Restoring a free VV-90 cabinet & questions

[Jerry B.]

From a monetary point of view audiophile is 100% correct. For that reason I would use eBay as a source of last resort. But there is pride in accomplishment and a job well done. But just know that when your Victrola is complete, looking nice, and working properly, it is worth about $200. For that reason I would lean on fellow phono nerds here on the Forum. You didn't say the general area where you are located but it would help. I drive from Oregon to Chicago and Los Angeles for APS (Antique Phonograph Society) phono expos. If you are along my route I would be happy to drop things off for you. There is really a whole network of collectors that reach across the country. What is your general location?

Jerry B.

[Inigo]

I'm not an expert, but I share Jerry's view.. despite the money expended, there's an unpaired value on the gratification in rebuilding something and making it look and work properly.... Maybe I'm an idealist, but I find this labor of love entertaining and paying itself for the satisfaction.
I'm a pure hobbyist regarding this; that's why one collects records and gramophones, for the joy of saving them from Oblivion and enjoying them, dice the moment you buy it, through repairing it and later playing and maintaining it!
Of course, there are others that enjoy buying and selling, or earn a living from this, and for those, start value and costs are more principal.... I'm not there, though.... I buy gramophones for keeping them. If I eventually would sell one, I would not account on the initial cost and work done.

[Jwb88]

Still looks walnut to me, and my track record is much better than the general population on here, but I also could be mistaken. All this could be settled if the original poster would send a flash photo of the front or under the lid. The sides look like Victor was fudging with lesser quality veneer, whatever the finish is. Or perhaps the side veneer was stripped off due to peeling and that’s the under layer. Not all that uncommon.

Whatever the wood is, it’s definitely not monetarily worth doing, but if you want a long term project, go right ahead.

[Henry]

OK, I see it now, especially when I enlarge the top photo, in the grain in the horn doors and the cabinet side. Score one for you!

[RCA_victrolaboy]

Greetings, my apologies for the slow reply to you all!

I am located in the Austin, Texas ~ Travis County area down south unfortunately, rather empty in terms of people interested in Victrolas or even antiques. I am rather aware of the financial foolishery it is to prevail restoring such a machine but man, the design and looks of the cabinets really is what gets you and honestly I would feel terrible if I had to let this one (that has a moderate shine) succumb to the fatality that most did, or worse - turned into a liquor cabinet. You are all absolutely correct in the sense that it makes no financial sense considering the low value of the machine, but in my area it is decently difficult to find any cabinet machine in this condition, and when you do, they are usually overpriced and/or broken. I would also be in well regards with the record store owner that I got the cabinet from - just imagine the look on his face to see it restored! It truly is a "labor of love"; the cabinet looks great and I am already attached to it.

I attached some closer photographs of the internal lid finish as requested - thanks for the help to all of you on trying to figure this one out for me. I'm pretty isolated in terms of finding spare parts but will do some research to see if there is any place I can buy parts and have them shipped to where I am, like a spare-part store. If you all know of any place, I'd love to hear it. Parts are a hard topic because finding a horn for a VV-X is pretty difficult but also the fact that most sellers that sell the motors don't disclose whether the motor is operational - and without the crank included it gets pretty difficult for me to even confirm that myself. I emailed Mr. Edie over at the Victor-Victrola page for horn advice, and he reported back to me that the horn will have to be plenty specific for that model. I think this will happen to be of a more long-term project than one that I can quickly get some parts into - just need to finish sanding and varnishing on the top under-lid cavity before I can bring it outside of that cold garage. What do you all recommend for that?

Thanks to you all & my apologies for the lengths of this reply - I have never spoken to such helpful people over a project I'm undertaking. Also, more apologies given for the scratchy underside of the lid on the photographs - have been working on sanding that latex paint that seems to be spilled all over off so I can refinish that area; still haven't cleaned up the dust on the lid.

[Inigo]

For parts, don't hesitate to ask here first, in the American trader section you can put WANTED posts describing what you need.
Among us there are magnificent dealers in parts, and also there is a useful LINKS section with data from other dealers that have been used by many of us with success and good references.
Always ask here first... You'll never loose!

[RCA_victrolaboy]

Thanks - I'll have to check that out.

[RCA_victrolaboy]

Greetings again to all of the members of the forum once more.

After meeting some really great people on the forum, making a listing on the "Yankee Traders" category, and getting an offer for some parts for a VV-X, a question has arose. If you all happen to know, would a VV-X horn & baffles assembly fit into a VV-90 cabinet? I read on the Victor-Victrola page (on the VV-90 page) that they did in fact change the size of the cabinet from the VV-X to the VV-90 to a larger scale however wouldn't suspect that they would change the horn assembly.