Advice wanted re: Predicta "Barber Pole" Cabinet Reinforcement

[jmetal88]

Hi all,

Several months back, I finally had an opportunity to pick up a Philco Predicta. It ended up being a "barber pole" model in very poor condition, but I was able to get it working and have already made some minor improvements to the appearance of the cabinet.

However I am worried a bit about the structural integrity of the cabinet, as it looks like the bottom wood "plate" is sagging on either side of the rear leg of the set. I'm just wondering if anyone on here has gone to the trouble of trying to reinforce that, and if so, how was it done, and did it have a good result?

And one small additional question, what size and length of screws are appropriate to hold the back of the cabinet on? None of the screws that came with mine seem to be the right length and they are barely holding the back on.

[jmetal88]

I feel like the best idea I've come up with so far would be to remove the spacer between the back leg and the bottom of the cabinet and just replace that with a wider piece of wood. Only trouble is I don't think I'll be able to remove the back leg without investing in a decent set of screw extractors, as it's secured with some very shallow slotted screws that are quite rusty...

[Eric H]

Is the wood rotted or water damaged?

If it's just loose you should be able to glue & clamp it back together.

[jmetal88]

Originally Posted by Eric H

Is the wood rotted or water damaged?

If it's just loose you should be able to glue & clamp it back together.

It's water damaged. The ply layers are trying to separate. I did glue the worst spot back together and it does (surprisingly) seem to be holding, but the sag still bothers me.