Old Radio Case

[Magpie1908]

To day I found an old radio case at the tip, the radio with valves and speaker were next to it. The case is wood and the veneer is still in good condition although very dirty.

I don’t intend to try and make it work but would like to bring it back to what used to look like.

Question what should I use to clean off all the built up dirt?

[hap97]

Try to acquire Howard Restore-a-Finish in the colour of the original. It works very well.
http://www.howardproducts.com.au/pro...r-a-finish.htm

Hilton

[arose62]

I remember seeing a step-by-step restoration of an old radio in an Australian electronics magazine.

I can't recall which one, but it was in the last 6 months, and it was at Blacktown library.

I know this isn't much of a help...

Cheers,
Andrew

[RufflyRustic]

To clean away the dirt, brush off any loose grime, then I'd try a soft cloth, some warm water with a bit of detergent in it. Dampen the cloth and gently work away the dirt and grime. When it's all clear of dirt, get another soft cloth dampened with just water and wipe away any detergent residue. Then I'd go for broke with a polish reviver.

Cheers
Wendy

[soundman]

It all depends on how keen you are and how bad the case is.

Remember valve radios were made by hand in a big hurry AND without the benifit of modern adhesives, so the timber work and venerring may be a bit dodggy.

have a real good look at it.

Is the case and the veneer structrualy sound?
If there are problems are they reparable?
After a scrub and a wipe, how bad is the finish?
Can it be revived or does it need a full strip back.
If so how detailed is the cabinet and iff there are colour details, are they achieved by timber selection or stain.

Now the hard question... what condition are the electronics in.....I can almost guaranttee that it will not be electricaly safe and serious work will be required to get it going long term.
Just about anything you need can be got as "new old stock" from specilist suppliers.
BUT
Seriously you either have to be a serious enthusiast or have the money to pay one.

cheers

[jatt]

I don’t intend to try and make it work but would like to bring it back to what used to look like.

Would be a shame if all u had as a finished project was a pretty looking case that didnt function as a radio of some sorts.

If the old valve setup is cactus, more than likely I would guess, then maybe the below mentioned could be done to it.

Assuming the case was of resonable size I recon the guts out of one of those "mini systems" would happily fit inside. The basic functions (volume, station tuning etc...) could be attached by flying leads from the circuit card to the front panel.

Dunno how good your electrical/electronics skill are, but I recon one would only need some basic knowledge to make it happen. At the very least get the 240 V side of things checked out before firing the finished product up.

Ok it wont sound like a new surround sound system, but at least it will be more than just a dust collector.

Only a thought of course.

[Honorary Bloke]

Here is one I restored about 20 years ago. Bought for $6 and in rough shape. A 193x Crosley. All wood and veneer is original.

Gently cleaned with "oil soap" and then stripped using a shellac stripper (depends on what the original finish was). Don't over-wet it.

Finished with rubbed tung oil (2 or 3 coats). Needs a speaker and new electrical wiring, but the valves and tuner are in good nick. A decorative piece placed near my current music system.

[willy3486]

I agree with lightly cleaning it, don't go overboard. Even if the cabinet does come apart it can be curved back and reglued if you take care. Years ago I was well known for restoring these radios. I was in national magazines a few times. Anyway they are not that hard to redo for the most part. The reason I posted is on the electronics. On the electronics you have 3 things mainly that go wrong and one issue you can create. The issue is the speaker, Be careful if you remove it, the paper is delicate. If it is torn heres a fix I did. I tried all kinds of stuff out there to reglue it, Elmers glue, glue in a tube,etc. What I found out that works really great is rubber cement. A light coating on the crack and its ready to go. And it is flexable where as the Elmers glue,I.E. paper glue hardens. If you had pieces missing I would lightly coat around the area with rubber cement then either lay a piece of toilet paper or a piece of a paper towel over the hole. Then after it sets a little coat the paper patch with the rubber cement.

The three issues I saw causing problems was the tubes or valves as some call them,capacitors, and last wiring flaking off. . Tubes are easy to fix,just test and replace. The wiring could be fixed with either replacing each one or taping them. As far as capacitors this is the most common reason for not playing. If you turn on one and hear a hum it is caused by the main filter capacitors. These usually look like upside down mounted cans on the radio frame. I usually would just cut the lead coming out and replace it with another capacitor. I would leave the cans in place after cutting it out of the circuit. And the small capacitors under the chasis can usually be replaced with similar capacitors. 95% of the time just replacing the compacitors would get it to playing. Just about anyone with some eletronic soldering knowledge can replace them. Hope that helps.

[soundman]

One important thing to understand is that in australia all our appliances are supplied at 240V and in most states now it is illegal to work on 240V circuitry without some form of electrical licence.

The most common point of non compliance and danger is the plug and cable used in this period to connect the radio to the supply.
The pluged and cable are in many cases not compliant with current standards and regulations.
Almost without exception the mains plug and cord should be replaced and the 240V connection arrangements modified to comply with current standards.

Consider also that the electronics in these units operates between 90 and 150 volts which is a lot more dangerous that the 6 to 24 volts that modern electronics operate at.

Invert the chasis of one of these units and there are large numbers of uninsulated high voltage terminals........this is not something anybody with out at least some knoweledge of electronics and electrical safety should be pokeing arround with.

The predominant consideration should not be getting the unit to play but to make sure the item does not present an electrical or fire hazard.


The minimum reasonable to get one of these units into operation should be

the replacement of the mains cord and plug and bringing the 240V supply circuit into compliance with current regs.

the examination of the point to point wiring in the unit to ensure it is all sound.

The replacement AND removal of any danaged, leaking or suspect capacitors.
It is reasonable to fit the new capacitors in the stripped out old cases ( there are issues with this too) but the unfit components should be removed.

The fitting of a fire retardent insulating plate between the chasis and the cabinet if not already fitted.

By far the best option for damaged speaker is to replace it with new old stock from one of the suppliers......

As far as minor repairs to speakers...PVA glue is fine but EVA is better if you can lay your hands on it.......EVA is what is used by many of the current speaker recone processes.

I found news print or unprinted butcers paper ( same thing) the best thing for patching, white bond ( photocoppy paper is too hard and toilet paper is too soft and weak).


cheers

[willy3486]

I was basing my advice on over 30 years of redoing these and also from living here in the USA. As far as speakers go with my experience I have found out that you will run into some speakers that you cannot find replacements. Some speakers have electromagnets that you cannot find new. I have had times when I searched for a year or more for a specialized part. As far as using toilet paper it does work, but you have to coat it as I said in my preveous post. As far as leaving the old caps I was refering to the can caps that are mounted on the chassis that you can see from behind the radio. The replacements I have found are smaller than the originals and will easily fit under the chassis with no danger to a person. The small wax covered capacitors should be removed. As a rule on old radios I would replace all of the wax covered caps and hide replacement caps under where the metal can caps were. Even if the cap tests good most of the time they will go out soon after a rebuild if not replaced when fixed. I would also replace the cord if needed and test all tubes. This would get one working in great condition 95% of the time if someone had not tried to fix it before I repaired it. As far as someone to repair it I was meaning someone who has had experence with soldering and worked on electrical items. Repairing old radios is a lost art and someone who is familiar with TV, or other electrical repair should be able to do it. By all means do follow the laws in your area as far as repairing these. I didn't think we were that different as far as designs other than 120v compaired to 240v. But I have reworked thousands of these radios and all my customers have been happy with the performance. I also posted towards someone that may want it to work and work safely and to be able to turn it on . Yes you can spend a lot on these but most people do not go that route. So I hope that clears up any confusion anyone had. And like I said I was going by what I have found to work here in the states.

[soundman]

First and most important... there is a great deal of difference between what is permitted in the US and Australia....always was, always will be.

There are a great many electrical practices that are common place in the US and have never been permitted here, further these radios come from a time when electrical practices were no where near as strict as they are here now.

The legestaltion we have in Queensland is possibly as strict as you will find anywhere. ( there are many who consider some of the requirements rediculous)

Part of the new requirements is that an "electrical worker" is responsible for ensuring that any item is either fully compliant with all current regulations & standards and accompanied by a certificate of test to that effect OR "rendered safe" which usualy means removing the plug and cord.
The worker is responsible for the electrical safety ( as it last left his or her hands) of that item more or less indefinitely.



Consider also that the operational DC voltages within most valve equipment is above the licenced threshold....the times of a non licenced electrical worker working on valve equipment in Queensland ( and problay the rest of the country) legaly have gone forever.

In fact I expect that the vast majority of faithfully restored valve radios would not pass inspection and would require considerable work to be made compliant.

here are a couple of common points of failure
metal chasis ( arent they all) with a two core mains flex.....FAIL

Mains plug that has exposed screws, or wires when removed from the socket ...FAIL.

Able to access basic insulation with a standard test finger..can i touch a valve or anything else single insulated...............FAIL
So realy the unit has to have a back on it that is only removable with a tool.

Is there a fuse or a switch (or anything else ) in the neutral wire.... FAIL

Does the transformer pass 500V insulation tests.....if not... fail.

on and on and on.......I played arround whith these things when I was a kid.....to work on one now and get it up to compliance would be a significant undertaking.

I have recently written off a Snasui transistor amp from the seventies because it would have taken me hours to get it 240V compliant.



cheers

[willy3486]

WOW, you have my sympathy. Here in the states its not that extreme. I don't work on them that often these days but when I do I always use common sense. I always try to make them as safe as I can,I probably go overboard. Thats one reason I replace all caps in these things. I have even designed power supplies for ones that were battery powered and made them so they wouldn't be dangerous. If it were that bad here it would probably destroy the radio hobby and any value they have.