Victrola X Spider Leg Variety Cabinet Question

[EarlH]

I'm in the middle of refinishing this little Victrola for a friend of mine and when I was staining it this afternoon, I see there's a glue shadow on the front that looks like it was supposed to have one of those hanging decorative things on the front as well as the sides. I'm not finding any pictures of these things on the internet that's at an angle to see if one should be there or not. Since I'm in a good spot to replace the thing, it's not a big deal and I can do it. I just thought I'd better ask first. I've seen these things over the years, but this is the first one I've actually worked on. Victor really didn't plan on anyone taking these things all apart and refinishing them, that's for sure! But it's coming along well and is like refinishing a large high chair with a lid on it. Thanks now.

[Henry]

Not sure what you mean by "hanging decorative things," but see http://www.victor-victrola.com/X.htm, version on right.

[EarlH]

These little guys that hang down under the main part of the cabinet. If you kept albums under one of these things, I could see where it might get knocked off.

[Django]

Mine still has the original finish and is in nice shape. The two pieces that hang down on the sides are still present and mine has no signs of ever having anything on the front or back. In the back there is a paper notice and the front has consistent color and texture all the way across. There were albums available for this machine and I think that the hanging pieces on the sides were there to stop them from falling out. I believe that they stood on end and were pulled out from the front.

[EarlH]

I kind of wondered if those things didn't have something to do with keeping the albums in place, after I thought about it for awhile. The paper label on the front there makes more sense actually. Thanks now! I won't have to worry about it then. Someone had refinished this poor little thing in polyurethane and it just looked really bad. It will have some color back in it's cheeks now.

[Django]

I hope that you will post some pictures of the completed machine. Most of the spider legged Victrolas that I have seen in pictures were missing those hanging pieces. That weird little machine is one of my favorites.

[larryh]

I think most of those hanging fabric things were a later idea of collectors to make it look more fancy or as an accent. If that is what your talking about. I don't think any of the machines would have come with that in the day they were built.

[EarlH]

I hope that you will post some pictures of the completed machine. Most of the spider legged Victrolas that I have seen in pictures were missing those hanging pieces. That weird little machine is one of my favorites.

I'll be glad to take some pictures of it when it gets finished. I have to fill the grain yet on it and then re-stain it before I can do any topcoats. I need to stir up some filler for it as I don't have any around here that color red. They sure liked red mahogany in those days. It does look nice though when it's all done.

[Django]

I think most of those hanging fabric things were a later idea of collectors to make it look more fancy or as an accent. If that is what your talking about. I don't think any of the machines would have come with that in the day they were built.

Just to clarify, the hanging objects that are being discussed are not fabric, but small wooded pieces attached to the sides of the cabinet as seen in the photos. I think that they are often missing, but mine are exactly like the ones pictured here.

[EarlH]

Here are a couple of pictures of this thing with the grain filled now. It will have to set a few days for that to dry. I almost always use oil based "natural" grain filler as I have not had predictable results with the other stuff, and then I get a coarse grade of pigment to tint the filler with. If it pigment it too fine, it acts more like a dye and I really don't want the filler to change the color of the wood too much. It will change it some, but not as much as some of the ready made colored fillers will do. And I really don't like the filler to dry too fast, it just makes it too hard to get wiped off as far as I'm concerned. And I nearly always have enough stuff going on around this place that any one thing can set for a few days, or a few months and it shouldn't bother me. Haha! That VV-410 next to it has been stained and filled as well. That's a much bigger project than that little X is.

Victor did a nice job with their cabinets overall I think. This X is a little bit of a pain in the hind end because it's not assembled in a way to take it all apart to refinish it very well. Some of the hardware was put in place before the cabinet was glued up, and the bottom board under the motor is rabbited into the case and glue blocks put in for good measure, so there's no taking that off either! And that "horn" is a really tricky thing to get out of there, and doesn't come out without knocking it all apart. In short, they didn't give me much consideration, but I'll get over it... The legs on these things are really a remarkable piece of woodworking. The back one's are glued up a little bit, but I don't see any evidence of that on the front legs. And the wood surrounding the motor-board is mahogany in this thing. Usually Victor used birch on the inside of the cabinets. And often times they did that on the oak machines as well, which makes no sense, but nobody seemed to much care. I know that the 410 is a good 10-12 years newer, but it was a lot further up the Victor food chain and it has birch under the lid. And nearly all the L-door machines (if not all) had the birch treatment as well.