1948 Philco Radio / Phono Liquor Cabinet

When I buy an old radio, I always try to determine the best way to repurpose it to maximize what it can provide in usefulness while still maintaining its historic look and character...so heres what I came up with!

Step 1: The Beginning

I picked this 1948 Philco model 1262 radio / turntable on Craigslist in non working order. The finish was still good for the most part. On most of these the bottoms tend to be marred from years of vacuums and shoe kicks. On this, I did sand the bottom and apply dark walnut Bri Wax. Its close enough to the same color as the rest of the unit. I gutted the radio of the carriage and turntable components. ( I always offer these for sale at a minimal charge on CL so as not to just toss them out).

Step 2: Adding a Drawer and New Front Facing

I bought 12" drawer slides and installed from front to rear after installing a cross brace in the rear to mount the slides to. I built a drawer out of 1/2" poplar purchased from Rockler Woodworking. The front facing which used to have the speaker and speaker cloth showing through was replaced with metal grilling purchased at Home Depot. I used the speaker framing as a template for cutting the metal front. I installed 3 LED under-cabinet lights also purchased at HD.

Step 3: Cleaning Up the Brass and Glass

I cleaned up the brass plate with brass cleaner and gently cleaned the glass channel plate and stored in my house safely away from the working area for later reinstall.

Step 4: The Final Touches

I had added a 3/4 inch plywood floor to hold the bottles (which add quite a bit of weight to the cabinet) I added 1 1/2' castors to the cabinet so I can roll out when needed for parties. In order to keep the hamper style door from opening too far, I used cabinet hardware purchased from Rockler. The knobs were reinstalled by gorilla gluing cut bolts into them and attaching using washers and nuts on the inside to hold them in place. The back was 1/4" plywood, stained dark walnut and attached with screws.