Roberts 707 and 747, dismantling case to renew rexine. - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

widgercharlie · 11th Jul 2012, 10:10 pm

Hi,

Very new to this so please be patient.

I have dismantled on of my Roberts later versions and want to renew the leatherette do you know if the case comes easily apart or are they glued together?

It looks a fairly easy job but would be easier if it was dismantled.

Thanks,
Charlie

davidgem1406 · 14th Jul 2012, 10:55 pm

Hi Charlie

I just looked at a 700 and a 707 the cabinets are all glued making it difficult to take apart.
Don't know about the 747 but would think it will be the same.

Dave

Darren-UK · 15th Jul 2012, 12:22 am

I too don't know about the R747 but recovering the R707 with the cabinet intact is not a difficult job although it is tedious.

1) Remove complete chassis. Some unsoldering will be required and it's wise to remove the loudspeaker too.
2) Remove carrying handle (not strictly necessary but it can get in the way if left in situ).
3) Remove trim pieces from top and bottom of front grille. These are glued. Remove carefully as they can buckle.
4) Remove piping between wooden cheeks and main part of cabinet. These are anchored on the underside of the cabinet.
5) Remove badge by pushing its pegs from inside the cabinet.
6) Remove rear door, then from that remove the rear grille and the data plate which is usually stapled to the inside of the door. Remove the two turnbuckles. Pay particular attention to how the rexine was originally applied to the rear door as some nifty cutting of the new rexine will be required here.

With the trim and piping removed, you'll see these serve mainly to hide the edges of the rexine which is generally 'tucked in' at its edges or folded around other edges.

You can now strip off the old rexine. Rip off as much as possible by hand, then remove any residue using, say, a warm water spray and a scraper. Make sure the now-exposed surfaces are smooth and dry before going ahead applying the new covering.

The cabinet is indeed glued together, so it's not a good idea to soak the entire cabinet to remove the old rexine. Of course, if you wish you can do that with the intention of dismantling the cabinet but you need to be very confident that you can reglue it together again properly. If you do this only to find later that something isn't quite positioned correctly then you have a problem and will have to start again. Presumably, at the factory, these cabinets will have been held on jigs.

Frankly you'll find stripping, but not dismantling, the cabinet as described above to be far easier and less time consuming.

Have a dry run with the new rexine. Cut the parts you need a few millimetres bigger, place on the relevant part of the cabinet and then trim to leave enough material to tuck in or fold around edges as the case may be.

You can apply the new rexine with PVA; make sure the glue is evenly spread, the wood is free of dry spots and that the glue has no lumpy bits (such as those hardened bits which form around the nozzle of the bottle). Any such blips will show through the rexine and ruin the job.

Watch the texture of the rexine too. Although the pattern appears to be random, if you apply one piece slightly askew in relation to another piece the error will stick out like a sore thumb.

Once the new covering has been applied, allow it to dry for several hours. Then check thoroughly under good lighting to make sure all is well. If it is, do not refit the trim etc yet. Reinsert the chassis first to make sure it fits properly, not forgetting the trim pieces which fit on the front and rear edges of the tuning scale (providing the new rexine is no thicker than the original, all should be fine). If all is well, lift out the chassis again, refit loudspeaker (if removed), badges, trim, piping, rear door parts etc., refit chassis and resolder where and if necessary.

Perhaps I should add the obvious with regard to the 'speaker grille. If the grille has any dents, this is a good time to deal with those. Dents are invariably in front of the 'speaker aperture for obvious reasons and can usually be reasonably well pushed out from inside the cabinet. Should you need to remove the grille, it's glued to the wood and can be removed by applying warm water or steam.

One final point which you may already be aware of; the R707 is a pig if it develops module (transistor) trouble. Therefore, make sure the radio is in good working order before you tackle the rexine. If you undertake all the work to re-cover the radio, only to later have it conk out on you and you don't feel like tackling a module then your efforts will have been wasted.

11th Jul 2012, 10:10 pm	#1
widgercharlie Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Dorset. Posts: 2	Roberts 707 and 747, dismantling case to renew rexine. Hi, Very new to this so please be patient. I have dismantled on of my Roberts later versions and want to renew the leatherette do you know if the case comes easily apart or are they glued together? It looks a fairly easy job but would be easier if it was dismantled. Thanks, Charlie

14th Jul 2012, 10:55 pm	#2
davidgem1406 Heptode Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Sheerness, Kent, UK. Posts: 936	Re: Roberts 707 and 747, dismantling case to renew rexine. Hi Charlie I just looked at a 700 and a 707 the cabinets are all glued making it difficult to take apart. Don't know about the 747 but would think it will be the same. Dave

15th Jul 2012, 12:22 am	#3
Darren-UK Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. Posts: 4,061	Re: Roberts 707 and 747, dismantling case to renew rexine. I too don't know about the R747 but recovering the R707 with the cabinet intact is not a difficult job although it is tedious. 1) Remove complete chassis. Some unsoldering will be required and it's wise to remove the loudspeaker too. 2) Remove carrying handle (not strictly necessary but it can get in the way if left in situ). 3) Remove trim pieces from top and bottom of front grille. These are glued. Remove carefully as they can buckle. 4) Remove piping between wooden cheeks and main part of cabinet. These are anchored on the underside of the cabinet. 5) Remove badge by pushing its pegs from inside the cabinet. 6) Remove rear door, then from that remove the rear grille and the data plate which is usually stapled to the inside of the door. Remove the two turnbuckles. Pay particular attention to how the rexine was originally applied to the rear door as some nifty cutting of the new rexine will be required here. With the trim and piping removed, you'll see these serve mainly to hide the edges of the rexine which is generally 'tucked in' at its edges or folded around other edges. You can now strip off the old rexine. Rip off as much as possible by hand, then remove any residue using, say, a warm water spray and a scraper. Make sure the now-exposed surfaces are smooth and dry before going ahead applying the new covering. The cabinet is indeed glued together, so it's not a good idea to soak the entire cabinet to remove the old rexine. Of course, if you wish you can do that with the intention of dismantling the cabinet but you need to be very confident that you can reglue it together again properly. If you do this only to find later that something isn't quite positioned correctly then you have a problem and will have to start again. Presumably, at the factory, these cabinets will have been held on jigs. Frankly you'll find stripping, but not dismantling, the cabinet as described above to be far easier and less time consuming. Have a dry run with the new rexine. Cut the parts you need a few millimetres bigger, place on the relevant part of the cabinet and then trim to leave enough material to tuck in or fold around edges as the case may be. You can apply the new rexine with PVA; make sure the glue is evenly spread, the wood is free of dry spots and that the glue has no lumpy bits (such as those hardened bits which form around the nozzle of the bottle). Any such blips will show through the rexine and ruin the job. Watch the texture of the rexine too. Although the pattern appears to be random, if you apply one piece slightly askew in relation to another piece the error will stick out like a sore thumb. Once the new covering has been applied, allow it to dry for several hours. Then check thoroughly under good lighting to make sure all is well. If it is, do not refit the trim etc yet. Reinsert the chassis first to make sure it fits properly, not forgetting the trim pieces which fit on the front and rear edges of the tuning scale (providing the new rexine is no thicker than the original, all should be fine). If all is well, lift out the chassis again, refit loudspeaker (if removed), badges, trim, piping, rear door parts etc., refit chassis and resolder where and if necessary. Perhaps I should add the obvious with regard to the 'speaker grille. If the grille has any dents, this is a good time to deal with those. Dents are invariably in front of the 'speaker aperture for obvious reasons and can usually be reasonably well pushed out from inside the cabinet. Should you need to remove the grille, it's glued to the wood and can be removed by applying warm water or steam. One final point which you may already be aware of; the R707 is a pig if it develops module (transistor) trouble. Therefore, make sure the radio is in good working order before you tackle the rexine. If you undertake all the work to re-cover the radio, only to later have it conk out on you and you don't feel like tackling a module then your efforts will have been wasted.