Joined: Nov Thu 08, 2007 4:37 pm Posts: 4386 Location: Central Georgia
Quite a few years ago, a friend and fellow collector gave me an excellent Dayton variocoupler that I had been admiring in his junk box ever since I saw it. I had planned to use it in a project and began the hunt for other bits and pieces. A few years later I found a matching variometer at a swap meet and I recently acquired a British-made variable grid leak and cap from a collector's estate. A request in ARF classifieds yielded a nice Murdock cased tuning cap. It all came together last week.......
Nice mahogany was difficult to locate locally - so I opted for red oak. Remarkably, I found a single well-figured, quarter-sawn piece at the very bottom of the stack at Lowe's.... it had a small split in one end and apparently had been culled over many times. I fumed the oak with ammonia to get a darker substrate and waxed it. It actually plays well for what it is - there is a bit of a learning curve to tuning such sets... but I'm now getting the hang of it and a range of about 600 to 1250 khz.
_________________ JG Jackson
"Uva Uvam Videndo Varia Fit"
Joined: Jan Thu 01, 1970 1:00 am Posts: 5529 Location: Cleona, PA
A beautiful job, excellent use of antique components, and faithful to construction techniques of the era, including the underboard recessed wiring, which came down to radio from telegraph instruments. Congratulations.
Joined: Apr Tue 19, 2011 6:24 am Posts: 163 Location: northern New Jersey
JG,
Your work is an aesthetic delight! Your craftsmanship sets a very high standard for us to follow. An accolade from Jon the Grimm, a master of the craft, is high praise indeed.
Joined: Nov Thu 08, 2007 4:37 pm Posts: 4386 Location: Central Georgia
Thanks guys..... It was my first attempt at fuming oak - I'd have liked it a bit darker but it turned out okay. Here is the before and after (compared to a scrap (L) of the same board)....
From what I've read - white oak responds better than red oak.... which seems to be the case on these 2 bases I fumed along with the radio base board....
The base on the left was white oak and that on the right was red oak.... It's a fairly simple technique.
_________________ JG Jackson
"Uva Uvam Videndo Varia Fit"
Joined: Jan Mon 18, 2010 2:13 am Posts: 4396 Location: Dayton Ohio
Now That's a breadboard!
I'm surprised mahogany is that difficult to find, though yeah, I know Lowes doesn't sell it. Though, I found the poplar pieces Lowes sells make for great projects! Stain it red mahogany and coat it with amber shellac, it looks great!
Nice work there!
-Steve
_________________ Radio Interests -Zenith -Sparton -Pre-War FM Consoles and floor models, the bigger, the better!
