Help identifiying oak finishes on Amberola 1A.

[marcapra]

I read in the Frow Edison Cylinder book that the Amberola A1 came in three different oak finishes, as well as two different mahogany finishes. The oak finishes are golden oak, fumed oak, and Mission oak. Is fumed oak the very dark brown one as shown on the drawers below, or is Mission oak the very dark one. A friend told me to look in the Look for the Dog book where they have the different Victor finishes. In that book, the fumed oak looks somewhat light. I am attaching some pics of my Amberola A1 which has a lighter finish on the exterior and a dark brown finish on the interior of the door and drawers, as well as the motor board grille pieces. I now am almost certain that the outside of my cabinet was refinished at some point for an owner who didn't like the dark brown finish. I can tell this by observing some fine details in the lid where the refinisher didn't quite remove all of the dark brown. My guess is that the exterior of the cabinet is similar to the Mission style finish, and the very dark brown interior of the door and drawers is Fumed Oak. Don't be too confused by the last pic, which shows the machine in the sunlight, which makes it look like golden oak. Correct me please if I am wrong. Marc.

[briankeith]

It looks like it was fumed oak - I love fumed oak cabinets !!

[marcapra]

I think you're right Brian. I didn't know what "fumed oak" meant until I saw and read about it. If you fume oak it doesn't mean you are done. You can stain on top of the fumed oak to achieve the correct result and then put varnish or lacquer over that. This video explains the fuming process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZqDh0wJIRw