The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I've just started working on restoring a VV-XII, and have been pondering on how to handle one area of veneer damage. There is about a 2" x 2" square that is missing, and of course, it's on the front of the machine. I was initially planning on just patching the one spot (as I usually do with smaller areas of damage. I've had mixed results in my attempt at matching grains and colors, but usually they were relatively small patches, so even if not perfect, they weren't that obvious. As I started to think, I began debating whether it was just better to peel the entire front clean, and apply one solid piece veneer rather than a 2x2 patch? If it were a smaller patch, or not right on front, I wouldn't even think of anything but a patch...but the size and location had me wondering.

Suggestions?

I totally understand your dilemma. My first thought was to just replace the whole piece, but then again, there is no way back from that. On the other hand, if you try and patch it and you don't like the result you can always do the whole piece anyway. I know, it's double the work, but pretty much combines both options.
BTW: Congratulations to that nice VV-XII. Until short ago I didn't even know they existed. I can understand though that they didn't do well with that little horn. As I understand they were priced higher than a Victor VI, that must have hurt as well. So definitely a nice rarity you have there. Good luck with the restoration.
Andreas

I agree with Andreas - - try to patch it and save the original veneer. With some care, by the time you shade in those two dark areas of ribbon, the patch may not be noticeable. Don't forget to fill the grain. And remember - the third time's a charm!

George P.

Congratulations on a historic Victrola. I bought my first one probably twenty five years ago from Cecil Dancer in San Jose, CA. I was visiting my sister in San Francisco and didn't want to leave it in the car parked on the street. The nearest parking space was blocks away and I nearly died carrying that Victrola to her apartment and then up several flights of stairs. It was well worth the effort! Jerry

Personally, I'd either replace the strip of veneer across the whole panel as shown above the white line in the picture below, but I would attempt to replace the section above the blue line first.
Unless you can find some mahogany with an almost perfectly matching grain, it's near impossible to patch veneer straight across the grain without it standing out like dogs things
Cutting diagonally across the grain as shown by the blue line will be far less noticable, but replacing the top strip should make an invisible repair.
That said, it might be worth looking closely at the interior of the cabinet, under the motor board & in the horn compartment. I've been lucky on a couple occasions where I've found more or less book matched veneers on the interior, and have made an invisible repair by removing it from the inside where it cant be seen. At least that way, it's aged the same as the outer veneer (new veneer tends to be a completely different colour), and often has at least some original stain or/& finish which is very helpful when trying to match the patch to the original outer finish.

I'm pondering....I do have a small piece that the grain is pretty close (down to one of the stripes down the middle), and do have some larger pieces as well (on the rare instances where I need to part too far gone machines, I make it a habit of saving the veneer), but not sure just how close they are (a bit more weathered).

Part of me feels the patch will be visible no matter what, so at that point, is it better to have a smaller or larger noticeable patch.

The beauty with wood is if you dont like how it turns out the first time, you can always do it again
I guess if you have a variety of veneer to work with, start with the least invasive repair & see how it goes. I know it's a pain to have to do something like this a second or even a third time, but if nothing else, it's good practise, and it could still turn out fine the first time.
The real fun will start when you try & blend the new finish with the old. That can sometime take quite a few do-overs to get it just right.