My new Marconi model 138

I just love these Marconi  radios. They have a large dial and this one has 14 dial lights.  
I picked it up last week and it is now recapped and sounds very good..  Now I will have to wait until spring to get the cabinet done. The top is g21/16/52/06/39/dsc04410.jpg" />going to need some special work.

Neat. May we see more pictures????

That will be a handsome unit. At least there aren't any apparent stains on the top.

Your right there are not any stains on top but the veneer is lifting and it is missing a small piece which I will have to insert and glue down.
On this one I will have to resort to the syringe with watered down glue, or make a slit with a scalpel and insert the glue. It is a challenge and I will post photos of how I do it
It is such a problem posting photos, but I might have to do one at a time..

With the pictures, is the resizing feature taking too long?

Sometimes the photos get on and sometimes they don't, and each time I use the same method.
The resizing does take some time especially with the ones I have not resized.
I still don't know why it works sometimes and not others
Dan

I usually size mine down to 1000 pixels at the largest dimension and that seems to work better with the hosting and gives a good sized picture. The only time I have any failures is when I have a poor wireless connection. There is the possibility that something is timing out the upload. You might see if the smaller upload might make a difference. You take such a good picture and the subjects are so nice, I hate for it to be difficult for you.

I am trying this again with one more photo.
It seems that it worked this time. YEA.

Dan, that's an interesting radio. You should post on it.

I finally have this one all ready for the decals and the final coats of lacquer.
The grill cloth was too bad to put back on so I have some ordered from Kenny Richmond.




I have since put the dark Vandyke brown lacquer on the bottom and top

It's coming along nicely!

I now have this Marconi all done. I had to use a different grill cloth as there is no Marconi grill cloth made.

 The cabinet was stripped  and then given a coat of dark walnut stain. I use one part shellac and five parts  gas line antifreeze [methyl hydrate] to seal it  and then toned lacquer.   I like these Marconi radios because they are easy to work on , they have large dials ,the cabinets are solid , they sound very good  and look nice.

That's a beauty!

Dan, could you tell me what you used to finish the darker areas of this cabinet such as the vertical strips and the bottom portion of the cabinet? Also I could use some advice on which brands of stripper is best to use on this type of cabinet. I read about the Vandyke lacquer, but is this all you needed to get it that dark, or did you use some kind of stain first? That cabinet is beautiful, you do really nice work. Regards, Ed..

Kudos!

What is the tube lineup and SW bands?

Dennis

Those Marconi sets are not only good lookers, but they also have excellent sound. I've had a couple, with my first one having been a model 102. They often use 6F6 outputs into big, softly sprung speakers, giving a nice range of tone.

Dan, yours looks really great!

The Marconi model 138 has nine tubes including the 6G5 eye tube.
5Y4----rect
6H6---- AVC diode
6F5---Af amp
6K7---IF amp
6K7---RF amp
6L6 ---mixer
6J5---oscillator
6L6---output
  It has six bands
16
19
25
31
49 and broadcast.
  I really can't say what is the best stripper to use.. I just use what ever will take off the old finish.  
I used extra dark walnut for the strips that go up and across the top.. Around the top I used dark Vandyke brown,
and on the bottom I used extra dark walnut.
I strip the cabinet  and after I have EVERY bit of the old finish off I
stain it with extra dark walnut,  then wipe it off. I leave it overnight ,,then brush on a thin coat of a mixture of [one part shellac and five parts gas line anti freeze[ methyl hydrate].
It dries real fast   This solution seals the cabinet.
 Mask off the areas you want to use toner on with a good quality masking tape.
  I use newspaper to cover the areas I don't want to tone.
I don't have any sort of spray guns so I use Mohawk in the cans.
 One thing about these cans of Mohawk is that you only have about two days to use the toner after they have been shaked.  The mixture will settle out if you don't get them shaken again.
   Each time I want to use the toner[if it has been a week or so] I take them to the paint store and have them shake them  again.
Use light coats, as the lacquer dries fast. Don't try put on  a heavy coat because it will run..
Sometimes I have to remask different areas when I am using different toners. If that is the case WAIT a day or so to give the first toner time to set up ,otherwise the masking tape will pull it off.
In the case of this Marconi I used gloss lacquer as the final coat, but you can use a satin or what ever you want. sometimes I will  start with a satin finish and if I don't like it , the next coat is with a high gloss.
Now you can start with the final coats of lacquer. I let each coat dry and then sand LIGHTLY with 1500 or 200 grit sandpaper.
Just go over it lightly in the areas where it feels  not real smooth.
I use cheese cloth to wipe it down to get any dust off. I guess you can use an air hose also.
After a few coats of the final lacquer  put your decals on. I usually give the area where the decals are   several coats of the finish lacquer, because that is where people will be rubbing the cabinet when they
turn the dials.
When I give the decals this coat,  I try lay the cabinet on it's back to be sure there are no runs
     There are many ways to refinish a cabinet and many kinds of strippers to use but this works for me  
Here is a link to  recreating a 1930s finish  that I use.
 I do hope this information is helpful, and I hope I didn't make it sound hard to do.
Every radio you work on should be your favorite, until the next one comes along [just like your girlfriends when you were young]
http://www.antiqueradios.com/features/lacquer.html

Thank you Dan! This was exactly what I needed to know. I will now be able to approach the next cabinet with more confidence. Practice makes perfect and having advice such as you have provided is of imeasureable value. Thanks again, Ed.