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23-4-2017 10:22:14  #1


Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

Hi, everyone:
So I've been working on my Oliver 3 for months now--but I'm having some particular difficulties concerning the carriage. Namely, I can only seem to get the platen to rotate perhaps 1/16 of a turn. That's it.

When you flip the carriage over, you can see that the extent to which the platen will move is only about as far as the gear-toothed mechanism will go before it hits the long metal shaft with the metal tab at the end. (Apologies for my layman's descriptions for these specific parts.) If I remember correctly, that metal shaft with the tab was part of the release that allowed me to take the carriage off the machine in the first place, but beyond that, it's not moving at all in any direction. Should it? And how can I get the platen to rotate so as to actually feed paper into it? (The feed rollers in the back seem just fine.) Any suggestions for how to proceed with this--so I can hopefully FINALLY get this thing off my workbench would be most gratefully appreciated. 


 

23-4-2017 16:32:38  #2


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

Those pictures show the problem perfectly !  The gears are misaligned !  If you removed the platen by taking out the shaft, that is when it happened,  The end tooth of the quadrant under the carriage should be meshed with the end of the quadrant on the platen shaft.  When you move the carriage back to begin a new line, the rod should move the quadrant, which in turn is meshed with the quadrant on the platen shaft.  By returning the carriage by pushing on the platen knob, the pawl on the second quadrant is pushed forward to engage with the line space ratchet.  The action of the rod under the carriage hitting the left hand margin stop then rotates the platen, and therefore the paper, to the next line.  If the gears are misaligned this cannot happen.  The best way to sort this out is to release the platen shaft, pull the gears out of mesh, then re-mesh them correctly.  If you cannot do this for any reason, an alternative might be to undo the pivot screw on the quadrant underneath the carriage, and re-mesh from there.

 

24-4-2017 10:42:40  #3


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

Many thanks, Typewriterman!  
I went ahead and re-meshed the gears correctly, but it doesn't seem to have fixed what must be another underlying problem, since it still only advances 1/16th(ish) of a revolution, or one line. The quadrant on the side still only turns so far until it runs into that rod. (Not that I'd expect it to go any further, based on the shape of the gear itself.)

I feel like I'm getting in a little over my head here, since I can't seem to get the platen to do something as basic as just rotate freely--unless it was never designed to rotate freely, at which time I've lost a couple of weeks out of my life on this!  

The left cylinder knob is spring-loaded. When pushed in, it engages with both the quadrant and the ratchet mechanism; when it is in the out position, it only engages with the quadrant. Perhaps is there another option, in which it disengages from all of those mechanisms, since that seems to be what is preventing the entire platen from rotating freely. 

Again, many thanks for your helpful suggestions!

     Thread Starter
 

24-4-2017 12:46:52  #4


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

Now, it has been a while since I last worked on an Oliver, and it was a later model than yours - so forgive me being a bit hazy on this.  Yes, the platen is certainly designed to rotate !  When the linespace mechanism is operated, the throw (how many clicks of the ratchet, which equals the amount of vertical space between the lines) is controlled by the little lever that you can see on the left when the carriage is upside down, or on the right when it is the correct way up.  It might be worth checking this to see if it is stopping the pawl properly.  Also try lubricating the linespace pawl where the platen shaft passes though it.  If it is seized to the shaft, that could be impeding the action too.

 

25-4-2017 10:50:53  #5


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

Many thanks once again for your suggestions! I've been poring over the online manual for the Oliver 5 for additional suggestions, without much success. The linespace mechanism seems to be working well. And the lever does seem to disengage the prawl so that the platen does rotate freely, but again, only for the ~1/16 of a full rotation.

Actually, more like 1/8 of a full rotation: now that gears are meshed properly, when set on the triple-line setting, it rotates just a bit more than it did before, but still not all the way. The quadrant still keeps running into that release key. The only thing I can think about is perhaps lubricating the shaft so that it disengages from that vertical quadrant in some way. 

In terms of context, this Oliver that I'm working on had been used as a doorstop outdoors for many years, so it has seen better days. So it is interesting to me to see what on it still works, and what doesn't. (And what's been rusted in place for 50 years!) 

     Thread Starter
 

25-4-2017 16:27:28  #6


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

Just to check that I am understanding this - are you saying that you can't turn the platen further than one eighth of a turn by rotating the platen knob (without operating the linespace mechanism)  ?  It should be possible to wind a sheet of paper into the machine by rotating the platen knob !

 

08-8-2017 21:57:59  #7


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

FINALLY FIXED IT!!

There's a typewriter shop about an hour from me--a couple of guys who've been working on them for over 60 years. It was my first trip to an actual typewriter shop--it was like a trip to typewriter Mecca. After only chatting with the guys for fifteen minutes, I returned home with so much more knowledge than I ever would have imagined! I was happy to pay the premium for the ribbons I bought (including some of the 1.5" wide ones for my pre-WWI machines), but the information I gained was far more valuable, and will help me with at least three or four of my stalled projects, including this one. 

Anyway, while the guy was going back to get the wide ribbons, I spent a lot of time with the Hammonds, Smith Premiers, Blicks, and every other variety of early typewriters that I could find. And there was a sparking, fully restored Oliver #3. So just a quick turn of the platen knob on the left side was enough for me to see how this thing is supposed to work--the left platen knob is supposed to rotate within the quadrant, and rotate separately from it. Mine must have rusted together long ago (as it was used as an outdoor doorstop for many years). So, when I got home, I started with some denatured alcohol all around the affected mechanism, as well as the lubrication hole. Then a round of WD-40. Then alternating alcohol and WD-40 (and some serious grunting) until finally the thing popped loose! 

Now perhaps finally I can get this one off the workbench soon, and into my office!

     Thread Starter
 

08-8-2017 23:35:03  #8


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

Markmotown wrote:

the ribbons I bought (including some of the 1.5" wide ones for my pre-WWI machines)

I need ribbon for my Smith Premier #2. What was the name of the shop?

 

09-8-2017 08:34:09  #9


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

SoucekFan wrote:

Markmotown wrote:

the ribbons I bought (including some of the 1.5" wide ones for my pre-WWI machines)

I need ribbon for my Smith Premier #2. What was the name of the shop?

Robert E. De Barth Typewriters
1337 North Broad Street
Lansdale, PA  19446
215-855-6852
http://www.debarth.org/

I paid around $20 for the ribbon, which is of course wider, but also a bit shorter than the standard ribbon. 

     Thread Starter
 

09-8-2017 13:58:14  #10


Re: Oliver #3 platen only advances 1/16 of a turn

De Barth is well known! Is he still recovering platens?


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

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