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Re: Here's what I found...

I'll try to round up the manufacturer name for the ones I use.

I, too, was concerned about that brand stamped dead center on what ends up being the top deck. I'd intended to leave the aluminum raw. Kinda like the post-war Pentagon utilitarian look, anyhow.

Again, while really strong, this stuff machines like a dream. I used a 3/8" cordless drill & step bit for all but the socket holes. For those I strapped the drill to one of those cheesy $30 "drill press" things they sell at Sears! Although I was clearly at the contraption's raggedy edge, it managed to hang in there with a few extra clamps. One of my socket holes drifted a little, but only I notice it.

I'd not used it before but Rustoleum makes a hammertone green paint that a blind butcher could manage. I think I put on three coats in an afternoon. Don't touch it for a couple days. It feels dry in a hour but it ain't cured enough. It'll grab your fingerprints, requiring another coat. I think it ended up being about three days until it was cured/dry enough to not pick up fingerprints.

I dig the Stanley/Thermos green but they had the colors familiar to anyone who's attended school in the US between WW2 and the Internet boom. Something like Marantz bronze, grey or silver, maybe even red.

Liked this hammertone paint so much that I decided to try the Krinkle stuff on one of the old chokes. Same routine. Couple coats, leave it dry a few days.

Oh! The reason I even started the paint ramble in the first place was to tell you that if you use these textured paints, the very first coat completely obliterates the brand logo. Gone. Nada. No need to try to sand it out first.

If you go to Jim Hagerman's "DIYer of the Month" page linked below, then scroll down to the January '07 pic, that's my Cornet. (sounds fantastic, by the way! Herr Hag hit the nail on the head with this elegant circuit)

Okay, so it's not the greatest photo. But you get the drift. WAY better than those flimsy Hammond things with the spot welded corners.

Like you, I'd intended to dress the edges with wood plinth. I cut and finished four chunks of lovely mahogany (sp?) for duty. I ran a curf down the backside of the pieces into which the pan's--ahem--the chassis' flange fits. Works fine but I never attached it. Still tweaking so who the heck needs it?

If you decide to go with the wood plinth/trim, I'd do it a little differently. I think I'd either buzz off that flange entirely or maybe keep an eighth to quarter of an inch. Reason is, the flange is half-inch so you need three quarter stock to bury the flange in a curf or rabbet on the back side. Horses for courses--obviously!!--but I found the 3/4" stock to be too chunky. Laugh if you must, but I thought it ruined my look.

The flange would be easy to cut. If your pan is two inches deep, just drop a 2"-thick block into the pan to serve as a plane to support the jigsaw. Couple clamps on a straight edge guide makes cutting the metal a whole lot easier, neater, too.

After drilling or cutting, two or three quick passes with a standard bastard file (rat tail for holes) knocks down the burr or sharp edge. Super easy and clean.

The brand I use is definitely 1/8" thick. I hear ya about the corner welds, too. I picked through a few to find the best ones. File quickly knocks down any slag. Have to take this into consideration when fitting any plinth material. I made it work with very little effort, though. If you know anything about trim carpentry, it'll be immediately obvious how to back-cut and/shape the miters enough to hide whatever metal you can't file.

I'd guess that even if you wanted to go with a gloss enamel or something like that (that may not do the best job of covering the etched brand label) it would be easy enough to fill. Just get a small container of Bondo or something like it, mix up a half-teaspoon, putty knife it into the crevices, and clean it up. Presto.

Heck, even if you wanted to leave the bare metal, buff, polish, or clear finish it, I think that a DIYer could manage to turn the cake pan brand into a badge of honor!

Besides, like my humble beast, any peanut gallery snickering stops the moment the needle hits the groove. You'd need serious dough to outrun a tuned-up Cornet.

First friend I had over to listen, I could practically feel him smirking behind me as I cued him up his first Lp. (ZZ Top's "La Grange" if you must know). Those rim shots started, I turned around, saw him get real serious. He sat down, opened his eyes wide, looked like the Maxell martini man for the next four minutes.

Thanks again, Mr. Hag! Octal Cornet rules!

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