CTC-5N-Starting restore process
 

Hi all, I've finally gathered together all the parts of my Whitby, and will start the re-assembly of the completed chassis with all the other components. There is a serious problem though, that being a cracked and chipped insulating shroud for the 21AX. My question is: has anyone ever had luck with such a repair? I've attached a few pics showing the damage, and the formerly blond Whitby that a previous owner decided to dye brunette. I do have two very good 21CY's that could be used, and some CTC-7 hardware.
Thanks for your advice!! :yes:

There are only 2 possibly fixes for the shroud:

If you have the pieces, glue/weld them back together.

Find a better one.

I like option 2 the best, since once it's broken it will never be strong again.

I'm sure many CTC-5's had their 21AX's replaced w/later tubes. Someone must have an original shroud stashed somewhere. Or, perhaps, a junker parts CTC-5 w/a shroud.

-Steve D.

That's too bad about the cabinet. Any way to carefully remove the dark finish and restore it back to blonde? I have a mahagony Whitby and would love to find a blonde one someday.

Gilbert

The cabinet is birch veneer, and I'll see what i can do to get the bleepin' brown off it. The white pencil box will look strange for sure if I can't restore the original finish. :yes:

Thanks Nick. I believe option two will be the best way to go, as I don't have the missing pieces. I've thought about sanding off the aquadag around the breaks, and building up the areas with something like Bondo, than applying corona dope all around the compromised areas to suppress arcing, but the more I think about that approach, the more I hesitate. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I'll try to repair the shroud before using a 21CY.
Kevin

I've got a spare you can have for shipping costs - PM me.

Good luck to you on restoring the finish. Hopefully, it won't be too bad and the orginal blonde finish underneath is restorable. Yes, it would look strange with a white pencil box! Please keep us posted!

Gilbert

Looks like the blond finish can be brought back. I used a little Stripper In A Can to see what it would do, and scrubbed with Scotch Brite. The brown stain came right off, so there is hope!

That's good news, I hope you can bring the cabinet back to former glory.

Looks like they did a terrible job restaining anyway. Either way stripping and sanding was in order. I'm sure it will come out fine.