Truetone record player cabinet restoration

[electra225]

I have one more record player after this one to redo. Then, if I have glue left, I'll use remnants of the Tolex I've used to recover a tube tester I have that is getting worn-looking. I might even redo mom's old record player, though it is 78 rpm only. I've considered buying a four-speed, more modern player for parts and converting mom's to more modern specifications. Leave the outside as is so it "looks old".....

[electra225]

I am waiting on Tolex and decals. The Tolex got lost between here and Tempe, a distance, as the crow flies of 20 miles. The simple Truetone decals are giving them fits. The vastly more complicated Magnavox decals they made were no problem. That's how it goes sometimes. Wednesday next is the target date for the decals. I will go pick up the Tolex in person.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Looking forward to the final photos !

[electra225]

I have hit a snag. Decals. I don't have the proof promised yesterday. No proof, no decal. Something is wrong. I hate phone tag, hate chasing a vendor, hate email/texting tag even more. I think putting all my eggs in one basket may have been a mistake. I need to find a substitute decal vendor for occasions like this. The Truetone decal is like falling off a log easy compared to the Magnavox decal. This is going on five weeks.

I can finish the bottom of the cabinet and install the electronics. Not having the decals for the lid really won't hold anything else up.

[electra225]

The snafu has been untangled.....

People and businesses in this country spend BILLIONS of dollars on commnication devices. The ONE thing we fall down most on is communication. Herein lies a tale.....

Tres sent me three proofs. On his cellphone. They went to my spam folder. When I cleared the spam folder, like I do every day, I didn't recognize his email address he uses on his phone, so I deleted the proofs with the spam folder. I was getting concerned I wasn't getting any proofs, he was getting concerned I didn't like the proofs he sent. He kept making little corrections, I kept playing phone tag with his wife. He was afraid he had lost a "valued" customer, I thought I had lost a "valued" vendor. I went to his office, in person, today to separate the buckwheat from the BS. We had a nice talk, he apologized profusely for the delay, promised to email on his office computer in the future, or just pick up the phone and give me a call. I don't text. That is a big deal. Business people don't want to talk to you in person, or have you visit their brick and mortar location. They want to text.

Anyways, I have two decals for the "Truetone" and two for the "information" decal on the lower edge of the lid. All is well. I followed up every week wondering where my decals were. He kept sending proofs. All is well, I still have my vendor, he has a customer for life.

[William]

For those of us that do not text, or hate to text, today's world is a problem. I'm old school, I want to talk to the person I'm doing business with, things get done that way and right now without waiting for a back-and-forth response.

Bill

[electra225]

I'm sorry, I don't see the need to text. I figure I have a physical address where you can send me a letter, I have a landline where you can give me a telephone call, and I have email where you can send me a message, much like a text, where you don't have to speak in person. You text on the same device that has telephone capabilities. I was told today that it is common for people to not answer their phones. The make you leave a message so they can filter out spammers. Protocol dictates an immediate reply to a text, so that's why people want you to text. The telephone will also get you an instant response to your inquiry. Trying to hit all those little symbols accurately when I text is an aggravation. Why younger people have no consideration of that is beyond me in this day and age where everybody is expected to be so sensitive.

[TC Chris]

As a person with two dial phones, WE originals, still in active service, I try not to get too old-farty about new things while still recognizing the value of some old things. The older dial phone is from 1951, which makes a statement about the value of designing durability into products. But it's not portable, and like many others, I have come to enjoy the ability to call and receive calls on the move. The problem is addiction; having a mini-computer at hand can change the focus of life. Look at all those people staring at their phone screens instead of observing the world around them. So I have a flip phone. It's a self-imposed restraint, a bit of friction built into my life.

Yes, I can receive and send texts on the flipper, but it's laborious. Each button represents three or four letters, etc. So I use email. I really like to make proposals or ask questions via email. It gives the recipient a chance to consider my message and formulate a thoughtful response. In my line of work, a person who is confronted with a choice to be made RIGHT NOW is likely to say "no," A choice that comes with a persuasive explanation is more likely to get a "yes" or a "yes but." For some reason, I find it easier to think clearly when I'm typing. The process generates ideas and ways to express them. And when you send an email, the recipient can respond when it is convenient. At work, I just ignore the phone if I'm busy at some task. It can go to voicemail. Anybody who does not understand that, well, that's their problem and not mine.

As an old guy in a younger world, I try hard not to launch into "Why, in my day..." blather. The young folks are generally too polite to roll their eyes visibly, but it does mark the oldster as a person whose time has passed. Many times clients and other lawyers have blurted out, "You sound much younger on the phone" when they finally get a glimpse of my few remaining white hairs and wrinkles. I try not to say "You sound much smarter."

Chris Campbell

[Dr. Radio]

Sorry to hear Greg that your straight-forward project ran into a detour.

Be sure to post pics when things get completed!

[electra225]

Straightforward projects suffering a detour was common in the auto restoration business. The time a '48 Roadmaster convertible came in to have the radio fixed, but left three years and almost $250,000 later.....

Now, THAT was a detour......

[Firedome]

I also by choice use only a landline, flip phone and email, people that know me and that I care about hearing from know that I WILL NOT text. A voice communication is so much more efficient if any back-&-forth is needed, and eMail for more deliberative responses, or where a record is desirable.

This assumption by business & gov't that everyone uses the very latest tech is a problem. When my wife decided to take an 8 month furlough offer from her employer as a Family Practitioner in 2019 due to Covid and a huge financial shortfall from a cataclysmic decline in in-person medical procedures, it took forever - 4 months! - to get a qualification for unemployment compensation by the State of NY as they required a live interview online, even though she was willing to go in person. This in addition to tons of screening info, fingerprints, birth cert, &c &c all sent by scans and attachment, and the private Co. hired by the state to vet applicants just assumed that everyone has access to a smart phone... not! We ended going without that income for 5 months! There's still people that don't even own computers, much less smart phones, for lands sake! I imagine it'll get worse, with AI changes in tech are accelerating. I dread when all purchase transactions require digital funds transfers, maybe in form of digital blockchain currency, and cash and maybe even conventional credit is no longer accepted. I think it's coming. Olde Farte-ism or not, too many of these changes are not a positive thing. The real reasons for most are most savings or convenience... for some.

[electra225]

I have put the Tolex project on this record player on hold for the moment. We are remodeling our kitchen and will be using the lower cabinets out of the kitchen in my shop. I have everything piled up in the middle of the room. I am tinkering with little projects in the interim. When I get the shop back to where I can find things and have room to work, this Tolex project is first on the list. Then the TV Analyzer, then the TV in the Stereo Theater, all while I'm working on the Tolex on the GE portable stereo. One of the cabinets that used to be the island will be put on casters so I can use it for Tolex projects. The sink cabinet will also get casters so I can use it for either an extension to the island cabinet or use it for record player rebuilding. Hopefully, this will free up my bench for strictly electronics work.

[electra225]

Since it has been awhile since I did the last Tolex project, knowing I'm a novice at best, I decided to make a practice run using masking paper instead of Tolex. Originally, the top was put on in one piece, the bottom was put on in one piece. I'm not sure I'm up to that. I will certainly put the bottom on in three pieces, and am developing a plan to put the top on in one piece, then three pieces if I can't figure it out. To make it more challenging, both the top piece and the bottom piece are pie-shaped on the sides. This little player will be a bigger pain to put Tolex on and make it look decent than the Magnavox was. Try as I might, I can't get the grill cloth clean. Dirty grill cloth may be part of its personality until I can come up with a suitable replacement.

[electra225]

Then after you do a mock-up with paper, you want to do another mock-up with Tolex. The old "measure twice, cut once" rule is easy to forget if you get in a hurry, often times with aggravating results.

The sides of this little cabinet, both the top and the bottom, are slanted. This has caused me to stop and study as to how to best approach the angles. I cheated and cut the pieces of Tolex large enough to cover the larger angles then cut it down on the smaller angles. All the videos on installing Tolex that I watched were covering guitar amps. Recovering record player cabinets is a different kettle of fish, as far as how the cabinet is made is concerned. It took three afternoons just to recover the lid. It's all done with the exception of the decals. I have the red for the bottom cut and trial-fitted. Tomorrow I can maybe get it put on. That will probably be all I get done tomorrow.

[electra225]

The Tolex and piping are both done. It turned out nice. I played a couple of records after I put it together. It's not high fidelity by any means, but it brings back memories. I have played that thing thousands of hours, dragged it everywhere I went. I was so proud of it when I got it new. In reality, it may be better now than it was when it was new. I left the 50EH5 output tube in it that I had put there for test. I get a tad more volume than with the 50C5.

One trick I learned with this project was to use a wet tooth brush to put on the Tolex glue. This somewhat helps with the glue buildup on the brush and it makes the glue spread better without drying while you are trying to spread it. I used two toothbrushes on this project. I put the brush in a cup of water between uses which helps the glue not to dry in the brush.

This is the first cabinet I have done that was not square. Every panel was angled. This is really no harder to handle, really, you just have to pretend it's straight and make your cuts accordingly. You waste a bit more material, but it worked out okay.

I have the decal and the grille cloth yet to do. I pooped out before I got done. I have pictures to share if there is interest. Next up for a Tolex project will be the old GE RP-1590 stereo. It is all gray now. I plan to hotrod it a bit, using the Tolex left from other projects. Something like black, silver, white and red. I need to find some red, or red-themed grille cloth.

[electra225]

I have a few more details to cover, but I thought somebody might enjoy seeing some pictures. First the lid....

[electra225]

Now the bottom of the cabinet with most of the guts installed.

I still have the grille cloth. the bumpers on the lower cabinet and the decals yet to do.

[electra225]

I couldn't find any black piping the right size. I went to Home Depot and found a piece of 22 gauge stranded electric wire that works perfect. I put it on in two pieces, then hid the splice under the vent plate on the back of the cabinet. I doubled it up on each end then stapled it. I put Elmer's glue in the groove in the cabinet, then pressed the wire/piping into the groove. When the glue is still white, it isn't dry enough. I cheated a little on the white Tolex I put in the inside of the lid. Instead of Tolex glue, I used Elmer's white glue. This material dries slower, lets me twist and pull to get the piece straight where it needs to go. The Tolex glue won't let you move it once you put the Tolex on. I measure out about an inch of extra material, width and length, just in case I don't get the piece started right. This gives a little extra margin of safety. That wastes a little material, but having to rip it off and start over wasted a LOT of material.

[TC Chris]

Better than new....
Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Thanks, Chris! It has been a real joy bringing this little record player back from the junk heap. I used to be able to buy diamond needles for it. I think the one I have is sapphire. I had a SLIGHT mechanical glitch this afternoon. I put on a 78 and it played for about half the record, then went to 45 rpm. Hmmmm.

I got to looking and found that I had failed to put a washer/spacer/really vital doodad back when I put the mechanism back in after I did the Tolex on the motor board. This let the platter run crooked in relation to the motor shaft. Replacing the washer seems to have cured the issue. I don't know whether I just neglected to put the washer in or if it fell out putting everything together. It's kinda one of those jobs where you could use three hands.

I have the grille cloth in and have the speaker connected. It sounds pretty good.

I have borrowed a hair dryer so I can do the decals. It will be here in the morning. I have the bumpers on, so we are all done after the decals get put on.....