I have a "Little Astor" cabinet from 1928. It is in fair to good condition and only needs replacement of some of the beading around the lid to complete the cabinet. Because there's no chassis, I will ultimately need to make a replica though this is a project that should have been completed by now though other aspects of life got in the road and it is still to be done.

The trick with this is that I've been advised by a fellow member that the chassis for this radio came in a few versions. I think we managed to work out which one was required, though yes, the work still needs doing. The chassis will probably get made of the material which is used in today's electrical meter boxes - it is probably the closest material that would replicate what was originally there.

Unless one is able to find a complete readio with a smashed cabinet, this is the only way to bring a cabinet back to life. The trick here is that the wait can be a long one. I have a jade green 500M Radiolette and when I bought it, it came with a cracked dial pointer. I waited more than 10 years for the opportunity to replace it. The smashed radio cost three times as much as the original radio, which I paid the princely sum of $80 for - at an antique shop. Clearly, the owner didn't realise what she was selling otherwise another $1,000 would have been added to the price tag.

Brad I don't see a problem making a chassis to the factory design with the closest material.
Otherwise there is no possible way to restore the assembly to working condition.

Then when it is finished you can correctly describe what was done to the set to restore it.
I for one would be really impressed with the extra work and in my eyes the assembly would be just as valuable (if you could care) as any thing else.

The only problem I see in any hobby, be it ceramics, coins, radios, cars, is creepy types "passing off" stuff just to make money.
Claiming something is original when it is not makes me quite annoyed.

Those types who then claim ignorance are a disgrace.
The trick is to get enough knowledge in your hobby to know the difference!

Fred..

Fred, rest assured, I'll be using your special projects threads for inspiration when I do get going with the Little Astor.

Well, here is the last part, part 4 for this radio.
I must admit I lost focus and got tired of the project, wanting to get on with other hobbies.
It is a finished radio and looks ...um...sort of "cute".
Never mind, it really is the journey that fascinates me and I always learn about doing stuff!

Will send a PDF to Brad to clip to this post.
Enjoy.

Fred.

Restoring a 1947 KL Astor Mickey, Part 4

Document uploaded to Post 49.

Great job given the state of that set at the beginning. It's now a unique one for sure. Reminds me a bit of an Esky.

An Esky without a handle! Still, it's better than I could do, as I'm completely hopeless on the mechanical aspects.

Good job Fred.

Thanks guys, I do make some rubbish things sometimes and the further I went with this one the deeper in the poo I got!
Still, thats protoyping for you and learning how NOT to do things.
I have a great respect for furniture and product designers now, looking "right" is a very subtle thing.
Fred.

Aluminium will polish & look good. JJ also had an Aluminium chassis. I would consider that corrosion would be an issue with rivets as the tag strips would not be aluminium. Iron on Aluminium will cause a battery and the Aluminium is eaten. It is therefore advisable with any set where tag strips are riveted & corrosion evident, to run earth wires from them to a common node.

The other thing with 6X5 is that it has a heater that uses a fraction of the current of a 5Y3 (10watts) vs 6X5 (3.8 watts) so you have one winding less plus a marginally heavier wire single 6.3V winding, so the transformer is a little more compact.

There was a lot of scrap metal after the war which ended up in places you would not believe.

In England the TE-20 Fergy Tractor was a beneficiary. The hydraulic pump is ex Lancaster. I have an early TE20-D, but also one to see if I can resurrect it. One has a principally Aluminium bonnet, the other all steel, but had an Aluminium heat shield on the manifold as it can run Vaporising oil. Engine Sump is Aluminium, most of the Hydraulic pump is Aluminium, some of the dash panels are Aluminium, thermostat housing which supports the fuel tank is Aluminium, as well as the plugs in the head. Gearbox is "Duralium" a few other bits as well, like pistons. Shift forks are Bronze.

So that got rid of a large number of aircraft. Even the grey paint was surplus from the Royal Navy. There are still Radio valves about with "WD", JAN & Swastika's on them, that found their way back into domestic radio's.

Hi Marcc, the use of alloy in this chassis agrees with that.
At any other time alloy would have been an expensive option, they must have had tons of it in stock for WD jobs and worked their way through it.
I wonder how many radio makers used alloy as well?

The 6X5 I used was still sealed by staples in its original box and has DD with the upright arrow between it.

Some poms liked alloy for stuff.
The 1920's Austin 7 I had used alloy castings in the engine and gearbox and diff.
The block was iron, the rest alloy.
Herbert A must have had shares in a Aluminium factory!
My Morris 1929 OHC was the opposite, all iron and steel.
Both drove like and had brakes worse than a pram!

You are right with the paint colour, at work even in 1960, we had "Battleship Grey" by the bucket full and painted everything with it!

Fred.

Still on side tracking I have seen a 1916 Napier Motor and it was Aluminium & a cousin had an early "Phantom" Roller & it had an Aluminium block. Interesting machine there were no head studs as such it was more or less a bolt with a square plate in the crankcase, so it could not tear them out if it was a stud. I am pretty sure it has mechanical ABS braking.

Marc