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that isnt rough.i once went to cleveland for a zenith 7s363.it was in a walkout basement.nice people but the radio fell apart when i lifted it.chassis was covered with thick,red rust.wiring was gone and the only part that wasnt really damaged the speaker.it was almost pristine.i gathered it all up and spent about a week on it.came out very nice.as long as all the parts are there,it aint rough

Quote:

Originally Posted by sampson159 (Post 3113884)

the radio fell apart when i lifted it.chassis was covered with thick,red rust.wiring was gone and the only part that wasnt really damaged the speaker.it was almost pristine.i gathered it all up and spent about a week on it.came out very nice.as long as all the parts are there,it aint rough

WOW! I guess some folks just have the willpower, craftsmanship, and equipment to take on such a labor of love! I would have took off running. I guess I am more of a caretaker, displayer, user, and/or repairer, but have far different limitations as do many of us I'm sure.

I always have had a huge respect for what I call natural born engineers who can and will create whatever is needed to recreate things. My next door neighbor is one of these people and it just amazes me. And to think that a lot of people think I am a wiz at fixing things. I'm not too bad I guess, but I was in the military and have a bit of dislike for tattered and simply worn out things, so I target my collecting at things that need only minor cosmetic repair. The electrical part interests me greatly, but if wiring and all is gone I just draw the line.

I've worked on several basket case sets, my only rule of thumb is to make sure it's something I actually like enough to want to keep it in the first place. My thinking is, if it's rough, I likely won't be able to sell it so what have I got to loose? I've repaired bakelite cases by gluing in wire mesh or screen, and then filling the missing pieces in with bondo body filler. I ended up with a 30s Coronado with a fairly nice case, but somebody removed the power/IF transformers and the tuning cap, I had basically an empty chassis. I found a speaker, power transformer, and volume control from my junk parts pile, and got it to where I have a working amp. There have been a few others that I started in on, then used for parts when another one in better condition came along.

On the Philco in question, I would definitely keep the good case and find another chassis, or try to clean up the old one for the short term until a nicer one comes along. Also keep in mind that Philco used the same basic chassis in several sets, I've seen other table sets with the same basic configuration as yours, as well as several consoles with the same basic knob layout. In fact, I have a console chassis you can have if you want. There might be some changes to the tube lineup or to the dial pointer, but the basic sheet metal stamping and circuit is the same. Also, it's been my experience that chassis seem to hold up better than cabinets, so it's easier to find a parts set with a good chassis and broken cabinet than the other way around.

Depends on the rarity and value of the set, too. I'm more likely to keep a basket case that was a really nice radio. I may never get to it myself, but once parted out, you can't put it back together very easily. I have one Wells Gardner console that has a plywood cabinet with a lot of cool details but it's all delaminating from moisture damage. The chassis is beautiful though. For the moment they're still together. I should try to post a pic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamakiri (Post 3113255)

I picked up a beat up and incomplete Philco 70 cathedral at a local radio swap recently for $20. I have no idea why, other than the fact that it was cheap. No speaker, and as you can see, the arch top was cut for some reason :sigh:

Debated what to do with it, but I figured what the heck, I'll test tubes, throw some new filter caps and the bypass caps I could get to (without doing the bakelite blocks :smilemad:), see if I could locate a speaker, and find out if the old gal had any life.

I managed to pick up a Philco 70 console speaker on ebay for $10 plus shipping, replaced 2 tubes, did the caps as mentioned above, and what do you know, the son of a gun works!!!

So here I have an abused yet working 70. Now what?

I didn't want to really put any money into it, and figured that I could just mount the oversize speaker inside a small stand that the radio would sit on, and make an arch top out of something and use it.

But then I thought....wait a minute. If I Rube Goldberg this set now, some future collector is going to get their hands on this set and curse the day I was born in the same way I'd do that with someone that barn-jobbed something that I wanted to restore.

I decided to re-glue all of the loose but complete veneer on the speaker grille, and repair a missing chunk in the top right with a section from the side. Didn't turn out too bad so far. Still have to give it a coat of Howards. I'll end up buying a repro arch top from that guy that makes repro Philco cases, and eventually find the correct speaker. And then I'll have a really nice 70! Or at least decent :)

The moral of the story: even if it's pretty far gone, whatever you do, just keep in mind that we're but a step in the set's journey.

Somehow I acquired two Philco 70 speakers with open field coils. Always intended to buy a mile of #42 magnet wire or whatever it is and re-wind them. I actually don't have a Philco 70 to put either of them into at the moment. :smoke:

Quote:

Originally Posted by toxcrusadr (Post 3117301)

Some of that series of speakers are very hard to remove the field coil. 42 is too small.

Hehehehe... I remember a story somebody told here before they split AK & VK... This guy loaded up a rather RARE 1930s "High-Boy" console set from a barn in his van.. He & his bud lit out back home, & before they got too far, the van was full of rather ANGRY Waspers... There was a pretty good sized nest inside the radio...I think they both got stung a time or 2.. THAT would sorta ruin the rest of yr day...

I was looking at this poor H500, this is really rough :yes: The question was "did you find this at the bottom of a lake"?

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...258d9a137a98ff

Looks like years in a flooded basement. I would definitely call that too rough and field strip it. I really wish that we had a forum specifically for people with chassis and parts that they want to sell. Of course there would have to be the criteria of a known model number and make that a part came from and/or a picture as sometimes a model is not known and others here could help identify.

Any administrators and/or members like this idea?

Perhaps just a list of parts available and a list of parts needed--which hopefully wouldn't require much administration.

You know we do need that. On AK there's an Orphan Speaker Bingo thread. How about an Orphan Radio Chassis thread?