03-25-2012, 09:55 PM
And I wholeheartedly agree with Chuck.
I, of course, by no means am close to either of the posters in my experience of the antique radio restoration, but my purpose in doing all this is just one: I hate to see good old technology, built by folks during the times when people had some pride in what they were doing for living, rotting away. Today's expensive electronics is guaranteed for a year and lives for, maybe, 10 years. Those devices lived for decades, and some work even today without any restoration (though they could use some).
We appreciate patina on some old bronze statue; why make a radio glisten as a fresh spit on asphalt.
I say, make it play, and make it safe, and fix the cabinet so it stops disintegrating and looks nice enough.
Some of Bob's advice is common sense; some is wasteful.
There is nothing wrong with perfectionism, if one could afford it; however most of us are hobbyists and not making a living out of restoring radios, so we have to husband our resources when it comes to what we spend on the restoration.
I, of course, by no means am close to either of the posters in my experience of the antique radio restoration, but my purpose in doing all this is just one: I hate to see good old technology, built by folks during the times when people had some pride in what they were doing for living, rotting away. Today's expensive electronics is guaranteed for a year and lives for, maybe, 10 years. Those devices lived for decades, and some work even today without any restoration (though they could use some).
We appreciate patina on some old bronze statue; why make a radio glisten as a fresh spit on asphalt.
I say, make it play, and make it safe, and fix the cabinet so it stops disintegrating and looks nice enough.
Some of Bob's advice is common sense; some is wasteful.
There is nothing wrong with perfectionism, if one could afford it; however most of us are hobbyists and not making a living out of restoring radios, so we have to husband our resources when it comes to what we spend on the restoration.
