Hi Pete

I believe a new member has to post 3 times before he or she can post pictures. If Ted posts one more time, he should be able to imbed links to pictures in a post.

Sky

Hi SoucekFan

The forum is evidently showing up somewhere as I regularly reject and delete 10 to 30 spammers and toxic e-mails every evening and maybe approve one or two applicants per week.

Sky

Hi Again Henrik

Looking at my SG-3, the type size and pitch of the escapement are built into the main body of the machine. The number on the type scale refers to the alignment markings. For example, if you were to swap a 23 carriage for a 254 carriage, the typewriter would still type just fine. The only problem you'd run into is the typed letters would not align with the graduations on the type scale. One of my SG-3's has a 4.2 mm pitch (6 cpi) and the other is 2.54 (10 cpi). If I were to swap the platens, both machines would still type perfectly.

From what I understand, the main reason for the type scales is so that if an incomplete page of type is removed from the machine, it can be reinstalled at a later date using the graduations on the type scale to align the page to the existing type so typing can be seamlessly continued. This would be impossible if the type scale didn't match the type size of the machine.

So, to answer your question, yes the machine would work correctly, and by swapping two 23 carriages, you would be able to re-insert a partial page of type and align it so typing could be continued. Hope this makes sense,

Sky

Hi Keystriker

Traditionally, typewriter ribbons were made from natural cotton with the luxury ribbons being made from silk. I'm not sure when nylon ribbons became the mainstay of ribbon production, but I'm sure that members here with more knowledge on this subject than me will know the answer.

A couple of questions I would like to ask are:
1, What make and model of typewriter are you using?
2, Is the ribbon the correct width for your machine?

My reason for asking is that some machines require a 7/16" (11mm) ribbon and if a 1/2" (12.5mm) ribbon was installed, the edges of the ribbon could be chaffing against the ribbon guides and/or the vibrator (ribbon lifter).

Cotton ribbons had a habit of deteriorating with use due to the continual hammering of the type slugs against the ribbon. This deterioration would result in cotton fragments mixed with ink filling in the letters. This is why so many different type cleaners were available on the market for the most part of the last century. Hope this gives you a few more ideas. All the best,

Sky

Hi JJH

It is said that there is no such thing as "The Perfect Typewriter", but there is usually the typewriter that's perfect for you and it looks like you've found it. That machine was built when I was 3 years old and looks like a piece of solid industrial machinery.

You indicate that the paper bail is a little too high for your liking, here's my thought. These machines were made for use in professional offices and typing pools, so the paper being used probably had printed letterheads which filled the top few centimetres of the paper. The printed top edge of the paper would comfortably tuck under the paper bail holding the main body of the letter ready for the typist, as I say, this is just a thought.

For continuation pages, I was taught to put the page number top and center on the page with a couple of line spaces below the page number. This might give you just enough head-space to tuck the page under the paper bail for the first line of typing, see if you think this idea would work for you. All the best,

Sky