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I am finally (pretty much) finished the Edison C-200 that I bought from Jerry B. at the APS show last August. As promised I'm posting some photos. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. The finish under the lid is original and I used it as a guide to refinish.

First I'm posting some before photos. There was some pretty bad water damage. The first month was spent gluing down veneer any time I could. There were a few small pieces of trim missing and some dents, as well as missing veneer on the lid. You can see that the strip of veneer I used patching the lid isn't a great match (it isn't quarter-sawn) but since it's in the back I think it's fine.

I'm still missing the carved medallion that should go behind the drawer knob, but I figure I can always stick that on later if I find or make one. I apologize if I exhaust you with tons of photos.

After:

extraordinary!

WOW! That is absolutely stunning! Can you do my VV-X?

Looks great. Very nice transformation.
Harvey Kravitz

What a nice job you did. Can you tell me what you used for the finish and was it sprayed or brushed on?

Pete

Wow, that looks really nice! I think I want it back.

Jerry Blais

Used unbleached shellac ("Amber" Zinsser Bulls Eye from Home Depot) thinned with denatured alcohol (I just pour/eyeball it until it feels really thin) brushed on with a decent brush, I think it's natural bristle.

The finish isn't perfect, but it's good. Took me so long because I built up a gloss, let it sit for about five days, sands with 400 grit, finished again, let sit week, de-gloss with powdered graphite and furniture wax to make it look original.

USE GRAIN FILER. I used water based grain filler and tinted it almost black to get that authentic look. Sand off excess when it dries. Sanding dust will be terrible. Need a good mask. Then stain, then finish.

Ha! Thanks Jerry. I really really like this thing

You really did a nice job with it. Shellac is one of those finishes that's like hide glue in that the more you use it, the more you'll like it.

You'll find with shellac that you'll have less trouble with it if you use the 'green alcohol' or 190 proof grain alcohol and dissolve your own flakes. The amount of methanol (wood alcohol) in most of the painters alcohol is not only REALLY toxic, it will also make laying coats on top of each other more difficult as it won't flow out as nicely. The painters alcohol in the yellow can is something like 61% methanol. I looked up the MSDS on it a year or so ago, and 3 or 4 ounces of methanol is enough to kill you! All the gloomy news aside, I have had all kinds of trouble with shellac laying flat and not blushing in the past, and started to spray the shellac on. Spraying it helped a lot with getting it to lay down. Then I ran across that bit of information in a 1920 book on varnishing and the author discusses problems with too much methanol in the alcohol used in dissolving shellac. (It had to be made poisonous because of the prohibition) The so-called green alcohol is something like 5% wood alcohol and is more expensive, but sure has made my life much easier in the refinishing department! The other thing is, you can get de-waxed shellac flakes and your finish will be less cloudy in the end. Which is something to consider when you are refinishing walnut or mahogany. And you can topcoat de-waxed shellac with lacquer.

Your Edison really looks sharp! And the color is really nice on it. I've always really liked that model Edison. It really looks nice in oak. I have a mahogany one, but your machine is a much better looking one in the end.