Restoration of an Edison C-4 Radio Phonograph

[HisMastersVoice]

Last night I picked up an all original Edison C-4 Radio / Phonograph that was listed on Detroit Craigslist. I'm creating this thread to document the restoration process.

The cabinet is in good condition overall, needs a good cleaning and polish, and the rounded sections of the bun feet have long since disappeared, with the exception of 1 remaining piece that I will likely use to have more made down the road. It's also missing 2 knobs, and the grille cloth will need to be replaced.

Here are a few photos of the outside and turntable/pickup:

On the next episode: The motor and chassis

[Mr Grumpy]

I'm looking forward to watching this restoration unfold.
Good luck, and may the Gods of restoration look kindly upon thee.

[HisMastersVoice]

The chassis was VERY dirty. Last night I removed all of the components and cleaned the cabinet, inside and out. Probably the dirtiest machine to date!

[marcapra]

Good luck! these are definitely worth restoring as the last products of the Edison co. I also have a C-4 that I am restoring so maybe we can swap ideas. I am also restoring a very rare 1930 Edison R-6. That was Edison's last radio before the company folded. Marc.

[gregbogantz]

Is the dial cord still present and in place in your C-4? Often the cord breaks, then the cord tensioner falls out and gets lost. The tensioner is a small mechanical piece with two small metal pulleys on it that allows the dial cord to make a 90 degree turn between the tuning knob shaft and the tuning capacitor shaft. The tensioner is fitted to a spring-loaded socket that provides the tension to the cord. When the cord breaks, the spring forces the tensioner out of the bracket. Look around the cabinet or ask the former owner of the set if your tensioner is missing. These are very hard to find if you need one. The chassis were all the same in the 1929 model Edison R-4, R-5, and C-4 and they all use this tensioner. Also, you'll be very lucky if your set also still has the "Light-O-Matic" radio station setting key. This key looks like an old-fashioned can opener and fits into a screwdriver-slotted shaft next to the radio dial opening. These are also near impossible to find, but I think somebody was reproducing them several years ago. Attached below is a picture of the key.

[HisMastersVoice]

The cord is broken but the tensioner was wrapped up in a piece of paper with some other various screws and shoved in the record slot. It took me a minute to figure out what it was. No key, though.

[Major_Dundee]

Good Luck! I'm about 90% done with my C-4. Be careful on how you clean the dial. Don't scrub too hard. I decided to refinish the cabinet (yes, sacrilege I know). I like the way it turned out. The legs can be difficult in absorbing the stain to the right shade.

Chris

[HisMastersVoice]

Does anyone know where I can find the J bolts that hold down the chassis? I'm missing a couple of them. I need 2 knobs as well but I imagine those will be harder if not impossible to locate.

[Major_Dundee]

The J bolts shouldn't be too hard to make. You probably could use an eye bolt and cut the end. If your patient, parts do show up on eBay, but usually someone who is selling an R-4 or R-5 chassis. I do have knobs that are slightly different (dimple innie vs outie) just like a belly button... but I'm not sure I'm willing to part with them just yet. Let me think about it.

Another thing to think about is that the Magnet in the pickup will probably need to be remagnitized. This will improve volume. That is the problem I am having right now. I think I have a bad switch somewhere with the pickup.

Chris

[Lenoirstreetguy]

Here's a reprint of an Edison ad from 1930. This is taken from Alan Douglas' excellent Radio Manufacturers of the 1920's
Pity Edison went high end just at the worst time. But it wasn't just Edison: Atwater Kent, one of the biggest, made the same mistake and almost went under. A few of the smaller manufacturers managed to pull off the high price for high quality marketing strategy...Zenith and Stromberg Carlson for example....but most of them couldn't manage in the cold economic reality of 1930-32. The radio industry had a melt down in the first couple of years after the crash: most of the manufacturers of the 20's faded into oblivion. It was rather like the "dot com" shakedown of the late 80's. The Edison line had no low priced table models just at a time when such units were the salvation of the manufacturers. Philco was one who made a fortune with their lower priced " gothic" sets.
Jim