1 of 1- Drewy62
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Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
Hello all,
First time poster so go easy on me. I recently bought a 1946 Smith Corona Silent typewriter. I had it professionally service locally and now have had some time to type on it. The machine functions properly with one small problem.
The line spacing selector jumps from single spaced to double space after a carriage return. This means that unless I remember to set the selector back to single space after each line I can only use the machine in double space mode. There seems to be some play in the selector arm itself and I can see a screw that might tighten it up but it looks to me like I’d have to take apart a significant part of the carriage to get to it. The other option might be to try and bend the selector arm a bit to try and get it to stay in the selector guild on returns. I am wondering if this is a common problem and if there is an easy fix.
Keeping in mind that I am completely new to manual typewriters would you all suggest I try the fix myself or take it back for more service?
Thanks
Drew
- Uwe
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
Sounds like a part of the line space selector lever might be broken or missing. First off, I assume that your line space selector looks like this? A close up photo of your selector from a few different angles might prove useful. You need to have posted 3 times in the forum before you can link to a photo. Instructions can be found in the FAQ page in the Type Talk sub-forum.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Drewy62
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
Uwe,
Yes, my selector and selector gate look exactly like that! Well a bit cleaner perhaps. :-) The difference is that the flat head screw in the slot below the two screws that hold the gate to the carriage is blocked on my machine by a part that has a spring on it for the carriage return lever. Tightening the screw that you show in the slot might help my issue, but I am not sure. I will try to post pictures when I can.
Thanks so much for your reply,
Drew
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Thread Starter- Drewy62
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
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Thread Starter- Spazmelda
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
I would say that since you already paid to have it serviced, assuming you asked for a general tune up and necessary repairs, you should take it back to the shop.
- malole
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
I think I would agree with Spazmelda here, I'd take it back and say, "did you notice this issue with the line space lever?"
- Uwe
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
Drew, the one angle I would have liked to have seen is from the top looking at the left end of the platen. However, it appears (difficult to tell from the angles of those videos) that the line space pawl is not freely pivoting, and if it can't pivot then it will pull back the line space adjustor instead of reseting over it. 
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Drewy62
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
Uwe,
Thanks for your response. I am sorry I didn't get a better angle for you to see what is happening. I think you are right about the pawl clipping and resetting the selector instead of riding over it. I will look into it more this evening when I am home with my machine.
To those who suggested I take the machine back to the shop, I hear you and I may end up doing so, but ultimately I'd love to learn how to work on machines myself. When I dropped the machine off for service I had a list of things that needed adjustment and this line spacing issue wasn't on that list. Since this is my first ever manual typewriter and it is in fairly nice condition I didn't want to immediately subject it to my learning curve. 
In part I feel responsible for not having mentioned it when I dropped it off. Hope this makes sense.
Drew
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Thread Starter- malole
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
I can understand you wanting to have a crack at it yourself. It's very satisfying! Good luck sorting it out. And in the meantime, have fun typing on it, double-spaced. For a first typewriter, it's a super machine. I love mine to bits! (not literally...)
- Drewy62
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Re: Smith Corona Silent line-feed index issue....
Hello Uwe et all,
I had a chance to take some better videos of the problem line feed selector and I'd love your input on the issue. It seems to me that the pawl arm moves freely though it is sprung so it natually pulls down on a part that is connected to the line feed selector. I am not sure if this is normal. To me the issue seems to be that there is too much play in the line feed itself. Not sure what normal looks like here but I think if it could be tightened somehow it might relsolve the issue.
Thanks for any and all feedback,
Drew
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