[Jim Ryan 76]

Hi,

(On the 40-180)
The center of the set, where the missing piece is, can and should be repaired. To remove or cover the entire front might open a can of worms if you have never applied new veneer before. Search for veneer repair here or other vintage radio sites. There seems like more than one way to do it.

The dark stains around the escutcheon can be removed with wood bleach. (Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace etc.) Moisture has chemically changed some of the wood fibers, but bleaching them out, you'd be surprised at the results.

The tops of the shoulders is topped with the walnut veneer. Just the flat parts, not the curved edges.
The edges were sprayed with lacquer toner so they would darken the cheaper wood to makch the rest of the set. Simply staining the edges will not work, as the stain does not darken enough into this wood. The layers of toner will build up, until you get the color you want.

The pushbuttons are available from a couple of suppliers. One being Larry Bordonardo at oldtimereplications.com They are $16 a set and look like the originals. Your's are probably already deterioated or missing.

http://www.antiqueradioknobs.com/partlistings.html

On the rubber wiring, there is some in there, but there is also some good cloth covered wire you don't have to worry about.
There are some tight places it's located in so each wire will have to have aplan of action to replace, or slip shrink tubing over.(Need to lift one end.)

As far as experience, sounds like you should have the soldering and diagram reading down pat.
Good luck with the set.
Gary.

Thanks for the reply, Gary.
I'm building myself a radio chassis stand right now and am taking the opportunity to experiment with veneers and stains, etc. so that if I need to do so, I can rebuild that center panel. About half of the thickness of plywood back of the panel directly behind the dial holes is completely gone, with just the veneer and a bit of plywood remaining. I have to either build it up from the back or rebuild the panel. See inspiration:
http://home.flash.net/~lfscott/Restorati...0-180.html

I'll try the Toner bit for the areas that need it, though the shoulders at the top are cracked (about the width of a sheet of paper), so I've got some investigating to do before tackling that area.

I've ordered a new dial panel (they are plastic now, and evidently not available in glass any longer. The needle will come from a different source. I just talked to someone who has one to sell me. Luckily, since I haven't found them anywhere else.

I have wire on order, and will probably order some cloth covered wire from RadioDaze when the time comes to do so.

I'm holding off on this guy till I get some experience with simpler radios. (I'm doing an "All American Five" hot chassis radio right now.) I have my variac and Isolation transformer, and once my radio chassis stand is finished, I'll go at it.

I really want to thank you for your input. It's nice to know that guys like you are out there.
Jim