Radio Refinish Project, Part 1

1929 Philco Lowboy Radio

We picked up this Philco Radio at a flea market in April of 2011 for only $20. It is in rough shape. The top veneer is missing and the speaker cover and speaker are totally busted out. A photo of this in it's original condition can be found here. Still, we have it setting in the corner of our kitchen with a cloth covering the top and a plant and few items on top, it's nice piece for the area.

I've always admired the radio restoration project Jake Von Slatt featured on his site where he took an old radio and turned it into a guitar amp. I also recently found where epbot.com restored an radio with new speakers, LED's and an iPod connection.

Motivated, I decided to finally clean up ours. Since the case was in such bad shape, I couldn't see spending the money to get the radio working again. We decided to simply clean up the case, replace the missing knobs and replace the broken speaker cover with a etched, brass plate. This is mainly going to be a decorator piece, but we are going to use it to hold our internet and wi-fi routers.

First I removed the speaker and speaker cover. The speaker cover had clam-shell motif which I traced and worked up a floral pattern which I'll etch and place within the speaker opening. The brass has been ordered and I'll be working on it over the coming months (in-between all my other etching projects).

Dust encrusted vacuum tubes.

Next I removed the tuner assembly. Here is where all the weight of the radio resided. I've stripped the tuner of all vacuum tubes and all electrical component that I could remove. Once cleaned up, I'll replace the assembly so the station dial and knobs can be reassembled. There were 6 vacuum tubes. Once the decades of dust has been removed, they're quite nice. I'm saving these for a future project.

Man of Steel... in brass.

Superman, 2010

This is an early etching I did in 2010. 3.25"x4.25" brass. I've left this on uncoated to let the brass oxidize.

My Toolbox

Toolbox, 2010

My sister made this box for me when I was probably  6 or 7 years old. Made out of plywood and with a dowel handle, painted white and had my name painted in yellow on the side. I remember keeping my Hot Wheels cars in it. Later on I painted in black and used to hold art supplies. When I started etching I want a box to hold paints and finishing items so I decided to strip the paint off and stain the box and added the rope handle.

I etched the plated for the end with a image of a steam ship and the Trident logo on a piece of 4" x 4" brass. I etched it so the image/text would be raised and the background is lower, opposite of how I normally etch. I then lightly ran a polishing wheel over it to even out the finish

Steamship Plate, 2010