1 of 1- purpleonions
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Re-attaching loose key links
Hello everyone - I've spent the past couple of weeks searching the internet (including this forum) and haven't found anything that addressed my issue with the right detail, so I just signed up for this forum.
I have an electric Smith Corona (maybe from the 60s or 70s) with a few loose key links. I spent all of last Sunday afternoon analyzing the inside of it and I know what needs to be done to put them back in place. However, I think I will need to remove some parts in order to access and re-attach the links.
Here is a picture I pulled off a blog post, which uses the same typewriter I have. I've also labeled a few parts in case I don't have the correct names for them:
So I have three of what I've called the links (C) that need to be reattached to whatever the name is for their point of connection (the goldish parts in A and at the bottom of C). One of the loose links is around where the C label is, and although it isn't difficult to access, I was unable to reattach the parts. The other two loose links are way off to the right, behind a bunch of other parts.
It looks like I will have to remove a few parts to get back there. Being new to this, I would like to take out as few parts as possible, and hopefully parts that are less likely to be difficult to re-install. I unscrewed a few parts that were not at all helpful (B, for example) before deciding to come here. So, any advice would be great. Here is that same image without my labels in case somebody wants to use it to explain.
Thanks.
- purpleonions
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
Well the rules say I need to make three posts before adding links/images...
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Thread Starter- purpleonions
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
so....
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Thread Starter- purpleonions
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
Now, here are the two images I intended to include in the original post:
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Thread Starter- M. Höhne
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
It's a little unclear what pieces you mean, even with the pictures, but almost all disconnected key links in Smith-Coronas happen at the clevis that is held in place by a flat spring.
I have never had to remove anything to get them reconnected. Use a long, thin-bladed screwdriver to spread the flat spring, gently, away from the hole and then slip the stud on the other part into the hole, and then release the spring back to keep it from falling out. Sometimes the spring will swivel a bit and not cover the hole; it's very simple to just swivel it back so it covers the other side of the hole that the stud went through. Sometimes it's easier from the top, sometimes from the bottom, depending on which keys you're dealing with.
It's always risky to remove mechanical parts from a typewriter, so avoid it when you can.
This break-away clevis system probably prevents a lot of bent links from when kids pound on the keys.
HTH and Good Luck!
- purpleonions
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
Ok. I looked up the terms you used, so maybe I'll make more sense this time. The parts in the A label I intended to highlight are the clevis (or clevises), and C is meant to highlight the flat spring(s) that that are disconnected from the clevis. This isn't a picture of my typewriter by the way, just a picture of the same model, but based on your response, you know what the issue is.
It turns out that the B label is irrelevant to my issue, although two of the flat springs I need to reconnect are either behind the B or further back and to the right.
I spent most of my effort getting ahold of the flat spring with a hook, then holding it in place with pliers while trying to get it reattach it. I didn't use anything to hold it open while reattaching, so I'll give the screwdriver tip a try.
Thanks.
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
Is your machine actually an electric, because it looks like a mechanical 6-series model in your photos, which I understand are not of your machine. The only thing that I would add to Micheal's excellent suggestion is that I use a pair of very thin and long tweezers for this kind of work, one to manipulate the spring and the other to hold linkage. I recently had to reconnect eight detached type bars in a Clipper, most of which were behind other components, so sometimes there are different ways to skin the cat.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- purpleonions
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
Hmm...maybe it isn't the same machine as the one I have, although it sure looks like it to my untrained eye. I'll upload a photo of my typewriter when I get home.
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Thread Starter- purpleonions
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
Hey M - your tip worked! I have two of the three put back in place. Although the period key does a rapid fire machine gun type of strike, so when I hit the key once I get a "..........................." - which also happened before it became disconnected. I'm guessing this is because something is bent?
Also, while the period key was disconnected, the machine still stalled/jammed and made the same noise, just without getting all of the periods printed on the page.
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Thread Starter- M. Höhne
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Re: Re-attaching loose key links
purpleonions wrote:
Hey M - your tip worked! I have two of the three put back in place. Although the period key does a rapid fire machine gun type of strike, so when I hit the key once I get a "..........................." - which also happened before it became disconnected. I'm guessing this is because something is bent?
Also, while the period key was disconnected, the machine still stalled/jammed and made the same noise, just without getting all of the periods printed on the page.
Don't guess so much. Investigate. It is at least as likely that there is dried oil and dust or other gunk that is impeding the fall back of the period levers. (Though *maybe* something is bent.) There are three (I think) vanes on the spinning bar that kicks the typebar up to the paper and if the bar does not fall back before the next vane comes around, then it gets kicked back up again continuously. Also be aware that the period is one of those keys that is supposed to repeat if the keytop is held down. Others are usually the underscore and the dash, so check that the stop control is falling into place fast enough to prevent repeating when the key is released quickly.
For your second problem, fix one problem---the repeating--- before adding the complication of the next---but do keep you eyes and ears open while working on the first. It is possible that a still-disconnected link is getting hit by something else and that will clear up when it's back in place. Don't be hasty and don't act on assumptions without checking them out.
