked up over the years.
Terry

bandersen · #26 11-08-2009, 02:47 PM

Here's my attempt to make a channel and fine-tuning knob for a Motorola VT71. It worked just a described by leadlike.
There are a few voids to fill in and some slop to trim off. Then, I'll drill a hole for the shaft and try to paint them.

leadlike · #27 11-08-2009, 03:15 PM

Great work on the Moto knobs! I suppose the next step in creating a true representation of them would be to swirl some pigment in; but that won't work for JB weld. I have tried acrylics and enamels by mixing them in with the two parts of the epoxy, and it will either cause the stuff not to set, or it will force the paint to the surface of the piece, where it simply wipes off. How long did you wait for the knobs to set and dry?

7"estatdef · #28 11-08-2009, 03:17 PM

I'm thinking that the channel knob is going to be challenge. Maybe there is a way to fab a small insert so that it won't want to break off the two flats that turn the shaft. I need to make up afew of the VT-71 knobs too.
So far so good!
Terry

Reece · #29 11-08-2009, 03:21 PM

The molded knobs are great! I wanna mold something.

Reece

bandersen · #30 11-08-2009, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leadlike

Great work on the Moto knobs! I suppose the next step in creating a true representation of them would be to swirl some pigment in; but that won't work for JB weld. I have tried acrylics and enamels by mixing them in with the two parts of the epoxy, and it will either cause the stuff not to set, or it will force the paint to the surface of the piece, where it simply wipes off. How long did you wait for the knobs to set and dry?

Thanks. I was wondering about adding pigment. Sounds like it's not so easy.
The particular variety I need of those Moto knobs are solid, dark brown. I'm hoping just paint will work OK.

I let the knobs set about 24 hours.