Gramaphone Restoration Project #2: Figuring Out What I Can Salvage

I finally stripped the old Gramophone cabinet down to it’s bare parts. I measured and threw away whatever wasn’t usable due to extensive water damage. I was surprised at how much of the most important parts were still in decent condition. Now I have the fun stage of sanding off all the old varnish and prepping the leftover parts so I can put it back together with some replaced parts.

It’s nice because the project seemed so much more difficult at first glance but has, in fact, proven to be much the opposite. If you wonder why I chose to sand off the varnish instead of using stripper? It’s because it has been a cold winter in Edmonton, with temperatures holding at minus double digits. My garage is pretty air tight and I can’t really open a door to let fumes out. I am also using two electric space heaters to warm the garage and I am pretty certain that stripper fumes would eventually be flammable as well. Hopefully, I will have the cabinet reassembled again by spring when I can open doors and let the fumes out. That’s when I give it fresh coat of varnish.

-- Rob, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, newagainedm.blogspot.com