1 of 1- Shakespeareteacher
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- Registered: 15-1-2017
- Posts: 5
A Question of Alignment
I acquired an Olivetti 35l that I like very much, but it has a strange thing going on with the lower case "a" that I'm hoping to get some help with. The "a" is out of alignment with the other letters, and it is the only one that is out of alignment. Also, the shifted "A" is in perfect alignment. The lowercase "a" is nearly half its height raised from the other letters. Also, when the key is pressed, although the letter does not stick, it doesn't not make the satisfying smack of the other letters. When it is shifted though, it does. Any ideas? Thank you so much for your help!
I’m being followed by a moon shadow.
- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
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Re: A Question of Alignment
Hi Shakespeare
Said Hamlet to Ophelia,
I will draw a sketch of thee.
What kind of pencil do I use?
2B or not 2B
By your description, I would say the bend in the end of the letter A type bar is contacting the type guide instead of sliding in just beneath it. My suggestion would be to move the type bar towards the type guide, but not into it. Then place your finger just below the bend and coax the type bar gently towards the center of the segment until the letter A is back in line with the rest of the lower case letters. However, don't do anything until some of the other more experienced members have offered their suggestions. 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)
- thetypewriterman
- Key Master
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- From: Leiston, England
- Registered: 29-5-2013
- Posts: 925
Re: A Question of Alignment
I would go with what Skywatcher says, but double-check that the soldered joint between the typeface and the typebar hasn't broken, allowing the typeface to move about whan it strikes the paper.
- Shakespeareteacher
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Re: A Question of Alignment
Thank you all for your suggestions. This is one of those more annoying than vital problems that crop up from time to time. The soldered joint looks good and the slug looks normal. Since the type bar for the letter A is far to the left in the basket, I would guess that it does have something to do with how it is fitting in the type guide, but will take Speed Champion’s suggestion and have someone more experienced than I look at it.
I’m being followed by a moon shadow.
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