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- G.J.K. Animations
- New Member
Offline - Registered: 31-1-2024
- Posts: 1
How to adjust the letter darkness on a Remington Noiseless Portable
I hope this is the right place to ask this...
So, I have a Remington Noiseless Portable from about 1937. It has a few issues, but this one is by far the least significant. I'm well on my way to fixing it completely, The strip of rubber on the bottom of the key levers is completely dried out, & missing a big chunk underneath the "A" key. A lot like a Mr. Theodore Munk describes here:
Anyhow, the type on it is a bit faint; Still perfectly legible, but not as dark as my 1973 Smith-Corrona Sterling. I just fitted my Remington with a brand new ribbon, yet the type looks like it's been used about 100 times over. Is there any way to easily adjust the darkness of the type? It doesn't matter if it's a bit hidden, as I'm fairly certain that I'll need to completely take off the case to get it repaired. Thanks for your help!
- skywatcher
- Moderator
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 734
Re: How to adjust the letter darkness on a Remington Noiseless Portable
Hi GJK
A couple of things to remember about the Remington Noiseless typewriter. 1, The keys do not thrust the type slugs all the way to the platen like your Smith-Corona Stirling. 2, the concept of noiseless is the type slugs just kiss the platen without making the thud or clack of a regular typewriter.
There is also the possibility that the platen has hardened and shrunk very slightly so the momentum imparted to the type bars by the key mechanism isn't quite enough to make a dark impression. My first suggestion would be to try using a piece of 32 pound (120 g/m²) paper as a backing sheet behind your typing paper and see if that helps. 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: 920
Re: How to adjust the letter darkness on a Remington Noiseless Portable
Something to remember with noiseless typewriters of all kinds is that they are low-impact machines. Back in the day, you could obtain special heavily-inked ribbons for noiseless typewriters. Of course, nowadays you cannot. But ribbons for mechanical adding machines and calculators are heavily-inked, so I would suggest trying some adding machine fabric in your noiseless to see if it helps. If not, well it has only cost you the price of a ribbon.
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