I have a 1937 RCA 5T8 RADIO. THE VOLUME IS HARD TO CONTROL. The person I bought it from, told me the volume control is dirty and needs to be cleaned. the volume is too loud or too soft. If I tap on the knob, it get loud and soft.
He suggested, I spray a cleaner where the shaft is. Do you have any other ideas on this.

Sure.. if spraying doesn't work... you can try disassembling the whole thing and washing in warm soapy water.
Or ..replace the pot... easy... cheap.

:Sure.. if spraying doesn't work... you can try disassembling the whole thing and washing in warm soapy water.
:Or ..replace the pot... easy... cheap.

WHAT IS REPLACING THE POT AND WHERE CAN I GET IT.

Allen, what Peter meant was that your volume control is a potentiometer(pot)and if the cleaner did not work, replace it. I don't think he expected your come back. If you intend to try to clean the "pot" the best way to spray is through some opening into the pot. Spraying on the shaft will not get any of the cleaner into the wiper (part of pot that moves across it to change resistance=volume. Usually near terminals there is an opening so try to spray there. Just a little, you do not want to soak it. Then twist knob back and a number of times and try the radio out again. If this doesn't work do as suggested by Peter, replace it with a pot of same resistance value. PL

You are better off disassembling and cleaning the volume control (potentiometer) than spraying something into it. Once the innards are very clean, put a thin film of di-electric grease onto the carbon. Don't make a mess of it. Reassemble and try out the radio.

If the above doesn't solve your problem, then you need to replace the control. One thing to keep in mind while cleaning the control is that metal sliders, if any, must make good contact with the carbon. There are many different systems and variations of systems for controlling the resistance. Not all use metal sliders or wipers. Some use a band of stainless steel, on which a fibre wiper rubs. Look for worn out carbon. If the control is of the former variation, you might be able to move the sliders so that they contact an unworn part of the carbon. If it is of the latter variation, there isn't much you can do to fix the control on your own. You can attempt to bridge over badly worn/discintegrated sections with rear window defogger repair paint. If you do bend wipers (if wipers are present), be sure that they lie properly on the carbon, and that no sharp edges can scrape away the carbon. If you really want to rescue that control (as I often do), you can remove the C clip from the shaft (difficult, because you must spread it with two screw drivers....be careful not to stab yourself.....you can also try working one screw driver into the C clip's groove, and then twist it to spread the clip). Then polish the wipers with Brasso or something similar. Bend them down slightly if they weren't originally making proper contact. Don't add too much tension or else excessive wear will take place. Reassemble control and put C clip back into place with a pliers.

Again, I'm obsessive compulsive, and a perfectionist (and often I wonder why noone else is....it drives me nuts). If you don't really feel like going through all of this trouble, you can simply replace the control. Don't tell me that you did it, though, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Thomas

I say that it's better to clean the control and then put a film of dielectric grease on the carbon because of my own experience. You can try spraying tuner cleaner into the control. This may clean it up and make it work well. This probably won't lubricate the carbon, though. An old trick which I used to love is spraying WD-40 into the control. This does work wonders, and it lubricates the carbon, too. However, what it also does is provide a liquid for carbon granules to collect in. With time, a carbon path forms between the carbon element and the metal housing. This can cause irratic volume, muffled volume, or hum problems. With other kinds of devices, such as a television, it can affect picture controls and such. The very high impedance vertical control on my television operated perfectly after a spray of WD-40. After a week, though, the control became impossible to control due to stray leakage.

Thomas