HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Split from this thread:-

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=69434

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I took the set down to David's yesterday for him to see and evaluate and after the usual struggle to get it out of the car and clear a space we managed to get it over the threshold into the workshop.
David was quite impressed and didn't seem to think that it was too bad,the lid seems to have suffered the most with much of the carcasing? shrunk warped or split i suppose the lid would suffer the most damage as it was stored covered in a leaky garage for 40 years and whatever was covering it was probably soaked and never dried out.

The lid is quite important as this is the bit that everyone sees and as david said it" has to look right".

There may be help on the horizon though as a forum member has a spare lid with mirror if i can obtain this a lot of work could be saved.
One small problem that came to light yesterday is that some cabinets differ in width mine is just over 36" but one of Davids is just over 35" what's the betting that if i can get the spare lid it is the wrong size although the mirrors are probably the same size.

The cabinet is structurally sound apart from the right front corner which has sprung apart due to water ingress which David says should clamp and glue together no problem he also thinks most of the veneer on the front can be saved possibly with some of the bits still remaining on the lid.

We didnt have time yesterday to strip out any of the electronics so i cant say much about them yet as the main thing was to evaluate the cabinet condition and apart from the lid David thought it just a straighforward restoration job!!

I have done a little cabinet work in the past on 30's radio's patching veneer replacing wormy bases speaker boards etc as lot's of us have done but this project just seemed a 'bridge too far for me' however David is confident it can be saved and will look the part when finnished.

I did notice on the chassis it has the Baird valve fitted but the switch is blanked off with a custom made blanking plate.

More to follow when i get chance to get back to it,currently fitting a 'loft floor'in daughters garage for storage and then a new bathroom next week.

I would like to thank David on here for doing this set as i know he is very busy trying to clear the shop & build a new workshop and 10001 other things...

Mike

Re: HMV 900 pre-war TV at NVCF
 

Hi Everyone,
I made a good start on the 900 yesterday. To make things easier I have removed the power unit to reduce the weight of the set making it possible to move the set about without too much effort.

The power unit looks OK except for the rust. That side panel is rotten, a replica will be easy to make.

DFWB.

Re: HMV 900 pre-war TV at NVCF
 

Mirrors are easy. I used to get the local glass place to make custom replacements for overhead projectors.

I started with regular rear "silvered" mirror, but found they could do surface mirror (they used it to cut replacement car rear view side mirrors) which means no faint secondary image from glass. They had several thickness too.

Which sort did the mirror lid TVs use?

Re: HMV 900 pre-war TV at NVCF
 

Hi David.
I see some worm damage how serious is it? What about the TV sections do they look reasonable?

Re: HMV 900 pre-war TV at NVCF
 

Hi Trevor,
The TV sections are OK, although there is some rust in places.
Should be an easy job to get the TV receiver going.

I'm going to chop out all the woodworm damaged wood sections, we don't want those creatures returning again.

The cabinet lid is not in good condition. It is constructed from veneered blockboard.
I could effect a repair but the finished top surface is likely not to be perfect.
I have a piece of plywood which will make a really good substitute.

So should I use plywood or seach for some blockboard?

DFWB.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

David,
I wouldn't go with plywood for the lid, and you don't need to search for butcher block since the odds of finding one that match are slim. On a lid that I had to reconstruct I purchased boards of the correct width but thicker than I needed. I glued them together along the edge using urethane glue, not being particular about how straight or flat they were. When it dried I took it to a woodworker and had is surface planed to the correct thickness. This also straightened it out and made it nice and flat. This was a very inexpensive way to go but yielded a substrate that matched the original perfectly.

Best of luck on the restoration,
Darryl

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Hi Darryl,
Good advice, the best policy for this restoration job is to keep it like the original. There is a chance I might be able save the lid.

Also, there is a rumour that a complete lid could be available.

The dimensions of HMV 900 TVs can be differ from set to set. My set is slightly smaller than most 900 and 705 models.

Regards,
David.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Hi ive been down to my store and retreived the lid. it isnt in as good a condition as i had remembered but as i had packed it in cardbord and then in a plastic bag then it must be as ive just found it. there is some woodworm to the rear edge and some of the front veneer is coming of. this lid is definately usable. the mirror is in great condition as is the hinge.
the measurements seem to be 37.4"x19.5" my plan was to make a replica set but this lid may be better used on a genuin set. Danny

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

It will be nice to see the results when finished. as i would not have the patience or skill to restore the set to its former glory. good luck with it Mike. cheers neil.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Hello David,
My 900 is 36 3/4" wide by 33 1/4" high from the centre bottom [narrow section] to the top excluding the lid. It is 19 1/8th deep. The marks on the picture are finger prints showing up due to fill in flash. If you need any more details, please let me know. The cabinet is completely original and has only had a polish with antique restorers wax and a soft cloth. All the best with that 900. Should be a winner. Plug that power supply in! It's screaming for some mains after all these years. Regards, John.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Im glad all is ok so far .I hope Danny's lid fits

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Made good progress on Saturday. All the electrical units have been removed.
The CRT was removed in it's box, that avoids handling it.

The right side lower batten has been chopped out, I need a piece blockboard 20" X 10" X 21mm thick to make the replacement.

The side panels are in reasonable condition, but are badly scratched.

There is some woodworm damage on the lower right corner, I might consider making a new part.

I'll continue working on this set later today.

DFWB.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Excellent progress!

And i am stuck here with joinery and a bathroom to fit,i want to be down there and start cleaning up the chassis...........

Been having a search for 21mm blockboard and it seems pretty scarce (there's lots in China) would 21mm ply substitute? is it veneered or just stained ?,18mm blockboard seems pretty common could 3mm ply be bonded to this to make up the thickness......

Frustrated of Cramlington.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

At this rate of progress the cabinet is going to be completed long before the the TV sections are even looked at!

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Hi Chaps
This company sell 22mm block board would it be close enough

Frank

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Hi,

I've been busy around home building a new chimney and pulling up tree stumps and missed this thread.

WOW; what a lovely restoration project Mike; have you started talking normally again after dragging the set from your car?

Woodworm damage is always bad news; the flight holes which are seen usually hide large cavities of nothing but dust and are only discovered once sections of cabinet are removed or disturbed. I have limited knowledge of restoring such a cabinet but by exercising a great deal of patience and doing the work methodically bit by bit cabinet repairs done at home needn't become expensive after all it is the amount of time involved that costs the money to have such a cabinet professionally restored.

My recent cabinet restoration although a challenge was relatively easy compared to the conditions I worked under with the worst ever winter recorded. Such a cabinet as this will require a fair amount of space to work in and where woodworm is involved great care is needed not to contaminate surrounding timber including the structure of the building.

I had nightmares trying to obtain decent plywood and came to the conclusion that for the average DIY'er no such material exists as I tried all our local timber yards and all sold plywood that would walk out of my garage unaided due to rubbish quality; the ply I saw was always badly stored and had obviously been delivered to the yard on inadequate pallets allowing the entire stack to become distorted; it beats me why a plywood manufacturer would take the trouble to make ply in dead flat presses then try to save a bit of money like this on transport; top quality plywood is still readily available if you want a stack of 50 sheets or so.

I too wanted to keep my cabinet original by using plywood but eventually gave in and used moisture resistant MDF as a core veneering both faces and this actually worked out far better than if I had been successful in obtaining ply for the core as I was no longer troubled by ply grain direction and once the panels were completed only I knew that the core was MDF; I never liked MDF especially machining it as the dust produced is highly dangerous to health but now I wouldn't hesitate in using it again. Perhaps the thicker plywood is more stable but 18mm MDF with a 3mm plywood skin glued to it would give a very good base to work from.

I'm only thinking aloud and don't want to try to advise on such a project because without hands on such advise could prove useless.

What a wonderful project Mike and I wish you the very best of luck with it; I'll certainly be watching progress and thank you for sharing.

Kind regards, Col.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Marine Plywood surely is stored and supplied at better quality?

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Hi,

Thanks neon indicator; yes I too would expect marine ply to be well stored.

The problem I had was also one of price; our local Wickes sells similar quality plywood to our local timber yard but at twice the price with both being unsuitable for my cabinet use.

Prices vary considerably and many companies only sell full 8'x4' sheets; I only required two pieces for the Ekco cabinet side panels and with prices up to £50 for a full sheet of marine ply it wasn't worth it to me.

I did actually buy three lots of 6mm ply from local companies but by the time it was brought home in the car the lot had distorted and upon close examination it was just rubbish. I don't recommend buying plywood in the middle of a freezing winter whilst standing in open shed with snow blowing around and very poor lighting. I spent considerable time running around locally and also surfing the web only to end up totally frustrated.

Just for interest here is a link to a website advertising marine plywood; this is only an example but if only a small piece is needed for a top panel it would prove highly expensive having to buy a full sheet; the price is for 18mm and I have seen cheaper.

http://www.swanseatimber.co.uk/shop/...prod_8632.html

If anyone can advise me where to buy cut pieces of cabinet grade plywood in West Yorkshire I would be most obliged. Sorry to go on but trying to buy decent plywood locally caused me considerable frustration.

Kind regards, Col.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Hi Frank, Hi Retired, many thanks for sending the info about the timber firms.

I've been working on the 900TV this afternoon. The badly scratched side panel does not require reveneering. It just needs sanding, fortunately the veneer is very thick so I can get rid of those deep scratches.
This time I'm making sure I do not breath in the dust. There seems to be some bad stuff in that dust. Could be the cellulose. Anyway, I don't want to feel peelywally again after doing this kind of work. Translation required.
Looks like the loudspeaker baffle will have to be replaced. The woodworm have had a go at it.

DFWB.

Re: HMV 900 TV restoration.
 

Hello Mike,
That lower side panel is not veneered, it is stained. Some very early 900 models had veneered sides, my 900 is like that. Also the inspection panel for the radio receiver is much smaller than other 900TVs.

David.