Turn a 1950s wireless into a portable ipod speaker

Step 6 Bonus Step

Hopefully, your resurection of an old valve radio shouldn't include this step.

This step shows how I went about replacing the broken cloth of the front of the unit.

First thing to do was remove the speaker and speaker bracket from the front piece of wood.

Then I removed the piece of wood by rotating the clasps 90 degrees to loosen the wood and remove it.

I then removed the speaker mounts which are just bolts with a fancy flush-mount plate.

The existing cloth was unceremoniously torn away from the hardboard.

I used a belt sander to remove the felt, being careful not to damage the wood. I touched it up with some sandpaper and made sure it was smooth.

After reattaching the flush-mounted plates, I used instant contact adhesive to glue a sheet of new cloth to the hardboard. It's important to use an uncut bit of cloth, rather than attempting to pre-cut it.

I placed a heavy weight on a flat piece of wood over the glueing area to make sure there were no bubble or seams.

Once the adhesive has dried, I went round the outside of the wood with a scalpel to remove excess cloth.

I used a reamer and a pencil to make the holes in the cloth. Don't use a drill, it will snag and rip your cloth apart.

I then put the piece of wood with new cloth attached back in the cabinet, reattached the clasps on to the lugs and then reattached the speaker.