British Gaumont set, a happy find yesterday.

[Boater Sam]

Another ebay purchase yesterday, a Bush SW41 radio from the British Gaumont era, 1937 I believe.

Radiomuseum has an entry, https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/bush_sw41.html.

A not insignificant size woody set, the walnut case is cross banded with contrasting wood grains. At least it is supposed to be, this one is so dirty that it is hard to tell. Some surface damage to the finish but not too severe.
Mine seems to be in better condition externally woodwork and 'speaker cloth wise than the one pictured but hard to be sure with all the grime. The illustration on the Bush service sheet shows the wood cross banding better.


All the original knobs, back panel and legible dial glass present and in good order. Even the remains of the swing label on the internal speaker disconnect wander plug wire. Original cotton covered mains lead with a light socket bayonet plug fitted, so not been used for a while I would guess.

Examination revealed no worm holes, the felt buttons still in the feet and all 4 back screws present.
Encouraged so far by this I removed the back to find an original set of Cossor and Mullard valves as listed on the official service sheet.
Very dirty interior but not much fluff, just black coal dust everywhere. No rust to be seen, perhaps carbon dust preserved the steel parts.

All the knobs turn and do as they should, the tuning being a bit reluctant at first but with a bit of twiddling the slow motion reduction and the cord drive respond.
Rubber covered wiring to the speaker is in fair condition, I can still differentiate the colours. No signs of any burn ups, no brown shellac smells either.

The B I top condenser box is in place, and I would expect the bottom one is too.
Resisting the temptation to remove the chassis I fitted a mains plug, stuck in the workshop aerial and powered up on the lamp limiter. Normal reducing lamp glow, the 3 dial lamps all work, valve heaters can be seen glowing and a little crackling from the volume control and wave change switch suggests that most of the set is in working order.

There are no signs so far of any repairs to this set, it may be a different story under the chassis but I doubt it.

Being brave or foolish depending on your viewpoint, I applied full power after checking that the mains voltage selector is on the top setting and that nothing was getting distressed so far.
Rewarded by good reception on medium and long wave!
Gave it just a few minutes only, everything seems normal, no heat or smells.

So there we are, 81 years old, appears to be untouched, complete, original and filthy dirty but eminently restorable and working. Worth the £6.50 paid do you think?

A good find as I have never had one of this model before, something to play with next spring when we get back from abroad. Cleaned up it should look very smart too, all the veneer is well stuck down and the Bush transfer is crisp.

Sam.

81 years old

There's your problem (to use an American phrase) if it breaks a repair will be needed. Always buy new (grin).

[Boater Sam]

By the time I have finished, it will look new!
Its worth doing a complete "As Original" restoration, re-stuffing caps, no, its old, condensers, dog bones if required.
As I have never seen this model before, how unusual is it?
Sam.

[MurphyNut]

My kind of radio, occasionally you find old sets like this that still work, these sets must have been stored in dry conditions for most of their lives for their components not to have deteriorated.
I would be nice to see some pictures of your set.