1956 Astor SJ
 

September last year, I was lucky enough to come into the possession of a mostly complete and restorable 1956 Astor SJ television (serial SJ24674) - one of the very first sets in Australia, and the first model offered by Astor. I found it for the grand total of $50 at a local "Tender Centre" auction house. Condition-wise, it was rough. The cabinet needed to be completely stripped and re-finished, the safety glass needed replacing, the gold around the bezel was faded, and the control panel cover on the front was missing. Otherwise though, the set is in relatively good condition.

So far, I have re-finished the cabinet. The top and sides were relatively easy to strip, though the front of the set (with it's very delicate and thin veneer) was a much harder job. The original finish was a mixed stain/lacquer, though I like the look of the cabinet with clear glossy lacquer. I've re-painted the gold around the bezel, though I'm thinking of sanding that back down and re-doing it, as the paint isn't very smooth.

The missing control panel was quite an unfortunate problem, as the lack of it made the set something of an eye-sore. Finding an original replacement is essentially impossible, so I decided to create one myself. It looks nothing like the original plastic grille, though I quite like it. I used a plastic grille salvaged from a beaten-up 1960s tape player, in a piece of pine I cut down and shaped. Getting the colour of the pine to match the walnut cabinet is quite a task, so I'm still working on getting the colour to match properly.

The safety glass panel has a big ding and crack in it, so I'll be eventually replacing it (hence why I didn't mask if off when I painted the gold bezel). It has a blue tint to it, so I'll see if a local glass-works/glass cutting firm can replicate it for me.

As of the moment, I have done very little work on the chassis. I'm still relatively new to the hobby, so am trying to get some experience on my ample back-log of 1960s sets before I tackle something this old.

I've attached three photos - a "before" photo after dragging it home, a photo after a stripped the cabinet and had applied the first coat of clear lacquer, and a photo of the replacement control panel grille I made.

Chris

That should be a very nice early set when you get it done.

Nice one!!!! and g'day from a cold Melbourne

Lets hope so! I really need to get my workshop back in order and finish off the cabinet. I'm re-doing the gold bezel, as it's too rough for me. I'm going to sand it smooth and re-paint it.

Thank you! Greetings from a less cold but still freezing Wauchope! :smoke: