I picked up this Tiffany Tone Cathedral and was curious if any one could identify it? I will need to learn to either reconstruct the cabinet or find one that will work! The chassis looks worse then it is after i cleaned it up a little. I think it's an RCA chassis but the decal is 99% gone!

I remember from seeing it in Rider's that Herbert H. Horn Company made radios with the "Tiffany Tone" name. You might want to start there. Your set looks like 1930-1932 or 1933.

Steins has all Tiffany-Tone's valued quite high. I'm sure it's quite rare!
Not a restoration for the faint of heart, but good luck with it.
Joe

I would save a few scraps of veneer , the tubes and knobs and toss the rest .

Ilm75Dodge,
What is the tube lineup?

I'd definitely try for the rebuild of the cabinet. Front face and lattice work, no problem. The rest of the cabinet will have to be redone obviously, probably dismantle starting with the base mouldings.
I have a Philco 60 that was in the same shape. I explored using forms and templates to get the shape right using new "bendable" plywood underneath. I was planning to using the original veneer too as it was in ok shape. I put the project on hold for now, but I had a good idea of how to come along on it,

Your veneer looks intact too.
You have the shape of the arch based on the front panel. As long as it remains the same front to back, during the rebuild.

I would not look for another cabinet. You may find something similar but it wouldn't be right. With the TiffanyTone name I would want everything to be like original, as much as possible.

As for the chassis, I hope it hasn't been hacked too much and the transformer and field coil are ok. Speaker recone, naturally.

You may find info on your set, download the Floyd Paul documents from the LA public library.
http://www.lapl.org/resources/en/california_index.html

Type Floyd in one box and Paul in another then search. You should find a lot of documents to download (PDFs) on the LA based manufacturers.
Let us see how you come along.

Yes, some would toss it away and not bother with it.
Some of us like to rebuild them, if it was another common brand maybe a toss. This set deserves to be rebuilt.

cabinets in that condition are what i like best its fun to get them looking nice if a bit frustrating.its just takes patience and a bit of work.i wish i had another one like that all my latest finds have been in good shape and not much fun to fix up.its a challenge but you will be proud when its done.butch

I say send the cabinet to Gary sence he likes to restore those . I have in the past tried to save cases that bad . All of the wood parts and layers have shrunk and warpped and will not fit back right ever again . The veneer over the hump would be impossible to clamp back down and look right again . There are 2 trim pieces missing from the front . The entire grille is delaminated with inner layers shrunk and warpped .

If you are not a master at wood restoration or are just plain in need of a very long project , not to mention the chassis which will never ever be original again and will either be rusty or repainted . I just cant see it . It will be so unoriginal when you are done it will not be worth its real value anymore if you expect to sell it as such .

Send it to Gary . I want to see a thread on him restoring this one

You're right Butch and I have seen some of your work. It does take time, little by little. There is no rush.
When t all comes together he may have a rare set there. Once we get the tube lineup and a model number, another search may turn up another one. Or not.
Take care.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Ken If it were my set, yes I would do it. I know it will never be totally original, but what's the alternative?
If it were smashed and flattened, then I'd say get rid of it.

The missing pieces are probably just a curved piece that appears on top of many fluted columns. Just a rounded piece that is easily made.
That's the least of the worries. The fretwork can be glued, pressed flat. And alignment issues can be sanded.


Chassis is bad, but we have seen worse. No set will ever be totally original, but I feel they need to be saved. Painted chassis, fine. Not original but it was at one time. Resurrected is ok in my book.

While I probably will not be working on the Tiffany Tone, I did resurrect a Packard Bell 45M once, some may not have see the before and after photos. Kind of an uncommon model too. The person I was biding against was going to trash the cabinet and install the chassis in another cabinet.
I am happy I save the cabinet, as that is one more in existance. No , it's not totally original but that's ok. It takes up a space on the display shelf really nice

Thanks again Ken, I remember you complimented me on that set I did.

I have kept that in my mind all this time, and I appreciate it

Holy crap!! I can tell that TT was one looker of a radio!!

That Packard-Bell is a work of art! I am in awe!

What a shame. Did someone toss it under a porch? Good luck with the restoration.

Hi Garry
That is one beautiful radio. I would love to have one like that. I am just starting my first attempt at cabinet repair.I been a week or two at gluing and have veneering to start. I am just reading on how and what to do.
Bruce

Thanks guys,
I am not a woodworker by any means. This projec took about a month, working off and on. But, I was determined to have it look somewhat like it should.
I learn as I go along and this was the first complete teardown and rebuild of a cabinet.

'Dodge's radio does have potential, and some of us like a little challenge. I hope he works slowly and get the set back in presentable condition. I have never done an arched cabinet, but I have a good idea on how to keep things straight and even. Just takes time.

Wow a lot of response on this one!!! Thanks for the help! Gary thanks for the LA library resource! I haven't found anything yet but hopefully I will! To steam and press the front panel back into place does anyone have any techniques to do so? I do have a steamer. The bottom and base trim is ok but obviously the arch will need to be rebuilt, I have never done that before and figure I will need to do some research in order to complete it!

If you're going to use new wood for the arch, you can score the inside of the arch to help control it. No, you're not kerfing; these cuts should be very light, just enough to break the top grain. Of course, cathedrals almost always have a rear support piece at the top, which probably went missing on this one. (surprise!)

Gary i forgot all about that radio . I would have tossed it I have brought back some pretty bad radios in the past but have lost interest on spending that much time on a radio . Instead of tossing some of my bad condition radios lately i have been giving them away .

Thanks Ken. I may eventually reach a time when sets like these are too much work, or are not worth the time involved for the final value. I understand.
I assume there will always be folks out there that will want to take on something like that, maybe their only time, or maybe always seek out the basket cases.

Take care, and have a great day

Gary, that is some FINE work. Color me impressed!

I have a Philco 650MX that needs to be totally re-veneered. The previous owner stripped it off.

Think you might be interested in doing this cabinet for me?