TV restoration philosophy....what's your view?

[Kamakiri]

I'm coming to the point where I really have to make a decision about my CT-100. The bottom of the cabinet towards the back had supports that rotted away from a damp storage long before I assembled the set. I had my father's assistance in constructing a false wooden frame on the inside of the set to take the weight and allow the set to sit level. Problem is that without actually wood gluing the frame to the inside, there is no way to make it sturdy. There are 2 courses of action I can take now and I'd like your input as to which road to follow.

1. Leave it alone as much as possible because any aesthetic improvements that are made now hurt its historical value in the future. If any of you have been to the MZTV museum in Toronto, Moses Znaimer, the owner of the museum, displays Marilyn Monroe's personal TV, which has never been washed or cleaned to preserve its history. It's a dirty mess, and nothing a little Windex wouldn't cure. I wouldn't take it that far, but......

2. Revive her to be as close to new as is reasonably possible, as long as the original processses are used. Taking this road, I'm just going to send the cabinet out to a furniture craftsman, which shouldn't be hard to find as Roycroft Furniture was originally made about 15 miles south of here (this is HUGE cheap antiques country).

Along with this question, do any of you guys really melt down wax capacitors and slip new ones inside when recapping a set?

All opinions are appreciated!

[Steve McVoy]

If you had a one of a kind set, and it was in good condition, I'd leave it alone. But, there are 70 or so CT-100s around. I would have the cabinet repaired. You will get more pleasure from a good looking set than one that is falling apart.

As for stuffing capacitors, I do it for prewar sets, since there are so few of them around. It is very time consuming, and a CT-100 would take forever. So far I've simply replaced the capacitors in the color sets I've restored (CT-100, Motorola 19CK1, Westinghouse 15 inch, Philco TV-123). If I ever get a really rare one, such as a Model 5, I'd probably stuff the caps.

I'd go w/replacement/reproduction of the damaged or missing parts; their presence (or absence) degrades the rest of the set and detracts from the work and talent you've expensed in the restoration thus far. Regarding your situation, consider you've got an unstable foundation right now and as such, it may put added stress on other mating surfaces and joints. If repairs are undertaken further in the future, they may be doubly difficult as a result of the minute distortions that occur. I agree with the assessment on stuffing caps; besides, unless you're going to have the underside of the chassis on display, why bother? I've compromised on a few of my older sets: I saved the pulls in a Baggie labeled with the set and restoration date. No mess, no guilt. If you've got room, toss 'em in the back of the set for safekeeping.

Good luck!

Michael

[fredh]

I agree with the others on your cabinet. Mine was not rotted but the surface was very bad and the top was damaged. I took it to a furniture restorer and it looks great now. I was going to restuff the caps but have changed my mind. There are just too many and as Steve said that process should be used on pre-war sets.
Fred

Professional cabinet restoration is the way to go in your situation. Experienced craftsmen can work wonders, and when finished it will look good as new! From an economic standpoint alone, it would be a profitable investment should you ever sell it.

Recap with orange drops and don't restuff. They are under the chassis and won't show even with the back off. Restoring a CT-100 to operating condition is enough of a challenge in itself, without making extra work for yourself that no one will see.

I agree with Steve McVoy that restuffing should be done on prewar sets because the technology is so old, they are extremely rare, and prices are headed toward the $15K mark on some models. I have done it on a few old radios where only a handful of caps were involved, but it still took a LOT of time. I have a 1947 RCA 721CTS console that needs recapping, and I'm not going to restuff the tubulars or the electrolytic cans. Everything on top of the chassis will still be original when I'm finished.

Re: Marilyn Monroe's personal TV, which has never been washed or cleaned to preserve its history (it's a dirty mess). What "history" has been preserved? Marylin would not have had it in her house in that condition. I think accurately preserving that set's history would mean restoring it cosmetically AND functionally to what it looked like the day Marilyn bought it.

[Kamakiri]

Originally posted by wvsaz
Re: Marilyn Monroe's personal TV, which has never been washed or cleaned to preserve its history (it's a dirty mess). What "history" has been preserved? Marylin would not have had it in her house in that condition. I think accurately preserving that set's history would mean restoring it cosmetically AND functionally to what it looked like the day Marilyn bought it.

Beats me.....still has the word "WORKS" scrawled on it in grease pencil from some part of it's time at the auction house, and lot number stickers on it too if memory serves. I think he paid like $18,000 for it

[ChuckA]

I've recapped about 30 TV's in the past year or so, only restuffed the caps in two of them. One was my Transvision kit just to see how much extra time it would take (lots), the other a pre-war set which is the only way to go (IMO).

I had two pre-war sets come in to the shop for restoration, the owner just wanted the caps changed he didn't want the extra expense of restuffing. The customer is paying the freight so whatever they want, they get.

As far as cabinets go, a good refinisher/woodworker is a must to have on hand, it is amazing what they can do. Here's a link to one of my projects from a few years ago:

http://www.myvintagetv.com/basket_cases.htm

This cabinet was a "basket case" it sat in a barn first, then at the auction they let it sit in the rain. The work wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny.

If someone pays $2500 for that Transvision on Ebay you can bet I'll send my Transvision cabinet out in a heartbeat.



Chuck

[Rob]

ChuckA,

I really enjoyed looking at your fine treasures on your website. You have a terrific collection!

That vintage radio you have for sale for $850 is a real beauty, I love the detail of the cabinet. If I had the spare cash I'd buy it even though I'm not a radio collector!

Rob

[Rob]

Tim,

As to your CT-100 dilema, I'd go with the advise of others here. Get the cabinet repaired/restored. It will add to the value of the piece not the opposite IMO.

I thought I heard a much higher figure for purchase of the Marilyn Monroe set, more like high $30's. Hey, you think someone who paid $37K for a portable tube B&W TV might pay half that to get it working?

Rob

[Steve D.]

Just to add my two cents....Years ago when I aquired my CT-100 it was structually in very good condition. But, the previous owner had painted it antique white. I didn't hasitate to strip that stuff off and refinish the cabinet. I have never been totally happy with my efforts as I could never achieve that nice high gloss piano finish. I may yet send it out to the professionals. Last year I had the chassis totally recapped and while there was a brief discussion about hiding the new caps inside the old caps for that original look, that idea was quickly discarded. As for your cabinet, send that puppy to the pros. You'll be a much happier CT-100 owner.

[Eric H]

Tim ,
I agree with the others, have the cabinet fixed!
Rotted wood and structural problems are much different than patina and history.

Restuffing: I tried it a few times and it was a frustrating experience.

I certaintly don't own anything rare enough to be worth the effort but I did do it with my CTC-7, simply because almost ALL the caps are on top of the chassis in plain sight.
When my hot glue gun shorted and blew the fuse in my iso transformer I decided to give up the practice altogether

Marilyn: Does anyone know what model TV this is? Any pictures

I would most definitely clean that thing, not too much, just get rid of the gunk.

Chuck, if you don't mind I would like to put a link to your Site on my Site?
I love that "New" Stromberg, it's a real time machine!

Eric

[ChuckA]

Originally posted by Eric H
Chuck, if you don't mind I would like to put a link to your Site on my Site?
Eric

Eric,

No problem with the link. I'll cross link yours when I get to that stage with my site. A few more snow days like today and I'll have it pretty much up to date.

Chuck

Originally posted by Rob
ChuckA,

I really enjoyed looking at your fine treasures on your website. You have a terrific collection! . . .


Rob

DITTO!

[Kamakiri]

Originally posted by Eric H
Marilyn: Does anyone know what model TV this is? Any pictures

Rob would probably remember more than I do....IIRC it's a Sylvania metal portable, white with gold trim.

[Charlie]

I would go with having the cabinet repaired by a professional. If you tell them you want it to be as close as possible to original, I'm sure they can handle it. It's also likey that they could repair it so well that one would have a difficult time noticing the repair... even upon close inspection.