1 of 1- robertlongforeman
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Offline - Registered: 21-11-2015
- Posts: 16
Olivetti Lettera 32 Carriage Problem
Hi everyone,
I'm new to restoring typewriters, and bought a rickety Olivetti-Underwood Lettera 32, intending to use it for parts, only to find it really has only one problem, which is that the carriage wants always to slide with rapid speed to the left whenever it's released; it isn't catching as it's supposed to, to allow for typing.
I found a way to fix it temporarily. Investigating things, I found that there was dirt and dust and probably asbestos throughout it--specifically, jamming the little teeth along the bottom of the carriage. I cleaned out what I could, and what I couldn't get at with a q-tip I tried to reach by pouring a conservative portion of denatured alcohol into where I thought it would reach the obscurer of the carriage's bottom-teeth.
Lo and behold, it flushed a lot more of the asbestos out and--even better--the carriage was now catching and moving back and forth but also stopping when it was supposed to. I felt good about myself for a full fifteen minutes.
The next day, I returned triumphant to the typewriter and tried it again to congratulate myself on a job well done and, lo and behold, it was doing the slidey not-catching thing it was doing before.
Does any helpful person have ideas for what this is about? Do I need to do this multiple times? Is it bad for my family that I've undertaken typewriter restoration?
Any help is appreciated.
- Uwe
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Re: Olivetti Lettera 32 Carriage Problem
Asbestos? Really? Are you at least wearing a mask? I'd suggest more cleaning as a start. If internal mechanisms such as the escapement are badly fouled then you probably only dislodged some of the contaminants during your initial cleaning. Removing the typewriter's case will give you far better access to everything and allow you to do a more thorough job. The fact that it was working temporarily is usually a good sign.
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- TypewriterGuy
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Re: Olivetti Lettera 32 Carriage Problem
Sounds like grease, that when wet with the alcohol, let loose temporarily, then dried again.
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- thetypewriterman
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Re: Olivetti Lettera 32 Carriage Problem
The escapement loose dog is either sticking, or the loose dog return spring is missing/disconnected, You need to get in there and clean it as well as you can, then apply some sewing machine oil if it is sticking. If the spring is disconnected, you should be able to see where it should go and reconnect it. If it is missing, you may have a slight problem sourcing a replacement.
- robertlongforeman
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- Registered: 21-11-2015
- Posts: 16
Re: Olivetti Lettera 32 Carriage Problem
Thank you, everyone. It seems to be working all right, the carriage sticking some. I have some trouble with the bell not ringing often, too, but other than that it's a functioning thing that I like.
I forgot all about the spring. That was the first thing I noticed that wasn't in place, and then I hooked it back into place. That was the first time I thought, "Problem solved," only to have the problem return. It was but one step on the road to a working typewriter.
Thanks again!
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