Radio From Hell

[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?

[bandersen]

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.

[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!
100_1871.jpg