The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Eighteen days ago my friend Roger Merenkov gave me a record cabinet with no door. He supplied me with a door handle, lock and key. He also gave me some wood from a destroyed record cabinet. The results of my efforts to restore the cabinet are in the pictures. It was a fun project and it took all my meager skills with wood working to obtain the result you see in the photos. I learned a lot along the way and I know if I had it to do all over again the results would be even better. I really enjoyed the project and I obtained a lot of satisfaction saving a nice antique from the scrap pile. The monetary value of this cabinet is not very high, but I don't intend to sell it. Many thanks to Roger who brought me into the hobby in the first place.

Great job! It looks terrific. Lovely grain patterns.

Between the A 250 and this, it shows your talent!

Beautiful.

Fran

Looks terrific and like that door has been there for the last hundred years. Jerry B.

Excellent! It sure doesn't look like your first project of this sort!

George P.

Nice job it looks great. Can you share what colour/make of stain you used on your cabinet?

Bruce

Like everyone else said, great job! It looks original and the grain pattern is stunning - even inside. Congratulations to a job well done.

Andreas

Bruce wrote:Nice job it looks great. Can you share what colour/make of stain you used on your cabinet?

Bruce

Bruce, thanks very much. I used minwax stain. I started with golden oak, then red oak and finally a bit of walnut. my goal was matching the original finish. Finally amber shellac. Several thin coats. It's crazy hard to match color and I wasn't satisfied with the result, but there comes a time when you take the best that you can get.

John

Wonderful restoration... the kind that gives you a happy feeling of accomplishment.

Nice job. No better feeling than taking a step back and admiring your work. Have a good weekend. Cheers

Bill K