Guildmark said:
I'm gonna be leaning heavily on the amp gurus like you and Capnjuan! I barely know a power tube from a rectumfinder.
Well ... of course the funnel has long been considered the most reliable rectumfinder. Congratulations !!! ... but ... for your homework, read here
ChrisB's LTG Dano Cadet thread paying particular attention to default's (and the Real CJ's) remarks about Isolation Transformers; Chris heeded and put one in to increase the safety factor. The tube lineup in you amp is identical to Chris'; the 35W4 is the funnel / rectumfinder, the 12AU6 is more of a 'power' tube but used as a preamp, and the 5OC
5 (likely misread/typo by seller who called it a 50C
S) as the output tube.
Without generating tone mud, chronic static, or unremitting squeal, there are only so many ways to arrange the pieces and parts to get a useful signal so, at least visually, your amp's interior likely to look like Chris' except physically re-arranged.
Unlike Chris' amp:
1. Some of his parts are mounted on a metal shelf connected to a faux wood-like substance back panel, the auction pics show at least a vertical metal chassis back panel on yours;
2. His output transformer is in/on the cabinet/chassis, yours is mounted on the frame of the speaker - 'field coil' style. Depending on whether yours passes a signal - let's make that a usable signal - one place to start working for tone upgrade is finding a new output transformer and speaker. The 'field coil' is just an output transformer mounted on the speaker and not on the chassis...
Dano made amps for both Sears/Silvertone and Wards/Airlines however no clearly labelled 1420 schematic found but, for the time being and discussion purposes, you might want to look this over;
Airline GDR 9001B Schematic Has matching tube lineup and funky heaters for two of the 3 tubes. If you get tired of looking at it before the amp arrives, get it printed oversize, use it for dining table placemats, and play 'Maze' with it, letting each player choose their own crayon color ... I think it'll be a reasonable match for the time being and, with two exceptions, doesn't show any unusual pieces or parts.
The exceptions are: (1) The field coil / output transformer which, according to the Airline pseudo match, has a primary impedance (the side connected to the 50C5 output tube) of 180 ohms - the secondary is 3.2 ohms or suitable for an easily-found 4 ohm speaker; finding one with the somewhat unusally low input impedance may offer a challenge. However, if as seller says it's working reasonably well, then mayhaps weez can bypass the output transformer for the time being. (2) If the amp matches the Airline 9001B, that schematic shows a three-section capacitor but Chris' amp had/has several loose caps performing the same function. Whether yours has a can cap or not, the values indicated are common enough to buy and easy to install.
Tube Check:
35W4 $7.00
12AU6 $.700
50C5 $13.00
Otherwise, this looks to be similar to Chris' amp, layout, and rehab job; ID'ing part values and ratings, take 'em out, and put 'em in. Provided it doesn't blow up, the payoff for the exercise is pretty much at least one order of magnitude uptick in the sound; tighter bass, more headroom, more tubey chime ... at a little risk of failure thrown in ... less risk than say, sky-diving though.
Congratulations! John