Next the finish veneer was applied to the front piece over all the cut outs. The original veneer was walnut, but I chose to replace it with Honduras Mahogany because the grain is similar to walnut, but the color is much closer to the original walnut wood. Fresh cut black walnut veneer has a gray color to it and makes it harder to duplicate the original finish. There were 3 sections of veneer on this radio. The sides have the grain running up at an angle, and the front is straight up and down. First, using the original front as a guide, rough lines were traced on the front base as a guide for positioning the veneer. The veneer pieces were cut and laid on the base to check for fit. The veneer pieces were then glued on the base. An industrial strength adhesive (available from Paxton Lumber) was sprayed on both the base and the back of the veneer. The veneer was then CAREFULLY applied to the base by starting on one side of the veneer and slowly laying it on until the entire piece was attached. Then pressure was evenly applied to the entire piece to ensure that it was firmly attached. Once you press the two pieces together, you cannot remove them. You get one shot at this! Make sure you dry fit all your pieces first. Next, the birch veneer was applied to the cabinet sides. The original veneer was one piece, but I couldn't find any that was long enough so I cut the length so that it would be divided at the top. There is a cap of wood screwed on the top of this radio, so the seam won't show anyway. It also made it easier to apply the veneer. Again, you get one shot at applying! After the veneer was applied, I used my router and a 1/8 inch round nose bit to cut the vertical and horizontal lines on the front piece. Since I had not attached it to the case yet it was easy to clamp it on the bench and use the router. Next I used a sharp utility knife to cut out the holes and contours for the veneer. At this point the cabinet is ready to be glued back together. The front piece was glued to the cabinet and the base trim was glued at the bottom.

Now the fun part - the radio chassis!!

This is the unrestored radio chassis. The filter capacitors appeared to have been replaced at some time in the radio's lifetime. Most of the other capacitors appeared to be original. Except for the power cord and wires from the I.F. cans to the tube grids, most of the wiring appeared to be in decent shape and there were no wasp nests or mouse damage. When I service a radio chassis, all the paper capacitors and filter capacitors are replaced. Any resistors which have drifted more than 10% from their original value are also replaced. The volume control was disassembled and the carbon element was cleaned with WD-40 and a Q-Tip. The control shaft and sleeve were lightly lubricated and the control reassembled. The tubes were tested and cleaned. The wires coming out of the I.F. cans to the tube grids were bad and so they were replaced. The tuning capacitor was cleaned and lubricated. The speaker was missing, so a similar speaker with a similar field coil value from my parts stash was obtained and a 5 pin male plugin fashioned from a dud tube base and new wires were soldered in. Finally, a cloth covered period style power cord and plugin were installed in place of the rotting power cord. After double checking everything, the set was plugged into a Variac and the voltage slowly increased as the B+ voltage measurements were monitored. As the tubes warmed up, the set began to emit static from the speaker. A shot of WD-40 on the bandswitch and the set picked up the local AM stations!. The set was aligned and then bench tested for several hours.

Attention was now turned back to the cabinet for the finish and speaker cloth. The cabinet was lightly sanded with 220 grit sandpaper and the dust first removed with a vacuum cleaner/brush attachment, and then with an air compressor. A sealer coat of orange shellac was sprayed on the cabinet and then lightly sanded with 600 grit sandpaper. The sanding dust was again removed and then the shading toners were applied. Mohawk spray toners of medium brown for the front, and Van Dyke brown for the sides were lightly applied repeatedly until the proper shade was reached. After drying, the air compressor was used to blow any dust off and two coats of gloss lacquer were sprayed on. The speaker cloth proved to be a challenge as the original was glued to the cabinet from the inside. As the pictures indicate, I didn't get it stretched tight enough, and may have to remove and reapply it. It's very tricky to get it stretched evenly and straight. A new cardboard backing was cut out from heavy poster board material from the Art Store and then spray painted flat black. This picture shows the completed chassis bottom view, and the finished cabinet.

The speaker and chassis was returned to the cabinet and bolted in. There were 3 knobs in a plastic tub in the box when the radio was obtained, but they didn't fit the shafts. I located 3 matching knobs from my parts bin and fitted them on the shafts. They are not the correct knobs, but will do for now. This is a view of the completed set! It's tuned to 1350 KRNT so I can hear the Cubs lose again! I hope you enjoyed reading about my restoration project. This was definitely not a set for a beginner radio collector. I'm not a professional, but I think it turned out very well. I like the style of the radio, and now the set is playing once again.