The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I wish there was an easy fix for something like this. Anyone ever tried anything?

I had an HMV 211 that was dropped on its back during shipment smashing the carvings. The HMV cabinet is similar to a Victrola XVII. I had a professional furniture restorer fix it. It took several months and wasn't cheap, but the shipper paid for the repair. The restorer did a great job, and the fix is barely noticeable. You can see it if you look hard for it, but I was pleased that it turned out as well as it did. Matching the color is probably the greatest challenge, which contributed to the lengthy repair time.

You could probably attempt such a repair yourself if you have the patience and resources. There was a thread a while back where someone restored the leg of a Modernola cabinet with spectacular results.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=40575

Since you have an exact copy, only reversed, on the other leg you have a design to go by. It can be fixed by sculpting epoxy putty to look like the other leg. When finished, it can be colored with "lacquer toner" of a similar shade, or possibly you could mix in some stain with the putty. It will take some experimenting to make it look right, but worth it in the end.

Epoxy putty has a short working time before it hardens, so you might want to practice first... Otherwise, you could hand carve the design and fit it on the broken leg. Look at it as a way to learn new restoration techniques...

Some restorers make a latex mould of an undamaged section and then cast a replacement in resin. Suitably stained and finished, the repair can be almost undetectable.

Thanks guys! Looks like I have some more research and work to do. If it comes out good I will post pics. If it doesn't this conversation never happened