Disaster!

With the help of the neighbour the cabinet was easily carried up the stairs to the back bedroom. However, it was whilst orienting the cabinet so it was facing the correct way a disaster happend. The neighbour grabbed the top of the wooden panel containing the hole for the coin box mechanism and exerted an upward lifting pressure and subsequently snapped off the wooden panel at the top of the hole. Out of all the places to grab the cabinet he grabbed it there! You should have seen my face whilst I tried to contain all emotions and the neighbour made a sharp exit.

It can’t be fixed with glue, so I’ll have to get a new piece made. I doubt though if I can find similar finished wood, so I think I’ll just go for a black painted piece of wood. An all black wooden panel shouldn't look too out of place since the panel area is dominated by the black plate with the coin inserts.

The photo shows what is left of the original panel after removing it from the cabinet. It’s in more bits because I struggled to get it out in one piece because quite a few wood dowels and a lot of wood glue had been used to originally fix it to the side panels.