Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
There's no doubt that a lot of old radios were "rode hard and put away wet", and let's face it, they were never meant to last this long. The same is true for some of those great old reference books on your shelf. So is there any hope of a decent restoration, or can you at least slow down or even halt the decay?
In this presentation from the 2021 Antique Wireless Association Conference, Robert Lozier shows techniques that he has developed, and that other restorers have shared with him, that will help you preserve those vintage books and electronic pieces. From making a driver for that driverless horn speaker to building a replacement for a bad audio transformer with surface mount components, Robert covers the gamut.
Index:
00:39 - Conserving technical books
10:55 - Restoring fiber backs on radios
12:19 - A replacement for braided cable jacket
15:06 - Inserting glue under veneer with shim stock
16:26 - Disassembling old cabinet joints
17:39 - Using a cabinet scraper to remove excess filler
18:17 - Authentic looking rubber insulated wire
19:46 - Authentic looking cotton covered wire
21:02 - A tiny solid state replacement for an open audio transformer
25:43 - Grill cloth cleaning
30:50 - A piezo replacement for a missing speaker driver
40:43 - Repairing a pin driver speaker
42:28 - Leaving just the right amount of patina
44:27 - Using QR codes to link an artifact to a descriptive website
47:58 - Restore it or leave it alone?
If you enjoyed this video, consider becoming a member of the Antique Wireless Association at: antiquewireless.org/homepage/membership
Subscribe to the Antique Wireless Museum channel and you'll receive news of our latest video uploads.
There's no doubt that a lot of old radios were "rode hard and put away wet", and let's face it, they were never meant to last this long. The same is true for some of those great old reference books on your shelf. So is there any hope of a decent restoration, or can you at least slow down or even halt the decay?
In this presentation from the 2021 Antique Wireless Association Conference, Robert Lozier shows techniques that he has developed, and that other restorers have shared with him, that will help you preserve those vintage books and electronic pieces. From making a driver for that driverless horn speaker to building a replacement for a bad audio transformer with surface mount components, Robert covers the gamut.
Index:
00:39 - Conserving technical books
10:55 - Restoring fiber backs on radios
12:19 - A replacement for braided cable jacket
15:06 - Inserting glue under veneer with shim stock
16:26 - Disassembling old cabinet joints
17:39 - Using a cabinet scraper to remove excess filler
18:17 - Authentic looking rubber insulated wire
19:46 - Authentic looking cotton covered wire
21:02 - A tiny solid state replacement for an open audio transformer
25:43 - Grill cloth cleaning
30:50 - A piezo replacement for a missing speaker driver
40:43 - Repairing a pin driver speaker
42:28 - Leaving just the right amount of patina
44:27 - Using QR codes to link an artifact to a descriptive website
47:58 - Restore it or leave it alone?
If you enjoyed this video, consider becoming a member of the Antique Wireless Association at: antiquewireless.org/homepage/membership
Subscribe to the Antique Wireless Museum channel and you'll receive news of our latest video uploads.
