1957 RCA 9-ES-6J Schematic Epiphany

[William]

Congrats Mogul! Now you can sit back and enjoy your newly rebuilt toy.

Bill

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Thanks guys !
Today I put in a Pfanstiehl P-228 stereo cart
jumpered to mono.

Though it is only 0.5 V output, it's a smoother sound
than the original Sonotone 2-T 1 Volt cart.

Volume is at max, but no distortion, and a very
listenable volume.

Listening now to "Farmer's Daughter" on The Beach
Boys' "Surfin' U.S.A." original album.

That tune has some of their best harmonies.

I'm very content with this little RCA.
She'll be put back into her cabinet and then we'll
see about getting her a good home.

[electra225]

How could you bear to part with it, after you have been through so much together.....

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

How could you bear to part with it, after you have been through so much together.....

Well, that's the life of a hi-fi orphanage.
You hope the hi-fi kids you raise remember
your efforts and carry them forward.

I don't let these gals go to just ANY home.

And, somehow, the kids keep showing up
at my doorstep. Who could be doing that ?

[electra225]

By the time I get one rehabbed, it has become personal, a member of the family. My wife says I am auditioning for "Hoarders". I sold 128 radios at the auction, something I swore I'd never do.

[William]

I understand both sides of your stories. I'm kind of like Greg wanting to keep all of my toys, but if someone really wanted one of my toys, and I know they are going to appreciate it, enjoy it, and maybe want to learn and become one of US, I would let it go.

Bill

[Firedome]

I've learned a lesson from my late uncle that I've mentioned here before. He died leaving 6 finished collector cars, 10 model A & T project cars, 12 rented garages (at 900 a month) full of mostly vintage Ford parts, 2 garages full of old vintage balsa and Styrofoam planes including about 40 unbuilt kits, 30-40 competed, part-completed, and crashed project planes, hundreds of motors and other parts, and 2 garages crammed full of HAM, audio, and other electronic stuff, piles of seasoned cherry and walnut for furniture projects, much woodworking and metal machinery including 3 metal lathes, not to mention all the regular type of household stuff. All of it was left to his 3 surviving offspring, all in their 60s, who know nothing about any of it, so for 4 months I've been helping them to sort thru it and direct it's disposal to r/c plane and car clubs, private car collectors, a museum, Binghamton U's Ham group, a recording studio, woodworkers, &c &c... any entity that will appreciate them we hope. But we still have about 60% of it left to auction, donate, junk, or whatever. This overwhelming task has mainly served to motivate me to start thinning out our own stuff; I'm not going to do that to our 3 children!

[electra225]

We were coming to a fork in the road ourselves. The wife's son has no interest in anything we collected over the years. It was becoming overwhelming for us to take care of all that stuff, plus two places. We sold the place in Missouri and moved to this much smaller house. We had an auction and sold most everything we owned. Truck, tractor, lawn equipment, shop equipment, most of my radios, all my fans, all the wife's collections. I kept my Magnavox collection, the test equipment, miscellaneous parts nobody would bid on, my smaller record players and some tubes. And about three dozen radios, the ones I liked best. I figured I'd miss that stuff. I don't, surprisingly. Not for a second. There comes a time when you have to say "enough is enough" and move on.

[TC Chris]

My Mom,from whom the kids all inherited a collector gene, just died this week at 98. She had her stuff, and my Dad's stuff, and the kids' stuff that remained at her home. It will be quite the job to unload all the stuff,and I'm in charge of the undertaking.

One lesson is to thin things out early, but that is hard to do. I did it once when I moved 150 miles away, 27 years ago. Still regret giving away some of the tube electronics. My office just moved; I pitched 46 years of trade journals that I had collected, because they're on line now. But "deleted",it was hard.

I feel an obligation to find the right home for stuff, placing things with people who will enjoy them or where they will serve some purpose. It requires effort. We've got my great-uncle's Civil War book collection and all sorts of other books (need any medical texts from the '20s and '30s?). I'll need to find space for a few consoles stored there, and the Chevy, which has lived in that garage for 48 years. About 30 years ago I delivered my parents' first automatic washer to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. The local historical museum got the 1956 portable GE dishwasher (pink interior). If you work at it, you can often find people or organizations that want the stuff. Giving it away is easier than selling it.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Chris. Liquidation of family heirlooms is never an easy proposition. I wish you the best.

[TC Chris]

Another bit of good luck is that much of the furnishings were bought at estate sales. Good stuff, nice stuff, but "recycled." Now lots of those things may get recycled again, maybe into homes where they will be treasured and admired. The things have stories with them. "That came from...."

Chris Campbell

[TC Chris]

Another bit of good luck is that much of the furnishings were bought at estate sales. Good stuff, nice stuff, but "recycled." Now lots of those things may get recycled again, maybe into homes where they will be treasured and admired. The things have stories with them. "That came from...."

Chris Campbell

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Another bit of good luck is that much of the furnishings were bought at estate sales. Good stuff, nice stuff, but "recycled." Now lots of those things may get recycled again, maybe into homes where they will be treasured and admired. The things have stories with them. "That came from...."
Chris Campbell

I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment Chris.
And I'm glad you had your Mother for so many years.
Mine is close to yours in age, and she is my link to
much family history. I am still learning about my family.

For several decades in my earlier years, I loved to attend
estate sales.
I looked upon entry into those person's home as a privilege,
and I tried to respect that it WAS someone's home.

My buying of items reflected that some things needed to be saved.
Even if not a particular thing I wanted, I could see the
value in the quality of an item made well.

I use a 1950's little manual drill all the time that I found
in some gentleman's workshop.

My hobby of working on record players reflects my beliefs.
When I can fix a family heirloom record player, or turn on
a young person to the enjoyment of record players,
that's very gratifying.

I've also developed seeing the "finished product" in
Hi-Fi gals that others would pass up as junk.
Man, do I love Howards ReStor-A-Finish and number
0000 steel wool, for making old wood cabinets look
good again.

And I'd bet that most of us do not charge for all the time
it takes sometimes to get that "dang record changer"
working right. Or the mystery hum corrected, ha ha !

[electra225]

Mr. Mogul perhaps you would be kind enough to explain in further detail how you use Howards and 0000 steel wool to advantage. I haven't had much luck doing that. "The treatment" lauded on aanother forum, using 0000 steel wool and GoJo can damage or remove a lacquer finish, so I have ixnayed that one.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Mr. Mogul perhaps you would be kind enough to explain in further detail how you use Howards and 0000 steel wool to advantage. I haven't had much luck doing that. "The treatment" lauded on aanother forum, using 0000 steel wool and GoJo can damage or remove a lacquer finish, so I have ixnayed that one.

Greg,
I admit I have not had to work with many lacquered finishes.
I know that is a whole other ballgame to do well.
And I am not looking for a perfect finish, though I
greatly respect folks who can do that.

My choices of hi-fi cabinets to buy may have scratches
and dirt and dull spots, but the finish is mainly intact.

I have had good luck first cleaning w/wood soap/water/sponge.
Just enough on the sponge to remove surface dirt, and I
dry off excess water quickly. Repeat.
Then I pour a small amount of Howards on the 0000 wool,
and work with grain a bit, wipe off excess.
I have found that the Howards treatment will take 2-3 days to set.
Probably due to high humidity most of the year here.

From my chemistry courses, my nose notes Howards
seems to be ketone-based, like old fashioned lacquer thinner used to be.

An original wood finish that may have been stain-based usually
comes out very nice, almost immediately.
This is my anecdotal experience, and not all projects come
out great, but each one is improved visually substantially.
So, maybe nothing new here, but it's a product that helps.

[William]

I too, am sorry, Chris. I think Mom's are the hardest, as they hold a special place in our hearts, because they are Mom's. I miss mine everyday.

Bill

[electra225]

Mr. Mogul, why I asked about your methods is that I have a Magnavox cabinet that really should have the top refinished. I am chicken to trust somebody to do it right. I've read, and seen, where people have good results with Howard's, but my results have been pretty miserable. I make a bigger mess than I already had. I do basically as you describe, but I'm never happy. Maybe I expect the process to completely refinish the item. I probably expect too much. I have a cabinet that I am planning on refinishing that I may give Howard's another go on. Nothing to lose and I might actually save the original finish.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Mr. Mogul, why I asked about your methods is that I have a Magnavox cabinet that really should have the top refinished. I am chicken to trust somebody to do it right. I've read, and seen, where people have good results with Howard's, but my results have been pretty miserable. I make a bigger mess than I already had. I do basically as you describe, but I'm never happy. Maybe I expect the process to completely refinish the item. I probably expect too much. I have a cabinet that I am planning on refinishing that I may give Howard's another go on. Nothing to lose and I might actually save the original finish.

This story below was a last ditch effort by me.

On a 1958 or so beautiful Emerson radio/phono console, the
cabinet lid that raised up was a mess.
Howards could not do anything.

I finally said WTH, and used an organic low tox stripper
after removing the lid.
Then I went back and tested using an oil-base stain,
and I got pretty good results.

You guys know more than I, but it seems
there were several kinds of finishes used in the 1950's
on these hi-fi's.
I haven't owned any Maggie consoles, so you all can
educate me on that.

[electra225]

Nobody seems to know for sure what type of finish Magnavox used. "Ten coats of hand-rubbed oil finish" is what the brochures said. The best guess has been maybe Danish oil. They started using lacquer beginning with the 1962 models. My Stereo Theater definitely had lacquer on it. 0000 steel wool and GoJo took the finish right down to bare wood. The best reproduction finish I have been able to come up with is polyurethane over shellac. I put 18 medium spray coats on, three at a session, waiting 48 hours between sessions. I let it "breathe" for a year, then wet sanded, starting with 800 grit, finishing with 3000 grit. I used Finesce and a random orbital buffer to buff it out. I got that milky smooth finish Magnavox was so famous for, and it looks about a foot deep. Massive work, but what are you gonna do? Lacquer is not worth messing with.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Wow, that is some dedication to a superb
quality finish you performed Greg.

If it isn't trouble, would you post a photo of that Maggie ?
I would enjoy seeing the final product.