A Glass Case for a Restored1920s Radio

As a board member of the Antique Wireless Museum I'm always impressed with our member's restoration projects. Radio collector, historian and fellow AWA member Robert Lozier found an unusual home brew radio from the 1920's at a swap meet. After letting it age for a couple of decades under his workbench, he made the jigs and fixtures required to restore it to better than new condition and added a plate glass case to show off the internals.

The actual supplies that will be required will depend on the radio you're starting with.

An old radio with restoration potential

Wood for a new base

0.25 inch thick plate glass

Assorted metal stock, wire, hardware

It's always a good idea to document your radio as it is before you start your restoration. Photograph it from all angles. If it is a commercial radio, see if you can find any information on the manufacturer, some advertising and a schematic diagram. Search for some recent sales on an auction site. If you're lucky, you might find that you have a rare piece that is too valuable in its current condition to restore. Don't worry, there are lots of old radios out there that are in need of restoration.

This was a home made radio from 1925 that used quality components from the time it was built, but the case was poorly made, so a new case was designed in plate glass using CAD software. No changes were made to the circuit.

You can often save time and get a better result if you make some simple jigs and fixtures like this lubricant reservoir for drilling the holes in the plate glass.

Sure, you can buy commercial hardware for a restoration of a vintage radio, but it won't look right. If you make your own you can match the style of the hardware in the original piece. You can even buy authentic cotton covered wire that will look much better than that plastic insulated wire from the home improvement store.

Every radio restoration is different, but this video shows how Robert Lozier recreated a 1920s vintage glass cased radio from a flea market special.