My latest project (TV related)
 

You might hate me for this, I don't even like publishing it for fear of giving people ideas but...

Some of you may recall I was given a 1948 Admiral Bakelite 24A12 cabinet a short while back.

It was intact but had been outside and was badly weathered, I also got the chassis but no CRT, knobs or back, also the safety screen was cloudy and yellow beyond use, too far gone in otherwords to be restored, at least at a reasonable cost or effort.

Sooo, I decided to retrofit it with a newer set. :twak:

I found a 2003 Samsung, 14" set with a flat CRT and set about installing it in the cabinet WITHOUT making any alterations to the cabinet itself, i.e. no holes drilled, nothing glued on, nothing cut out, the idea was to make it completely reversible in case someone 20 years from now needs a good, unbroken (albeit painted) cabinet.

The CRT was a very good fit, I'll lose about .5" on either side but who'll notice, I may even be able to adjust the scan width to compensate.

I did have to do some very light grinding inside the cabinet so the tube would slide upwards enough to center it, the amount removed was insignificant, maybe .010" on each side and only a couple inches long, I also ground an equal amount off the upper edge of the metal mounting band around the edge of the CRT to get sufficient clearance.
It only needed to slide up 1/4" and the cabinet has a taper towards the top that was preventing this.

I have to paint the cabinet to make it presentable, my options are to use dark Brown more or less like it was originally, or since it's a custom job to start with I can go with something a bit more wild.

I had planned on Red on White like a Coke Machine, maybe even some Coke Decals on the sides, cheesy yes, but so is a color conversion anyway.

For knobs I'd like to find some with the brass covers that were optional, I already have the channel selector and one small knob in that style.

Here are some pics of the cabinet in Primer and with a White base coat.
It actually looks pretty spiffy in bright white!

I don't have a picture of it assembled yet but the CRT fits perfectly flush against the opening of the cabinet, looks really darn good if I do say so myself.

The Samsung set looked like new, I don't think it saw much, if any use.
I managed to find a remote that works with it so everything will be controlled that way, I may fix up the On/Off knob so it can be turned on that way also but it would be a major pain to put all the functions up front.

I think my Wood chassis looks pretty decent, considering all I had to build it with was an air powered Jig Saw and a Belt Sander. :D

The studs holding the CRT in were originally the ones for the speaker.
I cut a new speaker board since the old one was rotten, I need to get some Grille Cloth, if I go with Red & White I might find something at the Crafts Store that will look OK.

The Sammy has two tiny speakers but I don't know if it was actually Stereo, it has two separate sets of wires so perhaps it is.
I was planning on using some better speakers, probably add a Tweeter too for better sound. It uses 8 ohm speakers so it should be easy to find something, or I could just stick my Realistic Minimus Sevens behind the Grille.

LOL - nice job :D What kindo f paint did you use and how did you spray it ? It looks really sweet :yes: I've only painted one small bakelite radio and it gave me headaches.

I might be able to help you out with some of those brass covered knobs. I'll did thgouh my knob stash and let you know.

I used the cheapest cans of paint I could get from the Hardware Store, they worked very well I thought, the Primer went on smooth also and really bonded to the Bakelite.

If you have three of the small knobs in Brass I'd like to buy or trade for them.
I think I might need the rear knobs also.

I like it. I think Admiral was possibly missing the boat not offering their Bakelite sets in a white cabinet. Your paint job looks very professional from here.

One day our old Philips travel set with the built in VHS player was setting in the basement next to my empty 24A12 cabinet. The screen is a tad small, but it's very fun to watch in there. And no spacers are required. Would probably look better yet with the screen mask installed.

[QUOTE=Kevin Kuehn;3012903]I like it. I think Admiral was possibly missing the boat not offering their Bakelite sets in a white cabinet. Your paint job looks very professional from here.

The Koss family, Famous for headphones and high priced mistresses, originally started out, renting TV's to hospital patients. They bought a mess of Admiral bakelite 17" table models and had them painted white.

I think it is cool!

Alrightythen...

For you're consideration, I present one Ugly Admiral.

Maybe Tacky is a better word. :D

It might look good in a Retro Diner but in my Living room?!!!
Maybe it'll grow on me.

I had really wanted to try Turquoise but the color selection at Home Depot is pathetic, they must think there are only five colors in the world.
Purple they had, Turquoise or Teal forget it.

There are two more things to be done, one is to paint the bottom runners Black, the other is to paint a Gold Hammertone around the tube surround, not the whole thing, just that 1/2" ledge that will surround the CRT.

One other thing, I did a sloppy job of masking around the protruding face, it's ragged at the Red/White split so I'll have to touch that up a little.

I painted the new speaker board with that Camo paint that was recommended here, I hope I can find it later...being that it's camouflaged and all...:D

Awe man... I was hoping it was going to stay white, with brown or gold lettering. :scratch2: :D

I'm kind of thinking it should have! :yes:

Never too late.

Yeah, I have to agree with Kevin - pure white was better. Even though I'm sure it would be tough to maintain just like a white car.

A few years back I was offered an Admiral bakelite mini console,the front
area(where the controls are) had been bashed in.Luckily the seller saved
all the pieces.I was very tempted to buy it ,I figured I would glue/fiberglass/ bondo the cabinet back together,and then,you guessed it,paint it white.I too had always thought one of those sets would look great in white.After looking at the pix posted,I wish I had grabbed it

The more I look at it the more I think I should go back to White, or Antique White.
I have a can of "Ivory" out in the garage, that might look good.

The White I used was really white, like Hospital White, a little too bright I think.

I'll give the Ivory a shot (if it's still good) the more coats of paint the glossier it'll be!
I might have to prime it again to cover the Red.

Maybe all Red wouldn't look too bad? :scratch2:

I would like Dark brown, the only brown I ever see is "Kona" Brown, too light, like Milk Chocolate and what I want is Dark Chocolate.

i like it !!
i vote to leave it with the red/white color scheme.

I think an off white would look nice.

Another idea; Since the screen mask is too cloudy "as-is", could you cut the center out and still use the outside mask as a border around the new CRT? You could even paint it some contrasting color to go with the lettering.

Well I decided teh Red & White was to Gaudy, I didn't really want to redo the whole thing though so I went with all Red.

I painted the Gold trim around the CRT opening, painted the White areas Red and painted the feet Black.

It looks good this way, probably look better when it's together and has some nice Brass knobs to set it off.

After it dries for a day or two I'll do some wet sanding to smooth out some areas where the paint oversprayed, that's why I hate second coats, that always happens, you wind up painting the whole thing over trying to chase out the overspray but it never goes away.

Here's a picture I took through the sliding glass door, that's why it's kind of spotty.:yes: