My new to me VE 4-20X

[JerryVan]

It may be that the finish on your lid is too far gone, however, I have a Credenza with a lid that looked a lot like that. I went to the art supplies aisle at our local arts & crafts store and bought a few extremely fine tipped artists markers, (while my wife was off buying all manner of stuff to use for heaven knows what ). More like a paint brush pen really. They have hundreds of different shades. Over the course of several weeks, when I had an hour or so I could donate to tedium, I carefully filled in the scratches with the markers, trying carefully to brush only within the scratches. Gradually, it began to look much better. Areas with thin finish, such as edges, I either used the markers or lightly brushed on some dye stain using a Q-tip, then passed my finger over it to blend it in. (Shouldn't really touch aniline dyes however!) Finally, a nice grade a beeswax finish and it looks pretty darned good. Maybe worth a try for you as well. Little to lose but some time and sanity. (Just don't use anything with silicone in it)

[Inigo]

Marvelous!

[Dischoard]

Thanks to JAS Antiques for sending me such a fine reproduction back bracket for this machine, it is perfect, even allowed me to reuse my original spindle (though the threads didn't match my original set-screw).

After lots of Go-Jo, a little Old English (temporary) worked into the top, new wiring, cleaning, oiling, greasing, rebuilding the reproducer, this is what I now have:

https://youtu.be/KqhwOr1zOXA

Keep in mind 1. this record has two radial cracks so there's lots of ticking in the beginning and 2. It really does sound better with the lid down (which I do later in the video) just thought I'd take everyone on a little tour first.

What a bear it was to get the remnants of that old tone-arm bracket out. I'm not sure how JAS Antiques ever got hold of an intact one in order to make a copy but it's a beautiful copy and well worth the price!

[JerryVan]

Very nice!!

[Garret]

In some parts of the US it’s legal to use that record box as a stash box. Model 4-20 only, of course.

[MarkELynch]

Here is an interesting item in the March 1928 edition of The Voice of the Victor. It is encouraging dealers to use the new Victrola 4-20 in their listening booths.

Other discussions in the Victor papers at Hagley are about reducing the production cost of the 4-20 by replacing the cast iron horn elbow with an all-wooden horn. It is not clear from the notes if this was implemented or not. Has anyone seen a 4-20 with an all-wooden horn?

Mark

If You Were a Ford Salesman.pdf

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[Inigo]

It's delightful to read such related literature... Thanks!

[Dischoard]

Here is an interesting item in the March 1928 edition of The Voice of the Victor. It is encouraging dealers to use the new Victrola 4-20 in their listening booths.

Other discussions in the Victor papers at Hagley are about reducing the production cost of the 4-20 by replacing the cast iron horn elbow with an all-wooden horn. It is not clear from the notes if this was implemented or not. Has anyone seen a 4-20 with an all-wooden horn?

That's interesting, to guess I would say this horn is entirely metal, this little machine is much heavier than it would appear from the outside. At first I attributed it to heavy motor and spring barrels until I realized that there is none of that in this machine. It is electric! It's purely the heft and weight of the large, metal horn. It would be interesting to know if the later models indeed had a wooden horn

[OrthoFan]

....
That's interesting, to guess I would say this horn is entirely metal, this little machine is much heavier than it would appear from the outside. At first I attributed it to heavy motor and spring barrels until I realized that there is none of that in this machine. It is electric! It's purely the heft and weight of the large, metal horn....

Based on the photos you've posted, your 4-20 is equipped with the cast-iron elbow-->>>

Capture.JPG (56.97 KiB) Viewed 560 times

which is connected to an all wooden horn chamber. The horn, itself--think of a near-solid block of wood measuring 16 inches by 15 inches--is very heavy, as is the cast-iron elbow. In addition, though relatively small, the cabinet is not exactly lightweight thanks to Victor's excellent build quality.

The 4-20 horn is basically the same style horn used in the 4-7 which was discontinued at the time of its introduction, but turned on its side and fitted with extenders to make the mouth slightly larger. Several years ago, I posted a photo showing the 4-20 horn on this forum but it appears to have been removed from the database along with countless others .

OrthoFan

[Skihawx]

I never really saw a VV / VE 4-20 up close. I am surprised it only has the horn of a VV 4-7. I thought the cabinet would have been bigger.