1 of 1- JNewton
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Smith Corona “Flat Top” Snapped Mainspring
I’ll keep it short. Will the mainspring from a series 5 Sterling fit a flat top Silent? Have the latter, which unfortunately arrived with a mainspring snapped in about the middle of its length, so not easily repairable. I can get an orphaned case-less copy of the former for cheap. Thanks!
- skywatcher
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Re: Smith Corona “Flat Top” Snapped Mainspring
Hi J
That's a very good question. I don't know off hand without doing some serious digging. There are other members on this forum who probably have more knowledge on this subject than me. However, I was thinking that if all else fails, it might be worth your while to take the spring drum with broken spring to a clock repair shop and see if they have any ideas or suggestions about maybe using the spring from an old alarm clock or some similar spring.
I run a small engine repair shop and some of the recoil springs used on string trimmers and chain saw starters are pretty narrow, but don't know if they would be narrow enough or the correct thickness to use as stock from which to fashion a replacement spring, just some thoughts. 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)
- skywatcher
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Re: Smith Corona “Flat Top” Snapped Mainspring
Hi Again J
One other thought just crossed my mind. Some time in the 1960's during the series 5 production run, Smith-Corona went from the typical all metal parallel spring drum to the molded plastic Fusée style or spiral drum. Whether this will make a difference, I have no idea, but I thought I'd bring it up just in case. Cheers,
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)
- JNewton
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Re: Smith Corona “Flat Top” Snapped Mainspring
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I have the possibility to pick up the Sterling tomorrow, so will check for what type of mainspring housing it has. There's a watch repair place in town too. Good suggestion. I'm sure I'll get it worked out one way or another. If the watch place is able to help that'd be a nice resource to have in the back pocket, so to speak. Thanks!
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Thread Starter- JNewton
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Re: Smith Corona “Flat Top” Snapped Mainspring
Hey, to answer the question, the spring from the series 5 Sterling works great in the maroon flat top Silent. The Sterling’s a little miffed with me however.
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Thread Starter- skywatcher
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Re: Smith Corona “Flat Top” Snapped Mainspring
Hi J
Glad to hear that you were able to make an effective repair. Now you have a 5 series parts machine from which you may be able to harvest parts to get other machines up and running again. I'm sure that Tom The Typewriter Man has a selection of donor machines for the exact same reason. I have a Smith-Corona Classic-12 that I bought because it had the happy-face/sad-face change-a-type key and slug on it. The rest of the machine is in pretty rough condition, so it too is delegated to be a donor machine should I or someone else need parts to repair their unit. 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)
- Gabby Johnson
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Re: Smith Corona “Flat Top” Snapped Mainspring
I did a mid-spring break repair on a QDL by heating the broken ends with a torch, bending both so they interlock, then cold-pressing them together in a vise. I can't make any claim for longevity of the repair under heavy use, but it did seem to work.
- JNewton
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Re: Smith Corona “Flat Top” Snapped Mainspring
Hmmm, that's interesting. Not something I would have thought of, but it does seem like a viable solution to the problem. Pleases my diy heart. I probably won't worry about doing it, but good to file away nonetheless. I don't feel too bad about creating a parts machine out of a model that's common as dirt. It just rubs me the wrong way to take something that works (or could with a lot of cleaning) and make it non-functional, but I realize that some must die that others may live. It's probably good to have a parts machine anyway for my growing collection. Up to six now. I don't need anymore, I really don't. Don't need anymore, don't need anymore.......
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Thread Starter