1935 Murphy A28RG Radiogram restoration.

[MurphyNut]

This is one of my very favourite items; I purchased it a sorry state from a house that was being cleared. I good friend put me on to it knowing I was a Murphy Nut!
It worked reasonably well but looked very dull and lacklustre, about three years ago I decided to renovate the cabinet and got my friend involved in servicing it, as the turntable was starting to play up. Well, it became quite involved.
I have to say the cabinet was a real pleasure to work on, it is so incredibly well made, all the joins mitred and so well constructed nothing had come apart or distorted, as you can imagine it’s very heavy.
I completely stripped it back to the bare wood, very lightly sanded it them built up 4 layers of varnish wet and drying between each coat this filled the grain and gave a nice flat finish. Once the new varnish went on all the colour and beauty of the wood grain came back, the difference was quite remarkable.
I’m very pleased with it, it sounds great too. It took a long time to restore but well worth it, I’m passionate about Art Deco, 1930’s Dance Band music / 78rpm records and radios, this Radiogram draws all these things together in one unit.
I forgot to take a before picture, which I regret but here’s some progress pictures and finished item.

[vinrads]

Wow that looks very nice well done, just a thought have you replaced any capacitors? Mick

[dave walsh]

Tremendous-what's the deck? Am I right in thinking that there won't be many of these around-unless with Mike Barker perhaps? That minimalist 30's styling is so great at it's best and timeless in a way. Even the player has a very simple utilitarian look by comparison with others of the period.

Dave W

[MurphyNut]

Originally Posted by vinrads

Wow that looks very nice well done, just a thought have you replaced any capacitors? Mick

I did the cabinet and a friend did all the electrics, I know he replaced capacitors.
This was 3 years ago and since then I've learnt how to fix things like this myself.
I was kind of forced into it as my friend moved away, it was a blessing in disguise as I had no one to turn to so I've spent a lot of time on the net learning, I've picked up a lot over here.

[MurphyNut]

Originally Posted by dave walsh

Tremendous-what's the deck? Am I right in thinking that there won't be many of these around-unless with Mike Barker perhaps? That minimalist 30's styling is so great at it's best and timeless in a way. Even the player has a very simple utilitarian look by comparison with others of the period.

I don't know what the deck is, perhaps it was specially made for Murphy. I don't remember ever seeing it in any other makes.
I have two other Murphy radiograms from about the same time with the same turntable, I was able to utilise one for the A28, that probably being a rarer set.
Yes, the styling is quite austere, but clearly a lot of thought went into it's design. There is even sound deadening panels to stop cabinet resonance and the cabinet deliberately not deep to reduce it becoming boomy.
I've just remembered I did a YouTube video of it, some years before I restored it-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-P-teSqlgw

[dave walsh]

Excellent video MN thanks. What a difference re the cabinet! I see one of the comments describes it as perhaps inspired by the Bauhaus school of design.
It would look exactly at home in the 1935 De La Warr Pavillion here in Bexhill

Dave

[greenstar]

Yes, that is a lovely simple deck and a beautiful restoration. Before I opened the photos I thought the deck had been replaced, it's reminiscent of 60's styling. A heavy arm. I have wondered what the optimum pick up weight is for 78's - I have seen very heavy weighted 30's pick ups in upmarket sets. I believe enthusiasts use far lighter arms for 78's nowadays, but obviously that wasn't the main issue originally.

[MurphyNut]

The arm isn't nearly as heavy as it look's, the pickup head swivels up and down from the arm so this is only the weight in contact with the record.
If you look at my video you'll what I mean.
I've played some of my 78's a lot on this turntable and as long as a the needle is replaced regularly I've not noticed any wear on the records.

[deliverance]

That look's great a nice restoration .

[Audio1950]

Wow! What a great restoration, it looks like it just came out of the showroom!

I never did subscribe to the school of thought that says these thing should not be cosmetically restored, on the grounds that they are then not original. Neither are scratches and scores, rust and dirt

Well done.

Barry

[MurphyNut]

Thanks, my views are: if an item has luckily survived in very good original condition, leave well alone. But if something is looking is a very sorry state I try and bring it back to how it would have look in it's heyday.

[McMurdo]

Nice job. It's one of those cabinets that is 90% certain to be a murphy if you had to guess! I'm always surprised by the cutting-edge styling of alot of their 30's output. I've seen other makers' radios in the mid 50's that had only just caught up with the stuff they were doing pre war. I'd expect to see that radiogram in the Isokon building or other modernist dwelling!

[MurphyNut]

I get impression the austere styling of a lot of Murphy sets puts people off.
I for one love the look of them backed up by their quality. I've build up quite a collection without breaking the bank.