The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Yeah, I know, I still have a few unfinished projects, but I stumbled across this on ebay, and couldn't resist. And I apologize to any members of the board I may have outbid....



Anyone have a spare door?

Hey Zeppy,

I saw this one and was tempted, but my "project list" is too long. Finding odd sized doors is a challenge. I restored a VV-XIV a few years ago that was missing a horn door. Every XIV cabinet I have seen has horn doors that are not as wide as the record storage doors. On the cabinet I had, the horn doors were the same width as the record doors. I could not find a mate to save my life (Nor have I ever seen a cabinet with this door configuration since). What I ended up doing was to buy a set of record doors and cut one down to replace it. It turned out quite nice. You could only tell if you were really looking. I could post some pictures if interested.

Anyway, the point of my rambling is you may have to fabricate a replacement door from a larger door. You could probably yield the needed veneer patch as well.

Good luck

Brad wrote:What I ended up doing was to buy a set of record doors and cut one down to replace it. It turned out quite nice. You could only tell if you were really looking. I could post some pictures if interested.

Brad,

Please do. I’d definitely be interested in seeing how it turned out, and it might be a good example for someone else who needs to do something similar. Certainly, I’ve found it interesting to see photos of the ingenuity of our members, and I think it helps fuel the motivations of others to take on and tackle projects. I could probably use a few more projects that would get me away from computers (both mine and everyone else’s on which I work) more often.

How difficult was it to get the edges to match up with an existing door?

— MordEth

Brad wrote:Hey Zeppy,

I saw this one and was tempted, but my "project list" is too long. Finding odd sized doors is a challenge. I restored a VV-XIV a few years ago that was missing a horn door. Every XIV cabinet I have seen has horn doors that are not as wide as the record storage doors. On the cabinet I had, the horn doors were the same width as the record doors. I could not find a mate to save my life (Nor have I ever seen a cabinet with this door configuration since). What I ended up doing was to buy a set of record doors and cut one down to replace it. It turned out quite nice. You could only tell if you were really looking. I could post some pictures if interested.

Anyway, the point of my rambling is you may have to fabricate a replacement door from a larger door. You could probably yield the needed veneer patch as well.

Good luck

I'd be interested in the pictures. I broke down the sawed down remains of a XVI this weekend, and kept the doors with the intention of cutting a door out of them in the likely event of not finding a match in the wild (and have the side panels of the machine sitting out in the damp spring air to get the veneer to start coming off...covers my patching need here, and then some (never waste vintage veneer). I figure since the machine is a complete refinish, I'll have a good chance of getting everything to match nicely.

Pretty excited about this machine...but really need to focus on finishing the VTLA first. Couldn't pass it up for the price. Parts alone the machine is worth it (I've seen gold bullet brakes go for about the same price of what I paid for the whole machine).

I searched 3 computers and could not find the original before and after shots. I found the directory where they should be, but there were no images in it. Hmmm, troubling. I did find one picture, below. Not the best picture but all I can find. I have some image history on CD's but they are not handy at this time. When I get a chance, I'll look there.

Anyway, the right horn door is the one I cut down from another record cabinet door.

Impressive...I can't tell the difference...

I take it you didn't have to muck about with the finish? Did the doors already match?

Not much mucking. I routed in the small bead along one edge and I applied a little dark mahogany stain there and the bottom edge of the door where I cut. Everything else was kotton klenser, and a light sanding with mineral spirits and 6oo grit, followed by wax. Same process as the graphonola I posted previous. Finishes of the two pieces were in different starting conditions, but the colors matched well.

If you're up close and looking, you can tell, but without specifically looking, you can't tell. As my woodworking mentor always said "Only you and god know it's there"