Kammy's Korner: Repurposed Antique Stereo And Vintage Painting (Print)

Welcome to the stereo redo!

This one took a little elbow grease.

Elbow grease? Sometimes phrases hit me weird when I type them out. I just googled "elbow grease" and found it was first published in a satirical book on the English parliament in 1672.

Let's see the "BEFORE" photos so you can see what I mean!

The front part pulled out at an angle to reveal a record player. I cut all the wires, unscrewed all the screws, and then called in the big guns (my 16 year old son) to put one foot the top corner of the door, while I put my foot on the other corner and on the count of three we jumped. The door cracked off, the turntable went sailing, I screamed, and Tobin said "Am I done?"

I deeply regret not taking more photos of the makeover process. I used a wet rag and a hot iron to get the very damaged veneer off the top. You can see a short video tutorial on how to do that HERE. (Link will take you to my facebook page where the video is uploaded).

I had just happened to pick up some scrap wood from an older gentleman who stopped me on Main Street and told me to come help him clean his garage out. I took a whole load home and promptly put some of the boards to use as the "floor" in the stereo cabinet.

I was scanning my shop for a piece of wood I could use across the back when my eyes landed on an old framed painting. I loved the idea of using it for the back after holding it up and seeing the uniqueness but I was afraid others wouldn't go for it. After searching for a few minutes and finding nothing suitable, I decided the painting was the way to go! I used my miter saw to cut it down to size. I have discovered the hard way that it's never a good idea to cut anything other than wood with this powerful tool... but this was thick enough that it didn't cause me any more gray hairs and actually cut nicely.