Classic TG Radiogram (1953)

[Sankari]

I picked this up for $50. It's not a collectable. Classic (Australian company, based in Melbourne) produced literally thousands of these things.

Chassis has taken a bit of a beating.

Record player is a Garrard RC 75, made in England. The plastic slips under the control knobs were added by a previous owner. They come from another radiogram, and do not match this one. I removed them.

The entire unit can be lifted completely off the base!

Cleaned up the edges and gave them half a dozen coats of metallic gold paint. Applied with a brush; finished with a sponge.

Still needs a bit of stain and varnish, but not too shabby so far.

 

[stockhausen]

Good find, hope it all comes together (soundwise). I love these bits of classic "HiFi" kit, unfortunately they rarely sound great but it is usually possible to replace the Amp with something modern if the valves have failed and often the turntable as well. In my experience, the suspension on the (mono) speaker has usually decomposed beyond usability but that can typically be replaced as well or you can put sockets in the back of the cabinet to feed a stereo pair.

Keep posting updates!

 

[Sankari]

The radio still works, but the record player is dead. I don't know exactly what's wrong; it doesn't seem to be mechanical. The previous owner couldn't get it to work either.

I plan to install a PC inside the record player cavity. There's heaps of room, and the record player is only held in there by four small bolts. It should slip out easily.

 

[vanpeebles]

You can’t beat the looks of an old wireless

 

[Feek]

Oh very nice.

 

[Orionaut]

You can’t beat the looks of an old wireless

Back in the day, a radiogram could cost more than a car. Early TV's were not cheap either.

A great deal of effort was typically put into the "Furniture" aspects of the construction.

 

[xxalxx]

That edging looks like you could sand it down and replace it with gold t-molding (as in the stuff on arcade cabinets) - would have a nice finish.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Looks good!

 

[stockhausen]

Before removing and disposing of the turntable, do please create an account on a couple of HiFi forums (e.g. HiFi Wigwam, The Art of Sound, Vintage HiFi, etc.) and post pictures of it. You may find that you have something that someone local to you would love to restore to its former glory.

 

[Sankari]

Before removing and disposing of the turntable, do please create an account on a couple of HiFi forums (e.g. HiFi Wigwam, The Art of Sound, Vintage HiFi, etc.) and post pictures of it. You may find that you have something that someone local to you would love to restore to its former glory.

I've already checked on several forums. The turntable is not a collectable, and the cost of repair it would be far more than it's worth. I will keep it for the aesthetic value, and mount it somewhere in my study.