Masek's Philco 38-116 Finished - see end of thread

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Jul Sun 22, 2012 1:28 am

This one has been waiting long enough. I've now got a 38-690, so will keep it long enough to compare the two.

Here is the schematic:
http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Resources/255/M0013255.htm

Long ago, I bought the grille cloth, and an acoustic clarifier it was missing. Someone here was nice enough to send a full-sized pattern for a back. I also bought a reproduction dial.

I cut the wires, marking them with tape labels, to remove the tuning "deck," as there is no practical way to replace the capacitors without removing it, and then unbolting the sides of it.

As found:

Stipped today, along with others:

Chuck McB · **Joined:** Oct Tue 23, 2007 4:22 pm **Posts:** 2624

I look forward to seeing your progress .

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Jul Mon 23, 2012 4:06 am

I did a little veneer repair work today, after church and the beach. It is amazing that this cabinet had just one tiny missing chip (1/8" square, or less) on a back corner of the top. However, it has a scratch on the lower part of one side. A veneer patch would probably look worse than just filling it, and using some oil paint crayons to try to add some vertical "grain."

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Jul Thu 26, 2012 3:21 am

Here it is after:

1) Lightly sanding the cabinet

2) Using lacquer thinner and acetone to remove remnants of lacquer

3) Reapair of anotehr small veneer chip on the back edge of one side

4) Applying "nutmeg" water-based stain

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Jul Tue 31, 2012 12:05 am

It is a good idea to wear gloves and have a tweezer handy when spraying lacquer outdoors, to be able to get rid of dust, bugs which get in it when it is wet. Of course, a good-fitting respirator with the proper cartridges is needed. I also keep a can of blush/retarder and blender/flow-out handy, and newer do more than mist vertical surfaces, instead movingt he item to spray surfaces which are horizontal.

We had too much going-on Sunday moring, after working almost a double day Saturday, so I forgot to apply any grain filler. Fortunately, it is a tight-grained veneer, and much of the old filler is still present. I'll just have to use more lacquer to get it smooth.

Before spraying any toned lacquer on the trim, the entire radio should be sprayed with clear lacquer. That makes it easier to apply and remove the masking tape, lessening the risk of damaging veneer whern the tape is pulled off. After the clear dried, I applyed the masking. I managed to grab on grill bar and break it, so I had to glue it and reinstall it.

Here it is with the first coat of clear and the trim coated with a few coats of Dark Van Dyke Brown:

pred · **Posted:** Jul Tue 31, 2012 12:22 am

So where shall I address a couple of consoles to for a rehab by you?
Nice work !
WIll keep watching these threads !
Peter

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Jul Tue 31, 2012 4:07 am

Thanks Peter, but I've got quite a few more to do.

murf · **Posted:** Aug Wed 01, 2012 2:50 am

FStephenMasek wrote:

It is a good idea to wear gloves and have a tweezer handy when spraying lacquer outdoors, to be able to get rid of dust, bugs which get in it when it is wet. Of course, a good-fitting respirator with the proper cartridges is needed. I also keep a can of blush/retarder and blender/flow-out handy, and newer do more than mist vertical surfaces, instead movingt he item to spray surfaces which are horizontal.

Nice job.
Is that dark toner color original?
Mine is not that dark.
These are beautiful radios.
I still have a problem with not enough volume on mine after a 99% re-cap and most resistors.
Just got tired of working on it I guess.
Maybe this winter,if I can get caught up.
I have a zenith console apart now,and a 12 tube coronado waiting in the wings.
Great job on the 116.
murf

We had too much going-on Sunday moring, after working almost a double day Saturday, so I forgot to apply any grain filler. Fortunately, it is a tight-grained veneer, and much of the old filler is still present. I'll just have to use more lacquer to get it smooth.

Before spraying any toned lacquer on the trim, the entire radio should be sprayed with clear lacquer. That makes it easier to apply and remove the masking tape, lessening the risk of damaging veneer whern the tape is pulled off. After the clear dried, I applyed the masking. I managed to grab on grill bar and break it, so I had to glue it and reinstall it.

Here it is with the first coat of clear and the trim coated with a few coats of Dark Van Dyke Brown:

radiorich · **Posted:** Aug Wed 01, 2012 2:43 pm

Hello FStephenMasek ,
that cabinet sure looks great

.

Sincerely Rich

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Aug Wed 01, 2012 11:09 pm

I'm not sure how dark the lacquer was when the radio was new. The trim may have been a lighter brown, but it is plain wood, so there is no nice grain to show through. I think the dark brown will go well with the reproduction grille cloth.

calmark · **Posted:** Aug Thu 02, 2012 12:15 am

I like the look, nice job.

Mark

deltysdal · **Posted:** Aug Thu 02, 2012 1:21 am

Very nice and thanks for sharing.

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Aug Mon 13, 2012 4:35 pm

Time for the chassis work. I had removed the sub-chassis and tagged the cut wires with blue tape with numbers & letters.

Two capacitors changed, now needed to disconnect one end of a resistor to test it, but other wires / parts were in the way, so I made a sketch in case I was interruped

Now it can be tested and found to be bad. We all really need to stop using the term "recapped" as testing and replacing resistors is also an important part of the work.

deltysdal · **Posted:** Aug Mon 13, 2012 6:00 pm

Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Aug Mon 13, 2012 7:36 pm

You're welcome. I keep posting as I progress on this one.

Tim Tress · **Posted:** Aug Thu 16, 2012 3:24 pm

Thanks for sharing the info! At long last, I have my own 38-116 next in line for a restoration, which hopefully will lead to a spot in the living room if everything goes well. I'll probably be looking for some electrolytic cans to restuff, so that will be in the Classifieds.

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Sep Sun 02, 2012 4:51 am

It played for the first time today! Better still, with no adjustments, it received many stations loud and clear.

Playing for the first time (transformer cover outdoors for repainting)

Somebody had rewired the rectifier socket for something other than a 5X4G! That could be a real gotcha, so I'd suggest checking your radios.

Chassis bottom finished (almost - I still need to get the AUX input working)

I tied rivet and screw grounds together in several groups, as I've read here several times of wierd problems caused by bad rivet grounds

I added a fuse

I added a CL-90 and used nice hole plugs on the old capacitor holes

I used a capacitor across the line (after the switch), instead of the original two from each side of the line to the chassis dumping 120V on the chassis

I replaced the three tuning subchassis mounts, back gang capacitor grommet, and chassis front grommets with the nice reproductions from Rennovated Radios

Tim Tress · **Posted:** Sep Sun 02, 2012 6:07 am

I just started on mine this evening! Thanks for the nice clear shot of the chassis; I am going to have to undo a decades-old volume control replacement with a more correct part.

How difficult is it to remove the tuning mechanism?

FStephenMasek · **Posted:** Sep Sun 02, 2012 4:22 pm

Tim, removing the sub-chassis requires cutting quite a few wires, so plenty of tape to label them is needed. The dial mechanism needs to be removed. There are two set screws on each side of the flexible coupling. After that, the screw at the back of the sub-chassis hold it in place. Remove that, and slide the sub-chassis towards the front of the main chassis. You will need to unsolder some grounds to remove one of the sides of the sub-chassis. Even then, space is tight on the sub-chassis, but the new smaller capacitors help witht that problem.

Tim Tress · **Posted:** Sep Mon 03, 2012 4:38 am

Thanks for the info; things are progressing nicely here. Say, I'm interested in your old electrolytic cans, if you haven't tossed them yet.

Masek's Philco 38-116 Finished - see end of thread

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