What to do with this early HMV 101

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kirtley2012
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What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by kirtley2012 »

I just picked up an early front wind HMV 101 for next to nothing as a project, it even came with a brass back No.4 soundbox, the only problem is the case.

It's obviously sat in a shed or somewhere wet for many years, the bottom covering has gone, it's totally come away from the cabinet along the sides and is overall grubby

so I'm debating...

Do I strip it then finish the cabinet underneath, leave the covering on the record storage to leave the logo, then have a naked 101

Or do I remove and re attach the remaining covering and clean it up where I can

Or do I fully recover it, if that, where would I get the covering from?

It runs fine, just looks it's age!

VanEpsFan1914
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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by VanEpsFan1914 »

Kirtley,

'nother young colelctor here...Hello from South Carolina, CSA...I'm back from Texas for a few weeks! I do enjoy reading your posts and some of the restorations you take on.

Say, why not try to put new leatherette on there? It's not "Original" but rotten or peeled isn't original either. They complain about new stuff coming apart and being impossible to repair, so why not take the full advantage of antiques & their serviceability...Just my 2 cents.

Wish I could have gotten an HMV portable but ended up with the sad remains of a 2-65 Victrola. It's not as easy to work on but it does sound nice, even if it looks quite mangy indeed. I better re-cover it sometime.

Anyway, good snag on the machine and good luck with the repairs.

epigramophone
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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by epigramophone »

If only the bottom case covering is gone I would re-cover it, as it will not be seen when the machine is on display. The loose covering on the sides, if reasonably complete, can be re-glued. I use a heavy duty ready mixed wallpaper adhesive for this job.

After removing any loose dust and dirt, paste both the bare wood and the material. The material will soften and can be smoothed out to remove any air bubbles, starting from the centre of the panel, with the adhesive allowing enough "slip" to position it correctly before it dries.

In my experience the best match for missing case covering is covering salvaged from a scrapped machine, as it will be of similar age and will not look new.

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kirtley2012
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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by kirtley2012 »

epigramophone wrote:If only the bottom case covering is gone I would re-cover it, as it will not be seen when the machine is on display. The loose covering on the sides, if reasonably complete, can be re-glued. I use a heavy duty ready mixed wallpaper adhesive for this job.

After removing any loose dust and dirt, paste both the bare wood and the material. The material will soften and can be smoothed out to remove any air bubbles, starting from the centre of the panel, with the adhesive allowing enough "slip" to position it correctly before it dries.

In my experience the best match for missing case covering is covering salvaged from a scrapped machine, as it will be of similar age and will not look new.
By recover it I meant to do the whole machine, if I were just going to re-attach the existing covering I would leave the bottom, it's fairly well dented anyway
Not sure if it's quite worth going to the lengths of fully recovering it

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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by OrthoFan »

There are a couple of shops, based in the UK, that supply leather-cloth that would be suitable --

http://ratchford.co.uk/product-category ... thercloth/

http://www.hewitonline.com/product_p/cl-170-000.htm

Maybe others could chime in with their favorite supplier?

You may also find the "Restore-a-Gram" site helpful -- http://www.restore-a-gram.co.uk/home/4589356292

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Phono48
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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by Phono48 »

Ratchfords are indeed very good, the staff are extremely helpful, and their rexine is excellent. Unfortunately, their postal charges are very high, in some cases more than the product itself. Example: For one metre costing around £8.00, the postage is over £13.00!

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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by old country chemist »

Hello Kirtley 2012, nice to read you have an early 101. The real "bodge" would be to completely strip ALL the leatherette covering off the case. Carefully sand off any remaining glue, and to help "key" the paint to the wood.Then, if the wood case was in reasonable order, and after cleaning the bare wood with diluted vinegar, and drying, then you could apply two coats, with a day of drying between coats, this product: RUSTINS SHEEN FINISH BLACK PAINT, labelled for use on wood or metal.(brushes can be washed out in warm water!) If carefully applied, it leaves a nice sheen finish. The wife of a gramophone acquaintance of mine did so to an old Decca portable, and from a distance it looks as if it is still covered in leathercloth! Just my suggestion. Certain "artificial" Leathercloths if used, can be applied in warm conditions, as they are then slightly more maleable for folding round corners, and kept warm whilst using, with a hair dryer.

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kirtley2012
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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by kirtley2012 »

Got the machine down to bare wood, the top and bottom are made of some kind of fiber board and haven't coped too well with the moisture, the bottom fell off because the glue let go but it is savagable if I were to re-cover it, the original covering it too far gone to re-apply with any success but I see 2 options now, If I were to restore it, I'd to it to close to origina spec, black leatherette covering, though maybe without the detail in the lid as that's not very prominent in the lid any more, or I could remove the top of the lid, I think it's letting go anyway, make a solid pine top then stain and french polish the case to have something a bit different
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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by JerryVan »

Kirtley,

I would really encourage you to recover the cabinet. Here is just one of a few dozen videos on YouTube describing the process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxcLri3yn8Q

Check out this video and a few of the others before you decide. Any of the dents you mention can simply be filled in and sanded smooth before recovering. Get good at this and you can be the "go-to guy" for recovering portables in the U.K.

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Re: What to do with this early HMV 101

Post by Orchorsol »

This 102 wasn't rare (unlike your early 101, Alex) and every exposed part was in poor-ish condition, so I decided to have a bit of fun with it a few years ago.
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