[mrandall]

Thanks, Radioroslyn! I will take a look at that! It doesn't really seem like the grain is raised, so particle board seems likely? 

I'm also wondering if you or anyone else can also comment on when (if ever!) it does become OK to "upcycle" a vintage set like this into something other than a working television. One vintage TV redditor I chatted with advised that, in their opinion, a TV isn't really beyond repair unless you've got, "a bad picture tube, bad flyback transformer, or a bad power transformer."

I want to do justice to this beautiful piece of vintage technology, while at the same time preparing myself for different scenarios where a repair might be very difficult or costly - or even impossible. In any of those scenarios, would it be acceptable to retain and restore the frame, but have someone extract the parts that are still working for folks who work on other vintage sets to use? Just trying to think through a few different possibilities as I educate myself on the issue. I still have no idea why something that is in quite good outside condition doesn't currently function and will have to take it to an expert for that diagnosis.