Welcome to Renovated Radios

 

Shipping Delays

For various reasons, alternate delivery methods are not practical for my business. Only USPS First Class is available here. Due to the changes in the Postal Service, you may expect delivery times to be much longer than usual. If after 15 days, your package hasn't arrived, send me an email and I'll send you a tracking number. Once your package leaves here, I have no way of insuring that it gets to you in a timely manner.

A web site devoted to reproduction parts for antique radios

I make over 350 different radio parts, mostly rubber washers, grommets, and various radio knobs for your antique radio.

Here you'll find parts for vintage Zenith, Philco, Stewart-Warner, Arvin, Belmont, Detrola, Fada, Majestic, RCA, Silvertone, Truetone, Westinghouse, Motorola, and more.

Tube radios are cool. They emit a warm, steady orange glow inside, unlike the modern transistor type radios. And, they can have an input jack, or bluetooth module installed so you can play any kind of music through your vintage radio. I don't do renovations, restorations, or repairs of old radios here, I just make antique radio parts. See below for repairs.

If you have a radio you'd like repaired, I suggest you do an Internet search for terms like "vintage radio repair", "radio club", or something similar and include the name of your state with the search terms. That way, you should be able to find someone in your locality who might be able to help you.

If you decide to repair your own radio, follow the link above to my "Parts" page. I probably have some parts you could use. Then check my "Links" page for other resources.

If you would like advice about repairing your old radio, I suggest you go to the "Antique Radio Forum" on the Web, and ask questions there. The forum is frequented by many radio experts who are very knowledgable and willing to help.

Moldmaking for reproduction parts
Since I have thousands of molds already made, I may already have made molds for the parts you seek. If I do not have a mold made for your particular part, I can make a mold providing you can send me a good original. There will be a charge for making molds.

Minor scratches can be buffed out, but for rare knobs, chips or cracks can sometimes be filled. Basically the parts will come out just like the original, so if they are not in excellent shape, then it does not pay to have it reproduced. As a last resort, if you do not have a good original, use your own resources to find collectors who will let you borrow one so you can send it to me. The internet has become a great place to network with other collectors. If you want to send me a part that is badly damaged for identification purposes please do. I will look through my molds and attempt to find a mold that was made previously from an excellent original of the part you need.

Making molds from originals will not harm the original. My molding material uses no heat when curing. I take great care when molding originals, however, I cannot be responsible for extremely fragile parts. All molds become the property of Renovated Radios LLC and there will be no molding charge for molds that already exist.

Wood simulated knobs
Many of the knobs requested are for wood knobs. I make simulated wood knobs. They are made of plastic to look like wood. They are made of brown plastic, and then wiped with a black mixture to fill the grain. The result is an aged wood look. Collectors have been very happy with this effect. But keep in mind, wood simulated knobs should be ordered in sets so as keep colors consistent. It is not advisable to mix wood simulated knobs with original knobs. When compared side by side, they may be a close match, but they won’t match perfectly. Only in the case where the original wood knobs are dark can wood simulated knobs match.

Color matching
Color matching can be done, but only on an individual basis. It is extremely time consuming, expensive, and most of the time not cost effective to have done. It is highly recommended to order a complete set in order to keep colors consistent. I am not attempting to sell more knobs. It is simply much more economical and quicker to order a full set.

Knob fastening
Included in the reproduction of my knobs is my service of finishing the knob with a spring steel fastener or set screw. The reproduction knob may be modified to use a readily available fastener. This will not affect the appearance of the knob.

Referrals
If I cannot provide a service for your needs and I know someone who can, I will refer you to that company.

Labels
For push button labels, (Station I.D.), you’ll probably have to make your own using a graphics program and a color printer. A spreadsheet program can also be used to create the appropriate size and shape labels.

Thanks for stopping by. Check out my parts page.

Chris Deneau