Finishing Touches Part 2

This SMC2 cabinet is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Much of the finishing process is in the small details. The cabinet had some edge chipping; most of them really small but one large one thankfully on top at the back. This is a tall box so it isn’t very visible. I got a small bottle of Testor’s brown model paint at Hobby Lobby and painted these with it. They don’t stand out so much. I like going to Hobby Lobby. They sell a cherry flavored candy bar that is one of my favorites and something I’ve had since I was a little boy. Mountain Bars! I’ll buy a couple anytime I pass through there looking for materials or paint.

Re-attaching the small panel that holds the line cord and on/off switch is no fun on this box. It’s on the right side of the box and difficult to reach from the inside as that’s where the screws for it go. I got it mounted while very carefully avoiding the heatsink on the amp and other obstacles. So, I go to the back and fins out I have it mounted upside down. As far as I’m concerned when you push the switch up the box turns on, down it turns off. I pissed and moaned a bit then got back to redoing the process making sure I had the damned switch in the OFF position this time.

While I had the lower door off I took that opportunity to paint over several bare spots on the lower speaker cabinet. The whole cabinet is made of pressed wood and edges anywhere are easy to hit and break off. This left many light spots easily seen through the spweaker screen. I didn’t like how they stood out and painted them all flat black. The SMC1 uses a black cloth behind the screen the SMC2 does not. One can see the bass speakers and I’m glad they have been reconed and so are very clean.

The last thing I did was steal a chrome corner from the SMC1 and put it on the 2. This one at least will have all four of the corners. They are made of plastic and get broken easily. It’s more unusual for one of these SMC’s to have all four than not. Back in the day a fellow used to make these out of stainless steel and sell them. They are nowhere to be found now repro or not.

Finishing Touches

   Ever have a jukebox done but not finished? The SMC2 is now reliable and beautiful but not quite finished. Now it’s down to the unsexy details. There’s a panel above the mech inside the cabinet on this model that serves to hide wiring. I put it in the sandblasting cabinet and removed old paint and rust from both sides. I use a water-based cleaner for pre-paint and so wiped it down, let it dry and painted both sides satin black. It was a bit of a hassle to get in place. It does hide the volume control as well as mechanism wiring and makes the inside look a little cleaner.

  I was attaching the bolts that the lock latch actually hook over when the small studs pulled out on the right. I was a bit stunned. It took awhile to come up with an idea that would work. I got a couple small flat headed bolts from Elliot’s Hardware then ground the sides of the bolts down so that they would then fit in between the grooves on the column. This worked out well. If I could color-match at all it would look great. As it was I painted them orange and they stick out like a sore thumb. One thing I learned when restoring my Camaro….I know where every little ding and screw-up is and my eyes are inevevitably drawn to them when someone unfamiliar with the car would never notice them. It’s most likely that way with these studs. I put the old ones in the cash box. The new owner can try to either color match or epoxy them in place of the studs I made if he is of a mind.