1928 Tower Model 28 Reproducer
This section covers a 1920's reproducer restoration. I found this at a house sale in
the spring of 2006. It had been stored in the cellar for the last 50 years. It was found
with a very nice 1924 AtwaterKent model 20 "Big box" Radio. I have learned that
this is a 1928 Tower model 28.
A real classic cone.............
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This is a finished restoration. I have invested over 100 hours (over a 6 month period) into this restoration. After taking a couple of hundred pictures I began by slowly removing the crud from the delicate pressed wood front. I used a very lite solution of Dawn in distilled water and a cup of just distilled water. It took 400 q-tips to clean just the front and then 10 hours to hand chisel all the places the q-tips could not reach. After a large amount of delicate sanding I began the staining. There are 7 different shades of stain on this piece to highlite it's many features. From dark special walnut to a very lite redwood. The front was then sealed with 5 layers of laquer(should last another 80 years). The backing material Is press glued with Elmers wood glue. The edges were then overglued. Then the piece was trimmed. This process was then repeated for the back panel. The back panel was in much worst condition than the front panel. It is very thin and a lot of it was already missing. After a lite cleanup, it was just lightly varnished to help preserve it. I was originally going to make a reproduction of the back.
The drum was sealed shut using thick cardboard that was siliconed down on each side. I did not want to take any chance of contaminating the interior of the drum. Then it was sanded back to bare metal(went through 32 sheets of sandpaper from 80 grit to 800 grit). Three coats of grey primer (sanded between coats)were applied. There have been 6 coats of Forest green paint applied to the drum. A very nice drum, there are no dents or scratches on the drum.
The base had to be wire brushed by hand to get it back down to bare metal. Then it also recieved the primer and 3 coats of black. The features of the base where then handpainted. I know the base did not come painted this way, but with all it's detail I could not help myself. The base is very shinny and hard to photograph, but it looks great. it has been signed on the bottom W. Farley 2006....Yes, thats me.
Except for some lite cleaning and a lite coat of synthetic oil on the horseshoe magnets and the inside of the bare metal drum. The speaker assembly is 100% stock. The speaker cone is in excellent condition for it's age. There are no stains or tears and all of the surround material is still there. Since the speaker plays so well, I did not want to take it apart.
The original wires are still attached (in good shape but very very fragile).This reproducer works incredibly well. I have listened to this speaker for many hours on end, and it has a great sound quality to it. (the echo created inside the steel drum is pretty cool)
Before Restore
The Restoration pics