Veenering this and that

Mike Sweeney

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
So here is a question to those that have worked on restoring Marantz cases. I have two.. one came with a 2226B and one came with a 2285B. Both are OEM and were sold with the case. In the 2285B case, it does not have the metal shield at all and the screw holes for it were never used ( still has paint on the edges where the screws would have gone).

The question is this. The 2226B case is MDF with veneer which is like most cases I've seen. The 2285B on the other hand is plywood, not MDF complete with reinforcement blocks glued in place ( like my radios from the 30s and 40s)

Has anyone taken the veener off a plywood case? Or is it really the outer lay of the plywood and not "veneer" in the classic sense of the word? I believe this is veneer laid over plywood.
 

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So it was veneer.. thin and very dried out veneer. I don't know what they used for glue but it's crap.. which is a good thing since I want to re-veener it :)
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All the veneer is off. It came off easier in one direction vs another. And parts like swirling knots were the hardest to get off. Now i'm filling parts, gluing broken parts and fixing things. Next will be a sanding of the entire surface and a coat with shellac before I use self-stick walnut veneer to recover it all.

The original veneer looked like it might have been edge cut but I've gone flat cut to show off the wood.

https://www.ovisonline.com/Wood-Veneer-Walnut-Flat-Cut-2x8-PSA-Backed-P1535.aspx

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Just an FYI about the old veneer.. it's THIN. like paper thin. To be precise, .012 of an inch. Thats about half of what modern veneer with adhesive backing is ( about .020). You could sand it and refinish it but you would really want to be cautious. And this stuff is really brittle now. No backing.. they just took the veneer, threw on the glue and slapped it down. At least it's wood :) some of my old 30s/40s radios were a type of photopaper, not even wood. You find out when you go to try and repair repair it :/
 
I feel like I have opened a can of worms with this :/ The new self stick veneer is .030 thick.. plain veneer is .020 and the original was .010 which is just a bit more than thick paper.

I'm not thrilled with the edges of the self stick and I'm convinced that self glue at .010 thinner is really going to make any difference. I'm not worried about the corner gaps, wood putty will take care of that. It's the thick edge I'm not very keen on.

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So the edges didnt turn out as bad as I had feared they would If it had been a light wood, maybe not so good but the walnut wit the darker stain I used worked we. I sealed it first then used an oil stain called Moorish Teak and then I used Van Dyke brown toner to bring a touch of red to the plain dark brown and to even out the grain. Then clear lacquer which has not been polished and waxed yet. I want to wait till tomorrow so it's good and dry.

The progression is raw sanded wood, then sealed, then stained and toned. Finally finished in lacquer. Looks a whole lot better than what I started with :) Now, the reality is I could have bought a reproduction case for just a bit more than what I spent on veneer, a few tools like the trimmer and supplies. But it was a fun day and I'm glad to have saved the original case for my 2285B
 

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