[Geoff]

I stripped off the remaining finish at the bottom of the cabinet. These are the two blocks that attach to the base of the cabinet in the rear and one large piece that attaches to the base in the front. I also used a brass brush and tried my best to get into all the nooks and crannies. Afterwards, I began the final wipe down using just lacquer thinner and old t-shirts. I still have some more work to do in this area before I call it clean.

One thing I was curious about is the horizontal line that runs along the bottom of the front face of the cabinet, a couple inches from the bottom. Below the line the original finish was dark like it is on the sides and top. Above it is lighter. That line is actually a small groove. Once I am done with the final lacquer thinner wipe down I will be applying wood filler to fill the exposed nail holes and then applying grain filler. How do you keep the grain filler from filling in this horizontal groove? I was thinking about applying it and then use a jewelers flat head screw driver to get it out of the groove before it fully hardens. Anyone have any tips on this?

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

There is also a groove that runs along the cabinet as shown in the following pictures:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

I’m not sure if this should be filled with wood filler or not. Meaning, should it be smooth or should I be able to see the groove after refinishing? In one of the above photos I took it looks like there is some filler in there. Maybe it was originally there and I removed it during the stripping process? Not sure and was wondering if anyone else may have some thoughts on this.

The top of the cabinet should be completely flat. However, when I run my hand across it I can feel some waviness. I ran a straight edge over it and as you can see it is flat in the front and in the back but in the middle it dips a little. I’m thinking this will really show up once a polished finished has been applied. I was thinking about turning the cabinet upside down and gluing and clamping a flat piece of wood underneath to flatten it out.

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]