Another Zenith "bugeye" restoration

[Geoff Bourquin]

That thing is COOL! My Grandma had one of those. Maybe one of these days one will find me and I can restore it. Great restoration....it looks almost like new

[Eric H]

Those little knobs are always missing on the Zeniths, we need to learn how to cast some. I need them too.

[bandersen]

Casting a knob like these with a hollow shaft might be tricky since you'll probably need a two part mold.
I was just about to give up when I found a few at the bottom of my last box Wish I had tried that one first!

[Glenz75]

Far out and I thought I had a big collection of knobs.... Your 'stash' exceeds mine by 100%! Always the way huh, finding what you need right at the bottom
Wow, this Zenith looks really nice too, great job. Its currently 8:45pm in the evening here and still 28 Degrees/82.4 Fahrenheit outside. Today has been the hottest day in our city of Wellington for the 2nd time in 30 years! Its pretty warm.... Cheers.

[bandersen]

I'm finally finishing off the last of my buddies three bugeye sets. What was holding me up was the missing speaker bracket. So I decided to fabricate a copy based on another set.

First, I cut out a piece of sheet metal using a dremel tool.


Then, I drilled some holes with a nice new titanium drill bit. So much nicer than the crappy ones that came with my drill

Next, I bent over one edge using pliers and a little hammering. Finally, I used a pop rivet to join it to the speaker and mounted it in the chassis using some insulating washers

I'll try to get it all back together later tonight.

[bandersen]

The knob brights fell out some time ago but luckily we still have them. I polished them up with Simichrome and used contact cement to glue them back on.


I'm calling this project done

[Dangler]

Just curious. I have a Z1817 or Z1819 with the 15Z31 chassis. The knobs are further up on the cabinet and without the bulges on the side. Would that be considered a "Bugeye" or not.

[bandersen]

I think so. Here are all three of my friends "bugeye" sets before he comes and gets them.

It was surprisingly hard to take a decent photo with them all turned on. They looked fine to my eyes, but one or two would often be washed out in the photo. Adjusting the brightness controls did the trick even though they looked terrible to me.

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by bandersen

It was surprisingly hard to take a decent photo with them all turned on. They looked fine to my eyes, but one or two would often be washed out in the photo. Adjusting the brightness controls did the trick even though they looked terrible to me.

Long time ago I once worked for a small company that made video image to x-ray film hard copy cameras. We had to set the brightness and contrast of the CRT displays (we had them inside a metal box, aimed at a lens system that in turn exposed the x-ray film) adjusted so the contrast would look good on the film but looking at the CRTs directly the images did look washed out.

I can see why those small knobs on top of those sets become missing. They probably get broken off when the sets sit in storage.

[Carmine]

I have version with the "eyes" centered on the cabinet sides. The knobs also look more like eyeballs (rather than gears). I think mine is the earliest version.

[Electronic M]

How does Simichrome compare to Brasso? I think I've seen you use Brasso as the last step in ploishing out scratches on bakelite but I don't recall you using it on metal.

[decojoe67]

Very nice job Bob. You've given me, and I'm sure many others, great tips. Your making me want to go pick-up a blue and white version of the bug-eye that a friend has for sale! It's woking and complete, but I would have to try to make or find the brass inserts for the knobs. They're missing.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

How does Simichrome compare to Brasso? I think I've seen you use Brasso as the last step in ploishing out scratches on bakelite but I don't recall you using it on metal.

Simichrome is much finer and doesn't have ammonia in it like Brasso does. It also has some oil that leaves a bit of a protective barrier. I use Simichrome on metal all the time and it's fantastic. It works fairly well on bakelite too. I wouldn't use Brasso as the last step on bakelite unless you can find the old stuff in a metal can which is a finer grit or so I've heard.

Originally Posted by decojoe67

Very nice job Bob. You've given me, and I'm sure many others, great tips. Your making me want to go pick-up a blue and white version of the bug-eye that a friend has for sale! It's woking and complete, but I would have to try to make or find the brass inserts for the knobs. They're missing.

Thanks. They're not exactly my favorite sets to work on but they do produce a nice bright picture. These sets are missing an insert or two as well

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Carmine

I have version with the "eyes" centered on the cabinet sides. The knobs also look more like eyeballs (rather than gears). I think mine is the earliest version.

I had the same model. It was a 17". It was a year earlier model. I don't think they built a smaller model that year.
I had one of those sets the Bob just restored. It had the better AGC circuit in it. That was only 51 years ago. I sold it cause I needed the money bad.
Mine was only 5 years old when I had it. It had the handle that folded under the screen. Of course, mine had a UHF tuner, as well.

[Reece]

I thought I remembered seeing a site where someone made his own replacement brass brights, and here it is. A bit complex, requiring a lathe, but worth a look.

http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=26740