zenith color roundie tv saved from barn 6/3/12

[snelson903]

here's a thought for anyone that might know, when the factory any company draws up plans for a new tv cabinet design's from 40's through the 60's are they arkived anywhere or destroyed, i was just thinking it would be cool to find some old factory plan's on cabinet's that the factory used. and build a new one from all the right measurement's ,even down to the color of stains they used.bring back some of cabinets that have been lost to time .

[Magnavox300]

Originally Posted by snelson903

here's a thought for anyone that might know, when the factory any company draws up plans for a new tv cabinet design's from 40's through the 60's are they arkived anywhere or destroyed, i was just thinking it would be cool to find some old factory plan's on cabinet's that the factory used. and build a new one from all the right measurement's ,even down to the color of stains they used.bring back some of cabinets that have been lost to time .

I thought of the same thing when I was repairing the Magnavox console.
I thought it would be great to just build a whole new cabinet using the old one as a guide.
I only thought of it because there was a little wear to the top trim, and I started to scrape it off, figuring I would just sand and stain it again to match,
but then realized it was faux painted in a mahogany grain!!!!
I had no idea they did that with those cabinets!
The wood underneath was poplar, as REECE mentioned above.
I decided to just strip the whole length of trim I had started on,
mixed 2 different stains, and it actually matched very decent. You can see the difference in the wood grain, but only if you are really looking for it.
Fortunately I was able to save that mistake!
I was very impressed with the original faux mahogany paint job they did back then, I also have a Magnavox stereo console from '61 in a cherry finish, and now I am sure that was faux painted as well.
I was a professional house painter for many years, and even did some faux painting myself for customers, but I couldn't tell these cabinets were!!!
I know hardwood is expensive, but I guess it was cheaper for the companies to faux paint these cabinets; seems like a lot of work though!

[uxwbill]

Originally Posted by snelson903

here's a thought for anyone that might know, when the factory any company draws up plans for a new tv cabinet design's from 40's through the 60's are they arkived anywhere or destroyed

I suspect that most have been destroyed, as nearly all of these old line TV manufacturers are out of business and have been for a long time. Unless the former employees saved something, or it's languishing in an antique store somewhere, the odds aren't good.

For a Zenith set, there might be a fleeting hope as they never really went out of business. Good luck finding anyone to ask, or anyone that would care to look around within the company.

Great job on this restoration so far! I can't wait to see it back together and playing again!

[Phil Nelson]

The vast majority of old company documents like that have been lost over the decades, either on purpose or through accident. TVs and radios were appliances, not art treasures. Every year, new models were introduced, and manufacturers encouraged you to buy new and toss the old. Nobody expected them to be used and restored 60 years later, any more than we expect that today's stuff from Best Buy or Wal-Mart will be treasured and rebuilt (good luck with that) in the year 2072 or 2172.

Phil Nelson