What would you do with this?

[Boom]

I got this Ekco A22 chassis from ebay for a very reasonable price.

It was advertised as 'working' and to be honest all I wanted was spare mains and output transformers for my A22 which alone was worth the price I paid and at least what I could expect to pay for rewinds if needed at any time.

When it arrived it was not only working well and sounding fine but in very good condition. Far too good to break for spares as I had planned.

The chances of getting a cabinet, dial, knobs and back are non existent at least or probably less.

I was toying with the idea of totally stripping it then having the metalwork chrome plated before rebuilding it all using modern caps and resistors and using it as a naked display piece.

Another idea was for a wooden replica cabinet which would very much stretch my skills but that would still leave the problem of knobs and dial support.

So what do I do with it. Any ideas?

[oldticktock]

I quite like the idea of a perspex box along the lines of ORAC ( Blakes Seven) with the controls coming out so as to be used, and would be a functional display piece and a great talking point for your lounge/museum. Unless Gerry W has a case going spare from his replica set you could use, or maybe 'Merlinmaxwell' or 'Retired' might be up for the challenge to build you a case they both seem more than capable.

[AlanBeckett]

It would certainly be an interesting challenge to bend a piece of Perspex into a circle, although I would think it's possible with a suitable jig. The front, back and feet would be pretty straightforward.
Alan

Any good perspex fabricator could make a round case just like an A22 one maybe without the rounded front edge, I think it would look very good like that.

[Geoff 555]

Hi Boom I thought a 'perspex' case would be great. I made a clock case with 4mm thick perspex and the only tools I had was a hot air gun and a rolling pin, worked for me.
Cheers.
Geoff.

[mark pirate]

How about making a mould from an original cabinet & making a fibreglass copy?

Mark

[HamishBoxer]

I would contact Gerry Wells at the BVWS museum,and he will make you a cabinet.

David

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks oldticktock for your recommendation in post #2. It's funny but I actually considered having a go at making a wooden cabinet copying the A22 when I had my big Dominion woodturning lathe.

My plan was to turn a laminated wooden plug to the inside diameter of the original cabinet; seal the plug with paint then add a layer of cling film and overlay with cheap veneer for the basic cabinet followed by a lovely walnut burr outer veneer. The front could have been turned from a suitable lump of burr walnut; it would have been reasonably easy to turn a circular joint to give more glueing area.

I'm interested in veneering and this would have been an excellent project; the finish would have been French polish.

Unfortunately the weather prevents me from doing a lot of projects as I dislike being cold and dislike even more paying huge utility bills. I already have a large project lined up with my Ekco T311 restoration that I hope to start on shortly.

I had even considered Mark's idea of using fibreglass. I'm also an experienced glass fibre laminator; many years ago I worked for a company called "Hippo Glass fibre Products" of Horbury Bridge near Wakefield. We worked in pairs; I would add hardener to 5 gallons of resin and use a 12" lambswool roller whilst my mate would lay the mat and then follow me with the steel roller to consolidate the resin and mat. We worked on bonus and with 5 gallons of resin plus hardener we could not stand around having a natter. We made all kinds of products from bath panels to large fibre glass sheds. I had to leave the job due to mild dermatitis of my hands and never touch the stuff now.

Of the two I think I would have opted for the wooden cabinet.

Well done Boom in obtaining this chassis and I wish you the best of luck in whatever you do decide to do with it.

Kind regards, Col.

[chipp1968]

Im my opinion ,I would thought of two options ,disregarding cost , complications on manufacture availability etc.
1 , Find a suitable original cabinet .
2 , build ,have built a perspex cabinet along the lines of original

[Tim]

Hi Dave.
perspex case excellent idea.
Looks as though some of the cap's have been replaced already, with reliable types too!

[dave walsh]

The works are often as interesting [or more] than the cabinet but I think that the perspex box idea originated [pre Blakes 7] with Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band stage set/ads circa 1969. They had a TV in a clear box too. Possibly with a round screen! Dave W

[Mike Phelan]

Hi Dave
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but I wouldn't fancy a clear perspex cabinet; I'd either go for GF or veneering (with a little help ).

It's yours, though, so do whatever you want; we'll be interested to follow progress.

[Aerodyne]

I think a wooden cabinet could be built in a manner sympathetic to the original design, and although without a doubt a large-swing lathe would simplifiy matters, it would be quite possible to construct one with a few tools and a lot of time and care. Col (Retired) could certainly accomplish the task - if he was minded to do so - but, like me, Col is already engaged on projects stretching into the middle distance!

For wood, read: softwood, MDF, plywood, veneer, hardwood and two-part filler, the exact combination of each depending upon the final appearance required. Personally, I'd high-gloss lacquer in a bright colour, because that's a way of disguising construction techniques.
Interesting thread, though.

-Tony

How about matchsticks, you coiuld while away hours sticking them together. You can buy 'naked' matchsticks in model shops.

[Dave Moll]

Having seen a Philips TV (can't recall with certainty, but may have been a G8) with a perspex cabinet, I quite like the idea of a transparent cabinet to show off the workings of the radio.

Slightly OT, but I believe that there is also someone doing something similar with old telephones.

[christge]

I agree with those above and vote:
1) If possible a replica wooden cabinet
2) A perspex cabinet to show off the insides while using it. Someone had exactly same problem with a Pilot TV & I like the results. http://www.electronixandmore.com/tel...lot/index.html

Geoff

[stuie319]

Hi Folks

I'd go with wood for certainty.

I've seen the g8 with the perspex cabinet and it does look good, but then its a TV with a lump of glass in it and thus some depth. Perspex cased valve radio's can look very naff indeed, and for this thread i've dug this out of the cellar to prove it. I didn't make this btw! But as I see it the chassis of the desirable ecko isn't any more attractive than this radiogram chassis unless you really go to town and chrome it, and do an A1 job on the perspex....
Of course somewhere out there might be the cabinet with the wrong guts in it - stranger things have happened!

Best Regards
Stu

[chipp1968]

I like the cabinet on the last one of stuies, but it is an anachronism , in that the case is very pre war in style and the chassis is very post war !and very unattractive chassis.
The problem with making a wooden case is that unless its exactly with the Bakelite case which is very smooth..and bakelite ... then its going to look very second rate considering what it should look like .A lot of people knowing what the chassis is would have little interest in it in a wooden case.In a well made perspex case ..preferably circular ..then it becomes more interesting .Otherwise its really best in another original case .Talking strongly aesthetically here of course,otherwise it could go into anything it fitted.

[Dave Moll]

Chipp has summed up my own feelings on the matter. I replica case is almost bound to fail in its attempt to pretend to be the real thing, whereas a transparent case is a bold statement which says "I know I'm not original, but I'm taking the opportunity to put on show what is usually hidden from sight." I do feel that the chassis is an interesting-looking one in being designed in a circle.

I hasten to add, however, that it really is down to the preference of the owner at the end of the day.

[newlite4]

I am imagining just how good this would look in perspex, a sort of Bauhaus-Modernist perspective perhaps. It would be advisable for a perspex fabricator to do this, it should be quite possible for said person to include the feet in the folding process.
With a chromed chassis and clean components, this has great potential, rather like the perspex 300 series phones.
Neil