1942 Philco cabinet into a Juke......PROJECT THREAD

[reptileink]

Now that my Arcade is pretty much near completed, I wanted to build a juke......yea, I got the bug.

Anyway, I am picking up a 1942 Philco cabinet tomorrow that is basically gutted already, but does have a speaker(will change)



$20 Craigslist find!!

So I was thinking, depending on the size of the hole seen, I would put a touch screen there, PC in the back, and some speakers, and be on my way.

Also, I see a lot of people using amps and stuff. Can't I just use some computer speakers for now until I really finish the thing?

Annnnnd, instead of a touch screen, I was thinking of getting a USB touch pad and mounting it near the screen. Still streamlined and a LOT less cheaper than a touch pad

[reptileink]

BONUS!!

Just got off the phone with the guy selling it, and he told me he's going to leave it at the back door and just to take it!

Woohoo! $20 towards parts now!

[egosbar]

simple software like skjukebox run off windows 98etc so your old computer will be fine

what id do is reformatt your computer and reinstall say windows 98 if u have a copy and use that

[Aisser]

Congrats, you got a really beautiful cabinet!
If your PC run the operational system well, the font-end program shouldn't be a problem...
You can use computer speakers, they are (normally) amplified, but the sound is really crappy, in my opinion.

[reptileink]

I think the old PC has 98 on it already, if not 2000. I'll have to re-check the specs.

I will delve more into the audio aspect when I get some time. I have a ton of old speakers lying around that I am sure I can make something work.

Any thoughts on the touch pad "mouse"?

[unclet]

If you are going to run any music videos on it then you might need a stronger PC now and days.   If you are just going to run MP3s only then the older PC should be fine.

[reptileink]

yea, I won't be running music videos. Just something nice and simple. Organize my music, someone can walk up, and pick the tunes they want, and done!

Do most Juke front ends actually work like a juke? As in, if a song is playing, and someone picks like 3 songs, will it hold them in reserve until the current song is finished??

[egosbar]

they all pretty much do that

there are a lot out there , depends on yoru taste and what buttons you want to run , i run number buttons as well as up down left right so that when i have a big night i cna turn the touch off and they can line up songs using the numbres , not all juke programs will support that

this is a good start point  and where i finally settled on skjuke            http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Jukebox_Software
make sure u look into customising the fonts etc as you can make them look a lot better , if you try skjuke then have a look at my juke and how ive customised all the fonts etc

[reptileink]

Alright, picked it up Sunday, and of course, found a bit more damage than seen in the smaller provided pic. Hopefully nothing major, and I can fix it with some epoxy or glue. You can see where the veneer is pulling up on the left side of the first pic. All in all though, this thing is in sturdy shape. I don't mind a few dings or scratches, it adds to the history of this piece. After all, it is 70 years old!







I will replace the speaker cloth with some new black cloth. I was thinking of mounting some sound reactive LED strips to the back of the spindles, but I don't want it to be to gaudy. Right now she's in the garage attempting to re-humidify with the still warm summer air. I will eventually have to move her to the basement. This project may be on hold for a while until I study up more on how to refinish wood, and save veneer.

[Fordman]

I love the cabinet! I wish I can come across one.

As for saving the veneer, you might be out of luck as veneer from years ago, when not adheard to a surface becomes paper like and begins to crumble. You might be able to glue the parts sticking up, then put some weight on top of it. Id let the weight sit on it for 24 hours to make sure the glue holds. Also, make sure there isnt any glue from the original veneer on the wood, sand it down if you can, then apply new glue.

A nice touchscreen would look fantastic in that cabinet! 

Fordman

[drventure]

Great find for free!

I love the shape of that cabinet. Some TLC and it'll look great.

[gryhnd]

Looks great!

Re: finishing. You might try a test with Howard's Restor-a-Finish and see how she cleans up. I've had good results on the RCA-Victor TV console I am turning into a jukebox. OTOH, it can also clean up grime that was otherwise hiding damage. Check out my post over here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=104021.msg1107138#msg1107138

[Marsupial]

that's a great find, wanted to put my hands on one of those, but the cheapest I saw was a working one, at 100+$

for one, I don't want to gut a working vintage radio, then I was repelled by the price.

Maybe some day, in the meanwhile I'll watch your topic 

[MPTech]

Hey reptileink, nice start!

Great minds think alike!    I picked up a 1946 Philco in February. It looks similar, but has a swing out door that used to house a phonograph (record player). The radio looked descent, but the record player was significantly damaged, perfect for my purposes. I had been searching on craigslist and ePay and even when I found a reasonable one, the shipping was $100+ and a lot of craigslist folks didn't want to mess with it. Then I found a local guy selling this one for $50, so I called him and picked it up on my lunch hour. The cabinet & wood were my main concerns and they looked in pretty good shape, no permenent damage.  I plugged in the radio, the tubes slowly lit up, I tuned in a local radio station, and IT WORKED! COOL!!! (I have since read on an antique radio site, DO NOT DO THIS!!! It is very dangerous, could damage the radio, and more importantly, likely to catch fire!) I gutted the electronics (saved the radio and tossed the record player). I spent several weeks stripping the finish, it was damaged and un-naturally dark. The project was put on-hold at the beginning of the summer when the kids came home from college and filled my garage 
Well, school started and I got my garage back a couple weeks ago and I've been working on it a couple hours here-and-there (no rush, but I am getting excited). The wood restoration turned out much better than I expected (I've never stripped, re-stained, and poly-ed anything before). I started off applying the poly (satin finish) with sponge brushes. That worked great for long straight strokes, but really showed up bad on corners and turns. I gave it a good final wet-sand with 600, then 1000 grit, then bought a couple can of the semi-gloss spray poly and really liked the results. Just take your time and don't spray too thick (it's tempting to pile it on when the surface looks so smooth, then you see the RUN form! no problem, let it dry a day and lightly / carefully sand it smooth again, then go easy on the coats!
I've got almost all of the new PC electronics mounted and I'm hoping to finish up in the next couple weeks. It was a tight fit and a lot of stuff to mount, but I think it’s going to work out.
My last step (and this is where we were really thinking alike) is to mount some light tubes behind the front grill / bars, that are sound activated.  I was able to re-install the original radio (cleaned up pretty nice) and replaced the old bulbs with some new Blue LEDs, looks pretty neat, I think.
My goal was to have it almost bone stock when it’s turned off, so you couldn’t tell it was ever modded. But when you open the front door and turn it on, HI-TECH, LIGHTS, and Loud Music!
Good Luck, I look forward to seeing your progress.
 

[Marsupial]

I plugged in the radio, the tubes slowly lit up, I tuned in a local radio station, and IT WORKED! COOL!!! (I have since read on an antique radio site, DO NOT DO THIS!!! It is very dangerous, could damage the radio, and more importantly, likely to catch fire!)

What are we supposed to do if not trying its operation?

[Dermbrian]

What are we supposed to do if not trying its operation?

Generally, when trying to preserve the vintage radio, one would either bring it up at a lowered voltage/current and/or replace all the paper and electrolytic (can) capacitors first.  I'm in the middle of trying to restore a 1939 Zenith console.  I'm part way through the component replacement and after that I'll bring it up with a 60 watt light bulb placed in series with the AC power to act as a current limiter.  If the light bulb lights brightly, then there's a short in the radio somewhere.  If it lights dimly...things might be OK.  Remember, 70 year old parts and, in most cases, somebody generally discarded the radio because it's broken.  They may have actually tried to fix things and left them nowhere near the way the schematic even shows them if they're not technically competent.

That said, finders keepers and owner's prerogative by me.  I'm just happy when a big wooden box designed to entertain a family gets a new lease on life to do the same thing.  Our homes don't need to be museums.


Brian

[mountain]

Great find!

That said, finders keepers and owner's prerogative by me.  I'm just happy when a big wooden box designed to entertain a family gets a new lease on life to do the same thing.  Our homes don't need to be museums.

I have been searching for two years now looking for the perfect cabinet to do a conversion. I definitely agree that at least the cabinet will be put to use and not thrown away.

Here is a treat for all of you that are interested in this type of build. Mine will be automated though 

[reptileink]

Wow MP, thanks for sharing your story, but it's worthless without pictures  

I REALLY wish I could find the radio components of this cabinet, not only to restore the original look, but hoping it had a bezel that I could mount the LCD screen to. Maybe do some kind of flip around action on it.

I have to jot down the model numbers because there isn't anything online that I have found that looks excatly like mine(unless I am looking in the wrong places)

I don't plan on fully stripping this down, as 90% of it is in really good condition. I will re-glue where the veneer has peeled away, and maybe fill in some of the deeper scratches on the spindles, but I honestly like the little nicks and "weathering" this machine has.

I also found a website that has repro grill cloth so instead of black, I will use that.

Someday I would like to rehabilitate an older radio, but that's another hobby added to to long list.

[MPTech]

mountain, that is very nicely done. I did a lot of searches and never saw that one before.

Darn! and here I thought I was being original with my pull-out door, he ups me with a pop-up display and REMOTE!
too late, I'm commited and want to finish soon.

what front-end is that?

reptileink, pictures are delayed (I forgot my camera at the lake over the holiday weekend!)

[drventure]

I couldn't tell from the video, but I always thought it'd be great to have the old buttons and knobs actually work on a conversion like this.

In fact, in that version anyway, I'd kind of imagine a small LCD replacing the old dial indicators (and maybe even with graphics that replicated them).

But still, very cool stuff. I'm scouting CL now for possible conversion cabinets!

[Dermbrian]

I have to jot down the model numbers because there isn't anything online that I have found that looks excatly like mine(unless I am looking in the wrong places).

It's a Philco 42-395X

http://www.philcoradio.com/gallery/1942a.htm#22


Brian

[reptileink]

Thanks man!

[reptileink]

Just scored this off of Ebay!!!! I am SUPER psyched, but now need to figure out how to do the screen, and still have the original radio bezel look..lol

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230523906171&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

[MPTech]

What did you get? (the link says the listing was removed).

[reptileink]

try that link

[drventure]

Dang!

Great score for 40$ shipped!

I SOOOO want to do one of those. My wife's not really digging the giant radio thing though 

Just gotta keep workin' her!

[mountain]

Dang!

Great score for 40$ shipped!

I SOOOO want to do one of those. My wife's not really digging the giant radio thing though 

Just gotta keep workin' her!

I think he just got the guts, not the entire cabinet.

[drventure]

Doh. Totally mistook that one. Boy, what a misleading photo.

Well, not sure what benefit the parts would be unless you're refurbishing an actual radio. But maybe there's something to be had with the tuner face, etc.

[gryhnd]

But maybe there's something to be had with the tuner face, etc.

Yup. He's thinking of going "stealth".

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=104021.msg1119967#msg1119967