Restorer's dream.

[Andy - G8MNM]

Andy

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Dom I’m pleased to hear you like the stringing. As previously explained I’m using this project as a learning curve and not looking for the quickest route to completing it. I find all aspects of veneering fascinating and after watching videos of how fancy banding is made decided to have a go incorporating the result in this cabinet. The procedure is really uncomplicated; it must be because I quickly grasped the basics and produced this stringing in sandwich form; with more practice I feel I’ll improve a great deal and I can be more selective of veneers and timbers to use in making the bandings; for this project I used what I had to hand but am happy with both the result and learning a new technique. In order not to confuse for simplicity I’m calling these strings when in fact I believe they are classed as bands.

I’ve had a splendid day working in my black hole; this morning went well and this afternoon has been highly successful in moving the project forward. I was going to add strings to the second panel tonight but they have already been done; I did the work in the garage and the panel will be left overnight for the glue to set before scraping.

I was awake once again for hours last night being concerned about the fragile condition of this cabinet knowing only too well I could easily destroy it accidentally. As usual I came up with a solution before I could sleep. Simple solutions are always the hardest to find but all I needed to do was add a wooden support cut to precise length and for good measure I cut the ends to form a basic half lap joint using the bandsaw. Adding this has made a tremendous difference to the rigidity of the cabinet although two more bits of cabinet fell off and I was able to turn this greatly to my advantage. One of the pieces had the long broken screw embedded and I was now able to remove it. The other piece was a major frame member and I had wondered how to remove the thick layer of old glue; now it was easy; I nipped it in the vice and removed the glue in minutes with a sharp cabinet scraper leaving the wood perfectly clean ready to accept new glue; as the new front frame MDF member cut out yesterday abuts this I grasped the opportunity to add three biscuits; I made a silly mistake whilst cutting the biscuit slots as I cut them on the wrong face but fortunately this face is wide and will be entirely covered by the new side panel once it is glued into place. Mistakes are always so willing to cheer me up!! A single rusty 1” long screw loosely held these two pieces together so this was removed and once the biscuit slots had been cut a new 1 ¼” long screw pulled the parts tightly together. As parts of these two pieces are on display I sanded the black paintwork whilst access was easy.

Most of the cabinet is in very poor condition and one picture shows a piece of 3/8” thick plywood which is part of the cabinet base and unseen. I’ve already made the new frame member that attaches to this plywood and need to think whether to replace it even if it is quite a difficult task as it is secured in place by a pair of stub tenon joints. This plywood is so poor even the worm didn’t like it but the worm attacked its twin at the other side of the cabinet and that will definitely need replacing.

For the first time since taking on this project I’ve actually replaced part of the cabinet for the first time today. It was wonderful to see so many worm holes disappear at one go. I hope the stringing turns out OK because it was dark whilst I was adding it and once again I had trouble seeing the mitre joints; my bi-focal glasses are both a help and a curse.

Many thanks Tony it's good to hear I can match manufacturers quality at my first attempt with the mitre joints; I used the lathe disk sander this afternoon as planned to trim the joints on the second panel stringing and this went much quicker; a bit of practice works wonders; I also felt less stressed knowing the procedure works for me. I knew this restoration would take a great deal of time and effort and to add it as another success story would have missed so much important detail and rob the story of its soul. By doing the restoration in this manner I'm able to add lots of useful information and show techniques learned by me as work progresses.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks for the round of applause Andy.

I was in the garage early this morning keen to spend a full day on this project. First job was to scrape the stringing flush on the second side panel and this went well; the mitre joints on this panel are better so I’m improving.

Next job was far more difficult as I had decided to remove the damaged plywood base member. Before cutting this free with the hacksaw a wooden brace was clamped tightly into place in order to hold the cabinet together and to keep everything aligned.

I needed a piece of 3/8” thick plywood and this wasn’t a problem as I had plenty in stock. I pulled out an offcut of plywood and found it to be modern rubbish; I then was disgusted to find all my 3/8” thick plywood to be modern rubbish; a picture of the offcut shows just how bad modern plywood now is; brand new unused and delaminating when it is supposed to be exterior grade. All the larger sheets appeared the same and I didn’t fancy touring the timber yards once again to try to obtain decent plywood; been there; done that; didn’t like it first time around. An alternative solution was called for and as I was standing there fuming decided to do this job to the best of my ability; this panel is hidden inside the cabinet but this is no excuse for poor quality work using inferior material so I spent ages machining best quality English Oak by putting it through the thicknesser then ripping it to width. Very careful measurements were taken and the original tenon thickness was found to be 0.100” thick as measured with the digital calliper.

The opposite side base member too requires replacement so two blanks were cut to exact length not forgetting to measure to the bottom of each mortise. It took quite a while but eventually after cutting test pieces both members were finally looking very good. The router was used to cut the joints and for accuracy the new members were clamped securely to the Startrite Combi cast iron bed whilst being routed. Using the original member the profile was added in pencil to the new member and this was cut out on the bandsaw and was nicely finished on the belt sander then the faces hand scraped; this was way over the top for such a member but I’m not accepting second best.

The old tenons posed a major problem as I didn’t at first know how to remove them without causing damage; access for the router was denied and at 0.100” thick my chisels were all too wide. I had clamped the braces to allow limited access and as I looked around at all my tools an idea struck me. What if I could set up a saw guide and simply run the tenon saw down; doing one side of the joint at a time; the outer parts of the joint measured exactly 1/8” thick which was very fortunate as hardboard is this thickness. I cut a piece of hardboard and also a piece of plywood; the plywood was clamped securely in place and the hardboard was placed next to this being allowed to sit on the front of the joint. Ensuring the side of the tenon saw was in close contact with the hardboard I was surprised how well this worked. With both cuts made the mortise was cleaned out then the other mortise was cleaned out in like manner. One tenon on the new member fitted perfectly but the other was very loose? I had taken a great deal of care in measuring and didn’t expect this but upon closer inspection one of the plies had dropped out so when the new member was glued in I added a slip of veneer ensuring plenty of glue was used. This was a slow but necessary job and I’m happy I went to the trouble because to leave the original member in place would have always bugged me just by knowing I had skimped.

I had cut out a strip of veneer to pack out the top frame member but with the new MDF front piece in place it proved too thin so the last job for today was to rip a length of Meranti hardwood on the table saw and after trimming to length this too was glued into place but clamps could not be used so it was held in place by masking tape and excess glue removed. The garage looked a mess so I spent a while tidying up then put the car away.

Each session brings new problems to resolve and new ideas to try out making this a wonderful project. I’ve nothing planned for tomorrow and will stand back to survey the work already done before deciding the next step as I’m learning whilst work is in progress. I knocked off at 5.25pm today not realizing how cold I had become.

Kind regards, Col.

[Andy - G8MNM]

Hi Col,

More great workmanship.
I guess the TV chassis will be up to the same grade as the cabinet!
Will you be tucking into the chassis restoration after completing your current cabinet project?

Regards

Andy (in a damp and drizzly Aberdeenshire)

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Andy for you continued encouragement. Yes the chassis is mess and sitting in our spare bedroom out of harms way. If the cabinet restoration is successful then I intend to have a go at restoring the chassis and I think with all the excellent support on this forum the chassis should be considerably easier to restore than the wreck of a cabinet.

Another miserable day today outside; it was a struggle to motivate myself this morning; sitting in the warm bungalow I was thinking I must be mad to go into the cold black hole on a day like this but I shrugged this feeling off and made a start.

First job was to remove the tape from the strip of Meranti hardwood I added to replace missing layers of ply to the frame then plane it flush. The new hardwood bottom and back frame members were then jointed by cutting the joint out on the bandsaw then it was glued; before the glue set both members were secured to the cabinet taking extreme care to ensure perfect alignment; the bottom member was secured by screws from below and the top rear corner was drilled then glued and screwed into position. The cabinet was now taking shape and suddenly I had reached a milestone; could I possibly add the side panel today? I had the time and it was looking good. Using a straight piece of timber I checked the frame surfaces where the new panel would be glued and found them to be untrue and not aligned. I pulled out my Stanley Shoulder Plane and spent an hour or so gently reducing all the high points using the plane constantly checking against the straightedge; it was wonderful to be so hands on and the plane was talking to me producing lovely shavings with little effort.

I had been wondering about the baffle board located across bottom front and this looked full of trouble; I decided to remove all the securing screws and try to remove it completely; the screws were rusty but fortunately with care the baffle board was removed; as the baffle board was needed to aid alignment it was replaced by sliding it in; this could have been a serious problem but by removing it now and replacing it I know that the baffle board will require replacing and recovering and secured into position before the second side panel is glued into position as this would be impossible or extremely difficult to add once both side panels were in place.

Now for the biggest job of all; to glue in the new side panel and I was acutely aware that this was now success or failure; this side panel is the one I had to re-lay the inlaid panel of Sapele Pommele and the panel did not like me doing this as it dished badly as it dried so this made the job much more difficult.

I gathered all my clamps and cut protective strips of hardboard leaving two long strips and breaking others into small pieces to act as pads under the clamps. For the millionth time everything was checked for alignment and I started to apply exterior grade Evo Stick woodworking adhesive; all went well and plenty of adhesive was added to three frames members then the adhesive bottle decided it didn’t want to play anymore by not releasing adhesive; I was already in a state of full apprehension aware any hold up could ruin the job as the glue only has a short open time before starting to set and I had to accurately position the panel and add the many clamps; I ripped the nozzle from the bottle and still the adhesive would not flow so I unscrewed the cap then the adhesive came out in huge blobs but I had little choice and quickly had the frame members covered in adhesive which I quickly spread using an old knife ensuring every bit of the frame joint received a good coating.

I took a deep breath and located the back edge of the panel adding a single clamp and protective packing; this needed to be perfect and was double checked then the entire panel was secured with an assortment of clamps and protective pads; what a relief it was to see adhesive being squeezed out all around the joints; the clamps were nipped up but not over tightened then using the knife excess adhesive was removed. Panic over I could relax and check everything was OK; the clamps were checked and I won’t know until the clamps are removed if all the time and effort have been worth it. If this panel proves a success then I now have the experience and know what is involved in adding the second panel by simply repeating the procedure. If all is well once the clamps are removed I’ll run the router around using a flush cutting bit fitted with a bearing to trim it to size before starting on the second panel.

Tomorrow I’m taking Bronwyn for some well earned retail therapy for St Valentine’s Day.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

It was sheer joy for me to remove the clamps and see the new panel in place. I’ve just spent the morning in the garage and used the router fitted with a straight flush cutting bearing guided bit to trim excess from the panel edges; what a beautiful job the router made of this leaving the edge ready for veneering in due course.

From now on I need to be extra careful not to damage the new panel and in order to protect it a clean bath towel was placed under it on the bench.

Over the next few days I’ll duplicate the work already carried out by fitting the second side panel and don’t need to add notes as this procedure has already been fully covered. I’m adding a picture though of the method used to remove the original panel after cutting its centre out; a wood chisel and scraper were used to separate the plies and this was done very gently.

A new grille panel needs to be made and covered with new cloth before the second side panel can be attached; the original looks very shabby indeed and the plywood is badly de-laminating

With so many problems now resolved and so many new techniques learned I’m now much more confident that I can pull this cabinet restoration off. Once the second panel is attached and the new grille panel is in place the next big challenge will be to veneer the top panel and as its front is curved I’m expecting this to be fun.

I felt frozen once again as I came out of the garage so won’t do any more work today. My next session will involve making the new grille panel and I’ll post details of this.

Kind regards, Col.

[Boom]

Absolutely amazing!

[Aerodyne]

I have to second Dave's verdict (above) also add that I totally agree with you when you say 'What a beautiful result'. It certainly is. Just great stuff, very inspiring.
-Tony

[Line whistle]

I've been following this thread with great interest. Top job so far.
Cheers,
Des.

[Tazman1966]

I've been following this wide eyed and open mouthed. Unbelievable attention to detail Col. This is going to be so nice when it's done. Well done sir.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks everyone for your most kind comments.

I’ve had an excellent day today and made a lot of progress. I was pleased to see that the baffle board can actually be removed with the side panels in place. What I thought were two glue blocks turned out to be blocks secured only with screws so rather than make the new baffle board today I concentrated on replacing the worm eaten frame members.

Having replaced one side panel gaining experience I made all the new frame members then removed the entire side of the cabinet after adding a brace to prevent it collapsing. The frame members replaced are duplicates of the other side and are now glued and screwed into position. Having done this work once the second time went much quicker and tomorrow I hope to attach the second side panel assuming I can get everything to align.

I think the picture explains better than text and shows cabinet restoration work in the extreme. I’ll feel very uneasy until the new side panel is successfully installed.

I had considered using MDF for the grille panel but MDF doesn’t hold screws very well so it looks as though I’ll be hunting for a bit of decent 3/8” thick plywood soon. The grille panel is fitted with a long metal strip to its top edge and this is tapped in three places to accept very fine machine screws which I presume are for holding the safety glass in place.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

With a huge sigh of relief I can say that the second side panel is finally fitted and all appears to have gone well. I'll know tomorrow once I remove the clamps.

This morning I visited a local joinery company and enquired if they had an offcut of 3/8" thick plywood that I could buy; I took along the grille panel to show what I needed the plywood for. I was very kindly given a suitably sized piece but as I returned to the car noticed this plywood is of the same quality as the rubbish sheets of plywood I have stored under the bungalow. It was very generous of the company to give it to me and I'm grateful but I despair at the general poor quality of plywood being supplied and used these days.

I have a stock of Meranti hardwood so will put a piece through the thicknesser to see if it remains stable as I'm fed up with trying to obtain decent plywood.

Kind regards, Col.

[Andy - G8MNM]

Col,

Don't forget to protect the new cabinet/timber from woodworm!
It would be a real shame if all your hard work were to be nibbled away in the future by the pesky worm.
(I have had to replace an internal ply panel in a radio I am restoring due to it having been eaten to bits in places by worm).
I guess french polished surfaces are protected from the beetle whereas un-finished surfaces inside the cabinet could be at risk?

Regards

Andy

[murphyv310]

Hi Col.
Well I haven't made a lot of comments so far, the main reason is that I stand in awe to a true craftsman.
What a wonderful thread and job you are doing. If you ever fancy a working holiday you are more than welcome here.
Brilliant

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Andy for the timely reminder about treating for woodworm. I intend to spray the inside of the cabinet with black acrylic lacquer (auto paint) then cover most of it in foil as it was shielded originally.

Your kind comments are very much appreciated Trevor and such encouragement has kept me going whilst working in the black hole. The weather has been both friend and enemy; it has been so dire only allowing short periods of work but on the other hand it has prevented me jumping in and making silly mistakes as I’ve had plenty of time to give each stage deep thought.

I have found a problem that is troubling me and this is the staining of the cross banding; I did stain the cross banding on both side panels before adding the stringing and thought this was the way to go. I hadn’t realized that the spirit stain I used didn’t penetrate far into the veneer and only found this out when I scraped the stringing flush as the scraping removed the skin of the surrounding veneer bringing it up a patchy colour. The inlaid centre panel of Pommele is fine with the scraping as it is natural colour but the stained cross banding has suffered.

I didn’t want to stain after adding the stringing because of the light coloured outer veneers used in making the stringing and feared these would become contaminated with stain even if well masked before applying the stain but now it looks as though I’m in for some very careful masking as I’ll stain again once all the woodwork is finished. The entire restoration is trial and error and a huge learning curve but fortunately so far everything is still going well.

With hindsight I should have bought dark coloured veneer such a Wenge or Ebony for the cross banding but as I had plenty of quarter cut Sapele decided to use this. I could have soaked the Sapele in water based stain ensuring good penetration but again this would have given problems as water based glue is used to secure the stringing and this glue could possible reactivate the stain.

Using MDF for frame members caused one headache and this was due to trying to screw into it. Both front tall frame members each side of the screen opening were pocket screwed at the top corner joints on the original this being into thick plywood. These screws were located at an angle; I wanted to repeat using the screws but now into the thick MDF and pre-drilled a pilot hole; a new steel 1 ¼” no.7 screw was almost driven home only to split the MDF; not badly but I did see it starting to part and the reason for this was that I was using a standard slotted screw that didn’t want to bite into the MDF pushing it away instead; the answer was to remove the screw and carefully drill the pilot hole deeper taking care not to break through; now the screw could be driven fully home locking the split securely. A small but important point; MDF does not like being screwed into unless a full length pilot hole is first drilled. I’ve not tried using chip board screws which are designed for use in board materials although I will try them next time I use MDF.

Solving all the problems and learning the new techniques is to me the most interesting and rewarding part of this restoration and although the story looks very long and complicated; so far what I have done can be done by anyone with the determination to have a go. I’ve used my machinery where possible but hand tools could have been used in fact had the weather been warmer I would have used my hand tools more. I hope this project is encouraging others to have a go at restoring a “woody” and I’m trying to give as much information as possible to help. Once I reach the finishing stage I’ll be on familiar ground as I like French polishing but I’ve a lot more veneering to do first.

Kind regards, Col.

[valvekits]

Hi Col
Seems like you have had a few sleepless nights with this project but you always come up with a solution. The quality of the plywood materials has been quite an eye opener.
I once had some problems with screwing into MDF rather like you have been experiencing. I found a solution by drilling and tapping the holes out and using 8-32UNC screws. Perhaps not what Dormer had in mind when they made the tap, but hey it worked for me!

Eddie

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi Col, I think there are special screws available for MDF, certainly multi-start and possibly with a special threadform.
I think Screwfix etc stock them; this may help if you can get a suitable size. Will almost certainly be a crosspoint recess though.

Ed

[AlanBeckett]

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/93833/...mm-Pack-of-200
Alan

[Retired]

Hi,

Yes Eddie I’ve had many restless nights including last night wide awake at 4am and couldn’t get to sleep so I’ll be tired again today. Thanks for the tapping tip; I always use a steel screw to cut the thread if ever I use brass screws. Every bit of information helps.

Thanks Ed and Alan, whilst waiting for Morrison’s to open this morning I browsed the Screwfix catalogue and there are at least two types of screws listed suitable for chipboard and MDF both having razor sharp points but yes they are cross head types and I was trying to use traditional slot heads. Each time I visit Screwfix in future I’ll buy a few boxes of these MDF type screws and will soon build up a stock; I have a cupboard full of traditional slot head screws. For members unfamiliar with Screwfix I can highly recommend them as it is my favourite store.

Its cold again but I’m keen to remove the clamps this morning to see what the cabinet now looks like sporting two new side panels so I’m going into the garage but before doing so I’ll add some water to a handful of hide glue then it will be ready for use when I start to do more veneering. For best results hide glue needs to be fresh.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

As planned; this morning I removed the clamps and was delighted to see the second side panel now fitted. It was cold in the garage so I quickly trimmed the new panel to size using the router once again fitted with a bearing guided flush cutting bit. After tidying up the cabinet was then carried into the kitchen where it was much lighter and warmer in fact as the day progressed I thought I was working in a heat wave.

It took a while to set up once again for veneering but I made a lot of progress during this afternoon then ran out of time at 5.30. I found working on the cabinet quite difficult as it was too low on the floor and too high sitting on the work surface; in the end I laid the Sapele Pommele inlay panel with the cabinet on the floor then started to lay the cross banding with the cabinet on the work surface.

All went well until I started to lay the cross banding to the front curved edge as the veneer was proving difficult to form around the curve; I knew from the very beginning this would be a major problem and I got the sequence of laying wrong; I should have started at the front and worked back but this is not a disaster as the hide glue can be re-softened by applying the hot iron. I did try to veneer the curve but time was running out so I removed the veneer and called it day after tidying up and putting everything away.

I’ll give this problem some thought and already I have a number of options how to veneer the curve but as snow is forecast for tomorrow I don’t fancy the idea of working in the cold garage yet again.

The picture gives a glimpse of what I’m trying to achieve and the restoration is moving along more quickly now. Tomorrow is another day.

Kind regards, Col.