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LOML recently was given an Edison LU 37 Diamond Disc Phonograph built around 1922. Some of her cousins had it and wanted to find a good home for it. Aside from extensive cleanup, it had all parts but the grille.
I checked around online and found some photos of the same type phonograph to see the design of the grille.
Next, I went to work in VCarve Pro to do a layout. The only measurements I had were the height and width of the opening - 10.25" by 14.75". So, I did some calculations, tested some dimensions and finally got a suitable design. A combination of circles, half-circles, arcs and straights got it started, then I had to do a lot of node editing to setup the carve properly.
I set up my cnc to do most of the cuts with a 1/8" end mill running at 70ipm and 1/16"doc. I set up a final pass using a 1/16" end mill to get into the small notches and clean up the previous carving.
OK, so I didn't get photographs of the finish steps, but you wouldn't want to watch paint dry anyway! My first step was wiping on some brown mahogany stain. To darken the grille more, I sprayed shellac with a few drops of TT Dark Walnut dye in it. Then, I sanded that back a little to expose the stain and give the grille a distressed appearance.
Here's a before and after look at the phonograph.
Momma's happy, so I guess all is well!
I checked around online and found some photos of the same type phonograph to see the design of the grille.
Next, I went to work in VCarve Pro to do a layout. The only measurements I had were the height and width of the opening - 10.25" by 14.75". So, I did some calculations, tested some dimensions and finally got a suitable design. A combination of circles, half-circles, arcs and straights got it started, then I had to do a lot of node editing to setup the carve properly.
I set up my cnc to do most of the cuts with a 1/8" end mill running at 70ipm and 1/16"doc. I set up a final pass using a 1/16" end mill to get into the small notches and clean up the previous carving.
OK, so I didn't get photographs of the finish steps, but you wouldn't want to watch paint dry anyway! My first step was wiping on some brown mahogany stain. To darken the grille more, I sprayed shellac with a few drops of TT Dark Walnut dye in it. Then, I sanded that back a little to expose the stain and give the grille a distressed appearance.
Here's a before and after look at the phonograph.
Momma's happy, so I guess all is well!