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07-9-2021 21:15:24  #1


Action of right margin stop in mid-century Remington portables

I'm looking for confirmation of this action that I see in Remington Golden Touch Leader and Jewell models of the 1950s. As the right margin setting approaches the stop, it rings the bell and then continues without stopping at the set position or even locking the typebars. Inspection shows that the left setting has a projection that hits the stop and the right setting has no such projection and shows no sign of removal or damage. Neither machine has a Margin Release key or button, even for the left margin and the right doesn't seem to need one.

The owner's manuals say the right margin setting "governs" the right margin but they don't say the carriage stops. One manual even says "... governs the margin at end of line by ringing the bell." with no mention of stopping the carriage or the typebars. Can it be that as late as the mid-fifties, even budget models act like this?

So I'm asking whether the Underwood portables in this forum work this way....   Thanks.

 

07-9-2021 21:19:20  #2


Re: Action of right margin stop in mid-century Remington portables

Correction! Everywhere the previous post says Remington, it should say Underwood. I'm juggling too many repairs. (We can't edit, can we?)

     Thread Starter
 

08-9-2021 15:47:11  #3


Re: Action of right margin stop in mid-century Remington portables

Hi M

From what I gather, these machines were entry level or economy machines, so the omission of one or more systems would reduce manufacturing costs. One can think of these systems as being options available on higher end machines, much like air conditioning, electric windows and cruise control in a vehicle. My Canadian built Leader S/N-U2775321 does not have touch control (even though the numbered quadrant is present as part of the frame) or carriage lock and has a wooden platen core to boot.

Therefore, I'm thinking this was done in a effort to remain price competitive in the North American market against  the European and Scandinavian imports. Once the Japanese imports started flooding the world market in the early to mid 1960's, all bets were off for any machine built in the US or Canada. As I say, this is just my 2¢ worth. 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)
 

09-9-2021 08:55:36  #4


Re: Action of right margin stop in mid-century Remington portables

Thank you, Sky. I, too, am confident that these are budget machines. I just want to be sure that I am not missing something in my small sample regarding whether the lack of a carriage stop is "as designed". It seems odd that Underwood could have designed one small stamped part differently and yet they did not. It seems odd that by the mid-'50s Underwood was still selling things without a right margin stop; one of these does have ribbon color and both have bells (neither have Tabs), all features that student models often do without.

So I was just putting out a call for other forum members to tell me about their own examples of mid-century Underwood portables regarding how the right margin acts.

     Thread Starter
 

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