If I ever get around to dig mine out, I was going to part it out on the bay. I had some stupid dream of restoring it, but when it falls apart in your lap, was previously pulled from the dump, and left in the rainy water....parting it out should have came to me first

I recently aquired one of these and also need the back.

Frank

I checked with the water jet guy. He can't make it from the thin metal. Suggested lasers. If I get him a 3D drawing, he'll send it to his contacts to see if they can/will make them.
Ed

I will model it in CAD if someone is willing to loan their back. With the square edges and repeated pattern it won't be too hard. If might be simple enough for a laser cutter to model for a reasonable cost as well.

I can see two models, one flat and one as-formed with the bends and dimples.

If you are willing to do the CAD work, that would be great. I would loan you the back. I do think that a 3D model with the bends and dimples would be the way to go. My though is that, if we go to all of this trouble, we should make it a realistic repro.

Lou, PM Sent...

OK, I am going to loan the back to Dave Allen to make a CAD drawing. AFter that, I hope to pursue the local folks for making backs and I will also contact Ed to see what he can go with his guys. Cannot make any promises on schedule, but progress marches on. I hope to resolve the 2D vs 3D issue and get a true repro back with flanges, dimples, et al. We shall see.

I have been in the repro radio parts biz (wood knobs, dials) for 25 years. What I have figured out is that generic parts sell well (such as the general replacement wood knobs I used to make) and model specific parts sell slowly (such as most radio dials I make). My guess is you could sell about 10 of those backs in 2 years. That is a fairly rare set. How many collectors are out there seeking that back? Not many.

Next question is price. I would guess it would sell best for $25- $30. Much more and you will not have many sales.

So, if you make any, make 10 or so and put them on a long standing Ebay listing and here on ARF. Also, post on the Philco Repairbench. And, keep the CAD file so you can run more later if needed.

Mark Oppat
www.oldradioparts.net

Mark:
Really appreciate your comments and insights on this. Dave Allen and I had this conversation today and guessed the price point at $30 which matches your thoughts. The initial run of 10 parts is perhaps a bit lower than I thought, but I trust your judgement.
Your views will help a lot on decisions on making the initial production run. I personally am not looking to make a business with this but to help others, understand what is possible for these kinds of parts with modern shop technologies, and hope to break even with the initial investment of hiring someone to make a first run of parts. Dave has agreed to take the next step with the CAD files and we will go from there. I have heard from 5 or so folks who would like a back so that will help with the initial market.

If you want to make more money, make a bunch of the various Zenith dial pointers for 1935-1938, especially '36-'37. They sell for $40-50 each when they show up on ebay and are in high demand and nearly no supply. they are stamped metal with a cast hub. There are about 20 versions you could make, 4 of them are the most common, the '36 and '37 in two lengths. I would make those first. If you made them and priced them at $30 each you could probably sell 20 in a year, easy.

Mark Oppat
http://www.oldradioparts.net

We had that conversation too, Mark.

I've thought about Zenith pointers for a long time and could see ways to make them. The problems are that they are SO delicate and might take a lot of hand cleanup. Also the the taper fit center hub might be expensive to farm out. I've wondered if there is some mass produced clock part that could be used as the hub? Maybe there's some tiny tapered reamer that clockmakers use so one could turn them in a lathe?

Photographing the back and then "tracing" or using software to translate to a drawing isn't going to be accurate enough. Laser scanning would be.

If someone has a back they would send me I'd consider making an autocad drawing or pdf of it that could be used to run a cnc.

I'm a draftsman in the real world.

Wow, the Philco 45 back that had been sitting in my bone yard for years is turning out to have quite a second life.

It's great what you guys are doing.

Bob

WIth Kudos to Dave Allen, we now have a CAD drawing of the back in great detail. Very nice job... see the 3D view below.
We are now going to get estimates and see if we can do this for a reasonable cost.
Of major concern is the cost of adding the 2 dimples at the lower edges. The 2 bends are no big deal but those dimples may be a deal killer.
I think the dimples have to be there to be authentic.
Others agree? Would you buy one without the dimples or would you insist on complete accuracy and want the dimples??
We want to know!!

Also, would you want it pre-painted or want to paint yourself in whatever way you want it??

Hi guys, i am new to vintage radios and this is my first post here.

I have way too much free time on my hands and recently started a project to build reproductions of the Butterfly. I have a CNC and have genned gcode to cut the wood cabinet and the dial escutcheon. Is there a possibility I can join the effort to do the back repro? I have some experience cnc milling aluminum and steel.

This is my 2nd radio project. My first effort was a Stromberg Carlson 1110 and I am working on cad drawings for a zenith 829.

Welcome Kapohoyo1:
No problem getting more thoughts on this. We are currently getting estimates for the work from several sources, both in Kentucky and here in Ohio. We have the CAD files and are working this. RIght now, I am on vacation so things are paused a bit. ANy thoughts on your part about the difficulty of this job,? I am concerned that the "dimples" may be more difficult than the cutting and bending. Ideas on cost per unit? Are you looking to make this a "at cost" project or are you looking to make this part of a business?
Thanks,
Lou

I found a water-jet company in Seattle that will provide a bid to cut 10 steel backs. Down the street from them is a sheet metal operation that can bend the lip an add the punched dimples. The water-jet folks will take care of the powder coating.

I hope to have the cutting bid and the powder coating cost by mid-week. The sheet metal work will be around $100 and entails building a punch for the dimples and bending the lip.

My plan is primarily to build a few cabinets for gifts just to see if I could do it, but deferring the cost by offering a few to the folks on the forum certainly makes a lot of sense. The next challenge is sourcing or building the knobs.

Steve Young
Seattle

Steve, the knobs are not rare ! You can get originals or repros easily. I know I probably have the set of them here if you need any. They were the black color version.

Mark Oppat
www.oldradioparts.net

Thanks, Mark. A set consists of one large knob and three smaller ones. I haven't spent much time looking for them. Was the knob style used on other Philcos?

actually Philco used those knobs on everything in 1934-35 so they are fairly common. I have the originals and repros.

Mark Oppat
www.oldradioparts.net