How to Make a Faux Antique Console Radio

Go to the lumber store and have sheets of plywood cut to the measurement you want for your faux antique console radio. Cut the front and back wider than the side plywood pieces. Be sure to cut a bottom and top for the faux cabinet too. Ask the salesperson to cut four 2 x 4 inch boards to the height of the plywood pieces. Sand all the edges of the plywood sides.

Place the bottom of the cabinet on the work surface and glue all the sides together. Insert one 2 x 4 inch board in each corner of the interior of the box. Screw the sides to each of the 2 x 4 inch boards with wood screws for extra reinforcement. Turn the box over and secure the bottom piece in the same manner, screwing it to the top edges of the 2 x 4 boards. Attach a top to the box with either hinges or by screwing it to the 2 x 4 boards. If you want the top to open, attach hinges using wood screws to the interior of the rear plywood side and the interior side of the top plywood piece. Drill a hole towards the bottom of the rear plywood side so a radio cable can be pulled through.

Draw the rectangular area on the front of the cabinet where the radio station number guide will be. This rectangle will be about 3 inches wide and end about 1 to 2 inches before reaching the edge of the cabinet. Refer to antique console radio pictures to find the type of dial meter you like. Draw a similar one on the front of your faux radio.

Trace around circular bottle caps, a compass or other circular forms to create the radio dials. Draw these underneath the rectangular radio dial meter.

Draw the speaker area that is usually covered in cloth and can be vertical thin rectangles, or come in decorative shapes. Refer to pictures of antique radios to get the speaker shape you want. Paint the outline of these speaker areas with stain so you don’t inadvertently get stain inside this area, which you will paint a different color. Cover the finished drawn areas with newspaper and masking tape so you don’t get wood stain on this area.

Cover the dial meter area with masking tape so you don’t get wood stain on it. Cover the dial areas by cutting cardboard to the circular shapes and taping them to the circles you drew on the cabinet.

Paint all other areas of the faux wood cabinet with a dark stain. Mix 1/2 cup water in with your stain to give the plywood an old look. Apply one coat of stain with a foam paint brush to all sides. Paint with a smaller brush around the dial meter and the dial buttons you drew. Reapply a second and third coat after each coat dries. Allow each stain coat to dry for 2 to 3 hours before applying the next coat.

Rub fine steel wool on small areas of the sides, edges and corners to get that worn look. Make long vertical strokes along the sides with the steel wool. This will create the lighter and darker areas of the wood grain. Wipe with a damp cloth to remove sanding material and lighten the color in certain vertical areas to show wear.

Paint the dial meter and speaker insert areas with a cream or light ochre acrylic color. Add a slight cross hatching effect with a slightly darker color for the speaker cloth effect. Water this acrylic color down slightly and use a very fine brush to get the barely viewable crosshatch effect. Add number templates or stick-on vinyl numbers to the dial meter to get a more realistic effect.

Paint the round dials with a brown, bronze, black or silver acrylic color. You can paint these by themselves or on top of a decorative inlet or frame. Refer to pictures of antique radios. Seal the finished faux antique radio with a polyurethane finish.