1 of 1- kdmccullum
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Olivetti screw size
I am in need of replacing a screw on my Olivetti Studio 45. It is one of the two screws that hold the paper retention bar in place. Does anyone happen to know the proper sized slotted set screw that was used by Olivetti for that piece? I'm trying to save an hour drive to a specialized store.
Kurt
- skywatcher
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Re: Olivetti screw size
Hi Kurt
If you still have the other screw, take it down to your local NAPA or equivalent store and get them to measure it up for diameter and pitch. Being Olivetti, you know it's going to be metric, European metric as opposed to Japanese metric. I don't have a Studio 45, so don't have a specimen screw to measure. 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.
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- kdmccullum
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Re: Olivetti screw size
Sky,
The metric part I assumed, but I was not aware of a difference between European and Japanese metric systems. Thanks for the heads up.
Kurt
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Thread Starter- thetypewriterman
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Re: Olivetti screw size
Your problem might not be over when you find a screw of the correct thread (Olivetti seemed to use non-standard metric screws). The head is a non-standard diameter and is supposed to be a slightly loose fit in the bail arm to allow it to 'float'. You will almost certainly have to reduce the diameter of the head a bit at a time until it fits properly. If you do not have a precision lathe, you can improvise by gripping the screw in the jaws of an electric drill chuck and holding a file against it with the drill running. It is enough to make an engineer (machinist) cry, but it does work ! You will also find the screw incredibly fiddly to fit.
- M. Höhne
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Re: Olivetti screw size
kdmccullum wrote:
Sky,
The metric part I assumed, but I was not aware of a difference between European and Japanese metric systems. Thanks for the heads up.
Kurt
Umm, I'm not aware of this either. Citation needed, please, Sky.
- kdmccullum
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Re: Olivetti screw size
The head is a non-standard diameter and is supposed to be a slightly loose fit in the bail arm to allow it to 'float'.
Can you describe 'float'. I ask because when these screws are tightened snug, the bar is lifted off the platen. But when I back off one just a bit and give some play in the arm, it lays flat.
Kurt
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Thread Starter- Phil_F_NM
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Re: Olivetti screw size
The difference between DIN and JIS metric is not in the threads, but in the heads and flanges of fasteners. Metric threads should be metric threads.
Phil Forrest
- thetypewriterman
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Re: Olivetti screw size
If we are talking about the screw that goes into the end of the bail bar, its function is to stop the bail bar from coming out of the end of the bail arm. It does this, not by clamping the bail arm to the bail bar as you might expect. Instead, the head of the screw acts as a 'peg'. However, the screw head cannot be a tight fit in the bail arm or a rigid assembly will result - which means that the bail rolls may not contact the paper on one side. The bail bar/bail arm junction has to have a certain amount of slop or 'float' to allow the bail bar to sit properly on the paper. This is the best that I can describe this. Are you sure that the screw that you have on the other side is the correct one and not just one that 'fits' ?
- kdmccullum
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Re: Olivetti screw size
It's the right screw. The problem was, when I got the machine, the bail arm was rigid and lifting on one side. So your description is really helpful. So the design is for a bit of float and mine was cranked all the way tight. When I was adjusting it, half of the slot where the screw driver inserts broke off. I can still 'adjust' it but eventually I'd like to get a replacement in there that works.
I really appreciate your insight to the whole 'float' thing. All this time I thought the bar was bent. It just needs some wiggle room.
Kurt
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