Magnavox TP-241D record player cabinet restoration

[electra225]

Thanks for the encouraging words, Bill. Let's keep a good thought that I don't mess it up...

[William]

Trust me, you won't mess it up.

Bill

[electra225]

I had the chance to make a little progress on the cabinet this afternoon. First thing I did was to find a drill bit just a fuzz, the slightest fuzz larger than the fasteners. The bit I used is 1/64th inch larger than 1/4 inch. This allowed the fasteners to go into the cabinet holes, but still tight enough I can keep my fingers crossed that they won't spin when I tighten the bolts.

The second picture shows the fasteners in position.

The first picture shows marking the position of the fasteners so they can be fitted to the cabinet. I marked around the fasteners, removed them, then cut the impressions with an Exacto knife so the fasteners would be below the surface of the cabinet.

[electra225]

Pictures are posted backwards from how they are loaded. That usually isn't a problem, but now it is. Pardon the multiple posts, but I want the images in sequence so they make sense.

The first picture shows the hinge back on the lid. Everything lined up just fine.

The second picture shows the lid back on the cabinet with hinges installed. I followed the same procedure placing the fasteners to be slightly below the surface so they can be filled and not show under the new Tolex. I won't use the large-headed brass screws when I go back on final assembly. I hope to find some silver-colored bolts with recessed heads. I put the hinges back on the cabinet and the lid back on the cabinet so I could see that the lid still aligned properly with the cabinet. I will leave it together until I get the Bondo put on and it's set up. Then I can remove the lid from the cabinet to do the sanding and prep for Tolex.

[electra225]

The following pictures show the filling process, the first stage at least, and how the fasteners looked before filling. I believe this is going to work just fine. The lid seems solid. I may not use these fasteners on the latches for the lid. I'm hoping wood screws will hold them on. I'll use glazing putty to fill small imperfections.

[electra225]

If you look at the picture showing the changer compartment, you will see a 1" line down from the top of the cabinet. This should be where the outside body color extends down into the changer compartment. Then the white interior Tolex comes up to meet that line. The lid has an approximately 1/2" line down with the outside lid color extending into the underside of the lid, with the white Tolex coming up to meet that line. I checked on ebay this morning and found another TP-241 that the Tolex was in better shape on. It has the outside material extending down into the changer compartment. This further reinforces my belief that "happy hands at home" have been working on this cabinet. I haven't decided firmly yet on colors. I wanted black and red, but two-tone green or the turquiose and tan Mr. Mogul posted would look nice as well. Every day I change my mind.

No joy yet on reproducing the decal. I found a place willing to do it, but we are playing email tag.

[William]

Greg. what material would you use for the Magnavox decal? Tolex? Where is the place located that is willing to do the decal for you?

Bill

[electra225]

The place who has gotten back to me is in Tempe. They sent a sample of the material they would use for the decal. IT looks a lot like Tolex to me.

[William]

Are you going to use Tolex on the inside lid and then apply a decal over that?

Bill

[electra225]

The plan is to cover the outside of the lid with either red or light green, depending on the color scheme I finally choose. There will be a half inch lip that the top color extends into the inner of the lid. Then white Tolex goes on the inside of the lid, on all four sides and on the inside of the lid. The "Magnavox" emblem goes in the middle as close as I can get it and as straight as I can get it, over the Tolex. Then I will probably have to use a roller on the decal to get it to fit right, I'm guessing. This is all new territory to me.

[electra225]

I spent about an hour with this project this afternoon. Flower planting took priority, if you get my drift.......

I worked on repairing the corners of the lower cabinet. I have three of them done satisfactorily, the fourth took another coat of Bondo. I gave the entire cabinet a block sanding with 150 grit, not only to smooth any Bondo spots I may have missed, but to scuff up the surface will to accept Tolex adhesive. The next step, besides getting the decal reproduced, is to document all the holes in the cabinet and make a pattern so I can get them all in the right spot. Two of the original gray "feet" on the bottom of the cabinet are missing. AES has nice black ones, so that's what I'll use. I'm going to source the Tolex from them anyway. I'll go to True Value hardware store to get the adhesive. I want to make patterns of all the various cuts of Tolex, both for practice, and to keep me on track in case I have a "senior moment" and have an opportunity to make a wrong cut. I can refer to the paper pattern and maybe that will help prevent a mistake. The cabinet gets two coats of adhesive, applied at opposite directions.

[electra225]

I found a couple of feet for the cabinet and a couple Magnavox emblems on ebay, so maybe that will work out. I have spent some time this afternoon continuing to work on getting the bottom of the cabinet smooth. I have the corners done, those came out nice. There are still a lot of little flea bites and imperfections I want to fill so they don't show thru the new Tolex. And I'm still playing tag with the guy who said he can do the decal.

[electra225]

I have the cabinet bottom stabilized, everything glued, all the Bondo in spots to fill the holes, the corners are all fixed and then the cabinet has been sanded. Next step is to use glazing putty on the little flea bites that remain. The cabinet should be as smooth as I can get it. I have been in contact with the guy who says he will make the decal for the lid. Our schedules are conflicting, but I believe he can fix me up. He only lives about two miles from here.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Yes, I can tell all this pre-covering preparation is time well spent.

We appreciate the documentation.

[electra225]

There are numerous videos online about installing Tolex over new work. I haven't run across any that deal with removing Tolex, preparing the cabinet for new material, then installing Tolex over a "remodeled" cabinet. Nor is there any information on how to properly prepare an older cabinet for Tolex. Ron the Refinisher has been coaching me. Truth be told, he has never done Tolex himself, but can refinish anything you could imagine and make it look like a million dollars. So I am pretty much winging it, and doing a lot of CYA-type procedures. Some of the procedures I'm doing may be overkill, but better do a bit more work going in, rather than spoiling the final product due to lack of effort or for forgetting or overlooking a step. I have pictures, but what I'm doing is tedious and repetitive. I'll share pictures and more detail when I get the cabinet bottom totally ready for Tolex.

[electra225]

Here are some pictures of the filling process. There is a lot of damage on this cabinet that was probably done at the factory that built it. Lots of saw kerf damage, chipped edges, little chunks of wood missing. I can't believe Magnavox actually let a cabinet this poorly done get past their quality control people. Where the cabinet got wet there is some separation of the wood grain that I'm having to fill to make sure it's smooth. I sanded the cabinet all over for the second time. I had to make more corrections. IT may take several applications of glazing putty to get the surface as smooth as I'd like. The blue stuff is Bondo filler, the pink stuff is glazing putty. I am block sanding with 320 grit dry sandpaper.

[TC Chris]

I can't believe Magnavox actually let a cabinet this poorly done get past their quality control people.

Stop and think how much it would have cost Magnavox (or their cabinet supplier, likely) to devote the kind of obsessive attention you are giving it. This is a record player aimed mostly at kids, and the company had price points to meet in the kid-player market.

The latest Hagerty car magazine has a '57 Chevy tail fin as its cover photo (there's an article about the "Tr-Fives" inside). The chrome plating is beyond perfect. Paint too. All the trim is perfect and perfectly aligned. If a Chevy ever came off the assembly line in Flint lookin' that good, it was pure luck. What you are doing is like the guys who want all the slotted-screw heads to line up at exactly the same angle. Looks great, shows craftsmanship, but never was that way in real life.

The only way to make money on quality is to sell to a market that can afford it. When Magnavox wanted to get all spendy, they created the Concert Grand. They could have built a device that performed as well with a lot fewer tubes but they were aiming at an audience that could afford to heat their living rooms with electricity.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I don't see what the additional cost would have been for a sharp saw blade that would not damage the wood. Didn't they realize that I would come along 65 years later and want to restore the silly thing?

While getting the cabinet wet didn't help matters, most of what I am having to repair is a matter of sloppy workmanship by whoever built the cabinet. They used those split rivets and did considerable damage splaying those out. I realize this is a consumer product, designed to last ten years, or until the owner could afford to upgrade to a stereo. Here we are 65 years later, six times past its design limit.....

As to over-restoration:

Art restored a '57 Buick Roadmaster convertible, Garnet Red over Raven Black, black and white interior, black top, 5 Kelsey-Hayes wires and every option you could get on a '57 Roadmaster convertible. At the National Buick Club meet that year, the body judge gave him a 1-point gig for the body and paint being so much better than factory condition, it stuck out like a sore thumb. All the panels fit, all the trim fit, the paint lines were broken exactly just so. Art had done it so much better than factory condition, the poor judge had no choice but to give him a gig. Instead of having a 400-point Buick, it was a 399 point Buick. The highest point total to that time of any 1957 Buick. Art was livid.....

[TC Chris]

I would love to have seen it. I had that rusty, free '57 Super 2-dr. hardtop that always started, ran, and stopped even though it sat for months at a time. There was something about it that I liked. I still have the radio (P-P 12V6 output, etc.) and the steering wheel center medallion. It lacked the horizontal grille bar with the blue, white, red "1957" center but after the car was gone I found one in the trash. It hangs in my shop.

Chris Campbell
(Straying from the topic)

[hermitcrab]

Just a smooth surface is all you need for tolex... a bump here and there will not show ... tolex is pretty forgiving on that for hiding mistakes