Repairing wood side panels

Hello, I am a new member to Audio Karma. I just restored a Sony STR-6800 SD I bought for $58.00. I could not have done it without trolling Audio Karma for information.

The wooden panels were dogeared and rounded on the corners exposing unsightly particle board. I first thought of making new pieces but the flanging and mounting hardware would have troublesome.

Long story short, I purchased some basswood strips from Hobby Lobby, and some krazy glue (colored) and rubber bands.

I then took a razor knife and made new side pieces using the old wood for a template.

Glue them on, trim as needed with the razor knife, maybe fill in with plastic wood as needed (I used wall putty because I had some), stain and your done.

I coated mine with two coats of high gloss poly.

They look amazingly better, and it was actually the easiest part of the job. I now have nice right angle edges and a super high gloss on my panels.

I will not hesitate in the future to buy another receiver where the wood is really roached out.

If anybody needs help with this, just get in touch.

I play the Sony through JBL L19 and love it. I was in the service and college in the 70's and remember the systems well.

Welcome here. Pictures?

Yes. I will post one of the finished product later today. I knew I should have taken some as I was doing the work but I was just trying to get it done. Kind of amazing how good it came out, compared to what it looked like originally.

What were the rubber bands used for? To hold the strips in place? Anxious to see the pics as well. I've got a Stereoscope with bad side panels.

Looking forward to the pics.

repairing side panels

Yes, the rubber bands held the panels in place nicely. Super glue sets quickly but to be sure I banded them for a nice tight fit.

Also, cut the front facing strip just a tad longer so the long top strip slides in behind it. Same for bottom. Then trim as needed. It is very easy to plane with the razor knife. That way you have a nice clean front presentation.

The basswood is so thin that you dont have to miter or compensate for additional thickness.

I laid mine right on top of the old veneeer and it fit back on the unit perfectly.

I will get the pictures up tonight.

Just put your old piece on top of the basswood and start cutting. You will see how easy it is. The glue was the most expensive part.

Your superscope must be a nice unit.

Side panel wood repair pictures

I am attaching pictures (hopefully). I was trying to show the edges more than the overall receiver (Sony str 6800-SD). There are better systems out there for sure, but this is way good enough for me right now. Its listed at 85 wpc and I have no reason to doubt it.

If anybody needs help on the wood repair, just get in touch.

My nearby wood shop will give me bits of wood that sort of size for nothing - they chuck them in the tip otherwise - and for $2 they will cut them to exact sizes for me. So everything gets new wood sides - even items that didn't originally have them
Some hate the look and prefer all metal, but I do like a little bit of wood.

wood repair

That would be a good deal! Speaking of the metal look, when I removed the faceplate for restoration, the plain black metal plate underneath actually looked pretty good.

It gave the receiver kind of a retro test equipment type of look, like a Hammerland shortwave receiver I had as a kid.

If I ever find a good deal on a receiver with a destroyed faceplate, I won't hesitate to buy it and just go for a different look, especially with labels and such you can print on the computer nowadays.

Best wishes over there. Spent a little time in Kenya and Tanzania.

I was thinking about replacing the wood panels on my Technics SA-500 with dark Walnut. Any thoughts? Do you have some pics or a thread to point to on this topic?

Repairing wood panels

The pics for the finished product are above in this thread.

I did not do pics as I was doing the repair, but I try to explain it above.

Just get the basswood from the hobby lobby and a razor knife. Then take your old pieces off and put the whole panel on the wood and start cutting. Then glue, etc as I explained above.

It will give you nice corners and edges in really just a short amount of time.

I could not stand looking at the bad edges.

(Don't bother cutting the old veneer off. The basswood is thin enough that it does not change the dimensions to any significance.

Good luck and holler back if you have further questions.