Jewel 500

1948 Five tube AM BC band radio

This radio was restored for a customer who had owned it since new, so getting it back to a presentable, working condition was a satisfying job. It was received with hole in the top, no speaker, and no dial pointer. As the speaker supports the tuning dial this part was laying inside, and some detective work was required to figure out how it went back together with the tuning dial in the right place behind the glass and the dial cord pivots properly lined up with the tuning condenser.

The first job was to strengthen the case. Inside, around the speaker grill and the hole in the top, the plywood was de-laminated with wood flaking away. This was all secured with wood glue to stop the flaking, loose joints were also glued.

Next job was to fix the hole.

I decided to cut out and replace a rectangular piece of veneer. As the grain ran from front to back this would make the joins invisible from the front, although it did mean cutting across the grain on top of the case, but the only alternative was to replace the veneer all the way to the back. So, a rectangular piece was carefully cut out using a metal straight edge as a guide. A patch of the correct size was then cut, matching the grain as closely as possible. The patch was then glued in place on the flat surface of the top. When the glue had dried the veneer was steamed in an attempt to make it flexible, then carefully bent around the curve, glued down and clamped. Finally there was a little filling of the joins with colored filler and sanding. All sounds straightforward, but there was much time, frustration, and probably several bad words, involved.

Next the missing piece of trim on the left side was replaced. A thin strip was cut from a piece of quarter-round softwood, this gave a strip with about the right curvature on one face. This was glued into place, and again I tried to use steam to get it to bend around the curve in the case. This partly worked. it did eventually crack at the bend, which I had to make good with filler.

The new wood, veneer and any filled spots were stained to match the original color as closely as possible, then I probably sealed the stain with shelac. The original finish was cleaned. Then the whole case was rubbed down with fine steel wool. It was then finished with colored lacquer, matching the original color, and rubbed down well between coats to get a nice finish. The wood around the dial opening was re-painted, and a replacement hardboard back panel was made.