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04-2-2018 16:08:59  #1


Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

I picked up a pretty dirty Smith-Corona Sterling and I'm starting to clean this thing up. I noticed that three of the keys didn't work and I found that the typebar links had become disconnected from the typebar. They are also pretty bent. Anybody have some tried and true tips on how to reform them and reconnect them? I know a flat head screwdriver will open the flat spring but other than that, I can't get my fingers in there to reshape them.
Thanks!
Jeff

 

04-2-2018 16:50:46  #2


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

Hi Jeff

​It would help if we know which series or how old your Sterling is. Smith-Corona used the name Sterling from the 1930's right through to the late 1970's, from the flat top models all the way through to the Galaxie Class typewriters. Finding the serial number will go a long way to figuring out the age of the unit. (H65432L is not the serial number)

All the best

Sky


We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
 

04-2-2018 17:23:05  #3


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

5A 983296....I think it's a 1963?

     Thread Starter
 

04-2-2018 19:14:10  #4


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

skywatcher wrote:

Hi Jeff

​It would help if we know which series or how old your Sterling is. Smith-Corona used the name Sterling from the 1930's right through to the late 1970's, from the flat top models all the way through to the Galaxie Class typewriters. Finding the serial number will go a long way to figuring out the age of the unit. (H65432L is not the serial number)

Sky

That H65432L looks like a Smith-Corona Date Code; it's on a metallic sticker, right? Ted is collecting a list of them over at the Typewriter Database http://typewriterdatabase.com/twdb_rfi001.php so log in there and add to the list. It will help us nail down S-C dates, which are not yet complete.

Re those disconnected links, I have re-connected many of them and never had to take off any body panels except sometimes the bottom one. The screwdriver tool is necessary even when they are not bent. To reshape bent ones, sometimes you can work one or even two thin needle-nose pliers in there; if you can't, then try a pair or even three screwdrivers manipulated in various ways from various positions levered against what ever works. Need anything more specific, let us know. It's worth doing. Good Luck.

 

04-2-2018 19:37:55  #5


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

Thanks! Off shoot question: Clean the machine first or repair first?

     Thread Starter
 

04-2-2018 21:06:57  #6


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

JeffMo74 wrote:

Thanks! Off shoot question: Clean the machine first or repair first?

Basically, clean first because cleaning will often obviate the need for repair. OTOH, sometimes you have to fix something in order to assess whether any further work is worth it. In practice, for me, I go back and forth throughout the project---get stumped on a repair so take a break by cleaning or during the cleaning, I figure out a mechanical problem.

For cleaning, I have a definite workflow: vacuum first (if there's enough dust and cat hair that I don't want to risk blowing it in deeper), then blow out with compressed air, then assess things and use solvent(s) on hardened lubrication and swab up the loosened gunk, then clean off any rust that hinders movement. I don't apply any solvent until the dust is gone or it will make a mud. All that is cleaning, and then I address mechanical problems like bent parts and disconnected springs and worn parts, etc. Sometimes I save the final polishing for my reward and other times I have to spiffy up the looks in order to keep up the interest in fixing a problem.

tldr: Ha! it depends...
 

 

06-2-2018 00:18:34  #7


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

Hi M. Höhne

​The H65432L of which I speak is the setting scale for the touch selector ​. You'd be surprised at how many eBay sellers think this, or the 43B casting number on the main frame is the serial number for the typewriter . All the best,

​Sky


We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
 

06-2-2018 08:36:40  #8


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

skywatcher wrote:

Hi M. Höhne

​The H65432L of which I speak is the setting scale for the touch selector ​. You'd be surprised at how many eBay sellers think this, or the 43B casting number on the main frame is the serial number for the typewriter . All the best,

​Sky

Gah! How clumsy of me! Should have recognized that. It did seem odd to have five consecutive numerals, even in a part number. What are the odds, eh? I'm sure someone here will tell us but I can never remember the distinction between combinations and permutations.
 

 

12-2-2018 23:56:25  #9


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

Hey there, I’ve worked on the same exact issue.  The linkages have a peg on one side that fits into the typebar, and a flat spring that holds it in place.  Once these come detached, they flop around and tangle up.
The best bet is to use a couple of pairs of tweezers.  I was caught unawares when I was asked to fix this issue on a friend’s machine.  Two linkages came undone and all I had on me was a flathead screwdriver, a pair of needle nose pliers, a ballpoint pen, and a paperclip.  Everything was accessible from the bottom, albeit in a very narrow, narrow window.  Suffice to say, it was a pain in the ***.  I ended up having to use the pen to jam the typebar in place from the top, as it needs to be in a very specific position to get the hole to line up with the pin.  There is not a huge range of movement available to the parts, and most of it comes down to patience and a steady hand.  The flatspring rotates at the rivet, and once that’s out of the way, you can focus on putting the pin in the hole by manipulating the typebar from the top, and the linkage from the bottom.  Once that’s in *gingerly* swivel the flatspring back into place.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, these things stick together pretty well, not sure why they come apart in the first place.
Best of luck! Hope this helps at least a little bit


Typewriter Service Tech (and avid nerd)
 

13-2-2018 12:41:29  #10


Re: Bent typebar links on Smith-Corona Sterling

Lucas Dul wrote:

... snip ...l, not sure why they come apart in the first place. ... snip ...

I think often they come apart under the force of clashed and stuck typebars when kids are pounding on them and build up a great mass of typebars and then keep pounding. Whether the design is designed by S-C to prevent bent links or to speed up factory assembly, I don't know. They really committed to it, though, I like the design.

 

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