Westinghouse Radio: Wifi hub or radio?

[dochate]

I have been given an old Westinghouse radio (circa 1940-60?). The radio itself is in poor condition and requires much work to get the rust and dust out. Also, the tubes are non-functional.

However, the housing is in great condition. It just requires some sanding and varnish. I was thinking of touching up the console and placing a computer inside it and using it as a wifi hub placed in the living room for equal access to my children's room and my room. In doing so, I may have to cut out the front and place hinges so that it is a drop-down drawer for access to the computer. Or... should I leave the console alone and have so that access is gained from behind.

Basically, ruin the radio or preserve it in case I want to fix the damn thing some time in the future?

I am uploading images of the radio. Also found in my gallery.

http://www.1src.com/gallery/data/500/1696Radio-thumb.jpg

http://www.1src.com/gallery/data/500/1696Front-thumb.jpg

http://www.1src.com/gallery/data/500/1696Label-thumb.jpg

[Papageoff]

If you do take it apart, some of those tubes are probably worth some money on Ebay. Personally, I wouldn't take it apart, unless you were just gonna trash it. It's history. As much of a technology geek as I am, I sill love old radios and other electronics. It's amazing to think that something so close to a light bulb could change the world.

[strider_mt2k]

Done right it could be an absolutely beautiful project.

I love old radios.
I used to get them for cleaning out garages and attics as a kid, and it lead me to becoming an amateur radio operator and the all around gadget freak I am today.
I also used to build fairly high end PCs into old IBM AT cases and stuff like that as "sleepers" for my friends.

If the radio part is trashed beyond repair and the body is in good enough shape I would go for it, with one caveat:
Be extremely careful with the finish.
A little age and wear is actuall really charming, if it isn't too advanced, and those old finishes don't always come off, or get covered up well by other, newer products.

I would check out some sites devoted to restoring old radios to see what they use.
Off the top of my head I would start with some cloth rags and Murphy's Oil Soap to clean really well first, but again, I'm no expert.

I hope this works out.
If it does, please post it both here and to www.hackaday.com , they love that stuff!

[cRunchy]

....I was thinking of touching up the console and placing a computer inside it and using it as a wifi hub placed in the living room for equal access to my children's room and my room. In doing so, I may have to cut out the front and place hinges so that it is a drop-down drawer for access to the computer. Or... should I leave the console alone and have so that access is gained from behind.....

That's a nice radio and there are people on ebay (here in the UK at least) that make a living out of selling items like that.

However I'm going to go against the grain here a little and say that it would make a brilliant computer project :D

That said I would remove the back and put a hardboard \ plywood or sheet metal piece in it's place. Have access from the back and don't screw or cut the original housing. Just use a hot glue gun.

Remove all the inners carefully and store in case you want to repair it and have a look at the absolutely yummy www.mini-itx.com site (small and fanless computers)....

If you haven't seen it yet take a look at the mini-itx 'Mantle Radio' project (http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/mantleradio) ..

I love these type of inventive things. The mini-Itx 'Windows XP Box' (http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/windowsxpbox/) is quite witty and ironic in a boring kind of way...

Whatever you do with your radio it sounds like a fun project..

cRunchy