Circa 1929
Walnut , poplar, and Birdseye maple veneers. Glass, metal and polychrome decoration.
Interior ID plaque:
“Manufactured by The Western Television Corp. Chicago, Illinois Patent Pending. Serial # V 00121 “
20 1/2W X 10 1/4D X 23 1/2H inches
The veneer on the face of the case was secured with hide glue (251 gram strength) as well as the carcass itself. The carcass seams glued well and the sides did not need to be pulled forward as suggested in the treatment proposal. The Left-Proper side of the top was also secured with hide glue.
The metal screen bezel was removed as were any other metal parts that would interfere with the surface coating treatment. The coating was cleaned with resin soap (abietic acid, TEA, Triton X-100 and distilled water adjusted to 8.5 pH). Once cleaned and dry, the surface was clarified with acetone. The green opaque nature of the coating was due to deterioration where the reintroduction of solvent (acetone) , reversed this. The surface was then lightly abraded with sandpaper and then burnished with a French Polish-type pad containing only ethanol. NO new resin was added to the surface. Some minor defects remain including an area on the top that was damaged from an earlier application of may have been a self adhesive tape which removed some of the coating, as well as tiny pits in the finish on the top. This technique preserves the original surface coating and creates a high shine which may or may not correctly interpret the amount of gloss of the original 1929 surface.
The metal screen bezel was cleaned with the resin soap and coated with a microcrystalline wax. The other exterior metal parts were cleaned with precipitated chalk in ethanol/distilled water and coated with the wax. The interior works mounting system showed areas of metal corrosion, these areas were treated with CRC oil ( a synthetic penetrating oil ) to remove the surface corrosion and help prevent further corrosion. This included the brackets and wing nut inside the case. One electrical wire was loose on the motor, this was secured with both B-72 and a drop of Hxtal.
The rubber insulator’s broken edge was primed with B-72 5% in xylene and adhered with B-72 1:1 acetone/ethanol (60-40%)
The interior rubber parts were cleaned and coated with the microcrystalline wax.
The missing plywood back was replaced. The glass lens was cleaned. The interior was vacuumed before the parts were reassembled.
