Radio From Hell

[Dan Starnes]

Fabulous read!! That cabinet sure turned out pretty. I have used fiberglass resin to pour into molds to create knobs. I will try the JB Weld next time.

[leadlike]

This is it, the final post on the finished product!

I only had to put on the lacquer now, and I used some clear gloss stuff aerosol I got from Home Depot. Four coats later, buffing in between with steel wool, and it was done.

I now only to add all of the pieces to complete it. I had some extra waterslide decals for Zenith, so I put on a Zenith logo and the ABC band label, which was stamped onto the wood in the original. I sprayed a little clear lacquer over them after they dried. The knobs had been lacquered, too, using opaque toner on the edges and face, with a natural finish in the middle. The brass faceplate was buffed up, as the original dark finish was stripped with the grey paint. The grill cloth was some stuff on sale at JoAnn fabrics, and it looks nice here. It is being test-fitted in the picture, hence the wrinkles. To punch a hole in the fabric without it pulling, to allow the speaker mounts through, I used as solder pencil to burn holes into the fabric.

I replaced a few wires on the chassis where the insulation was thin. Before I dropped the chassis in, I looped a wire antenna four times around the inside of the cabinet, and mounted that and the ground wire to a terminal block so the next owner can easily attach an external ground and antenna of their own. Here she is, playing beautifully, the antenna makes a huge difference, I picked up a number of Chicago stations perfectly, and lots of good stuff on shortwave, too.

I handed this set off on Friday to its new owner. He is going to give it to his father for Christmas. He was extremely happy with the finished product. I actually started on this little project back in late September, but I thought I would accelerate things a bit for VK. Thanks for watching!
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[bandersen]

Originally Posted by 7"estatdef

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

Thanks. I'm think maybe I can scavenge a reinforced shaft from another knob and glue it on

[bandersen]

Wow - looks great
You really work fast
Thanks for all the great tips - very enjoyable read.

[7"estatdef]

Speaking of the swirl finish I might be able to help out. For the last 20yrs or so I've been repairing furniture primarily leather and vinyl. With may job I have to create colors and patterns to match these damaged pieces. If you like I could mix up so water based acrylics and I have a good sheen adjustable top coat. Something else that is fun to play with is a doohickey called a mouth atomizer. It's like a bad breath powered spray can that you can put any sort of paint in and spray by blowing. I make a lot different effects with it and a few colors
Terry

[7"estatdef]

Leadlike,
Tnx for sharing!!! It's been great following along and watching you progress on something that looked like a trashcan filler into some thing that may be passed down for a few generations.
Hats off to you !
Terry

[coffee123]

The sense of self satisfaction when something like that comes so far is frekin awesome! Nice job

Mark

[Eliot Ness]

Thanks for sharing your tips on making molds the easy way. The Zenith turned out great, congratulations on a very nice save.

[jeyurkon]

We need a separate forum to archive restoration techniques like this.

John

[painkiller64]

Damn! thats some great work on that case!
Looks like new lol
Good Job

[Sam Cogley]

I still can't see any of leadlike's pictures.

[sampson159]

i do lots of cabinet work myself but not like this one!beautiful job.looks better than new.my hats off to you.

[zenithfan1]

All I can say is WOW! That is a gorgeous radio, you do amazing work!

[DaveWM]

Indeed, nice save, stunning radio from what many would have passed on as unsavable, great work!

[ihmeyers]

Great job. It looks beautiful. Makes me think about restoring a couple of my own I have sitting around...