1 - Guess I'll Try
- Platen Punisher
Offline - Registered: 09-5-2014
- Posts: 76
My Olympia SM 9
I acquired a Olympia SM9 portable and was quite pleased because I had heard so much good news about Olympias. By design it looks like a 1970's machine, and from pictures it looks to be a Olympia Monica, though Monica is not labeled on it. I had heared of the Olympia's light brisk action of the keys. The typewriter was quite clean and showed little use but I oiled it a little anyway. I have cleaned and oiled a number of typewriters and they have come out well, so I believe I did it right.
The thing is, this Olympia has a stiff action, or shall I call it a heavy action; it types good clear, straight lines of a pica style, but I have to bare down on the keys to get the work done. I can find no key tension adjust control on it. If I compare it to several other machines you might see what I mean. The Royal Silent Delux is so light and smooth, the Remington Light Rider, 1951, is heavier but also light in action; the Smth Corona, 1951, is firmer but brisk. This Olympia feels like a Standard typewriter with the touch-control on +10.
If I practice regularly on this machine I can make it work for me, getting used to its action; but is this right? Is this the way it is supposed to work? Has anyone had this experience before on an Olympia?
- ztyper
- Key Master
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- From: Somewhere in New Jersey
- Registered: 01-10-2014
- Posts: 773
Re: My Olympia SM 9
I have experience with two SM's an I love them both. However, one is a 1960 SM-4 and the other a 1965 SM-9 DeLuxe. From what I know, the DeLuxe was the best version, and it works like a dream. Though I have never really used a 70's SM-9 machine, from what I saw in pictures and once at the Brooklyn Flea, it appears to be a STEP DOWN from the 60's machine. I am only speculating on that though. The one at the flea market had the manual 5 tab stops on the back of the machine and no visible touch control, while my DeLuxe had the automatic tab sets beside the space bar and a touch control on the left hand side of the keyboard. Only some of the SM-9s then lacked the left sided touch control from what I see from pictures. As to your tension problem, I do not know if it is actually a problem. I doubt it is, but then again, I have never used the later SM-9. I have my touch control up on high anyways, so I couldn't tell you. But maybe someone could shed some light onto your machine. (By the way, great machine you got there. Maybe post some pictures? I'd love to see some.)
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- Guess I'll Try
- Platen Punisher
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- Posts: 76
Re: My Olympia SM 9
Thanks Ztyper, nice to be reassured that my typer is probably ok. I will double check the year, assumed it was in the 1970's. The machine looks much like the picture on your identilty page, but it has a red dot on the left ,split. I will try a picture. I have heard of quality going down after the '70's,
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
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Re: My Olympia SM 9
Guess I'll Try wrote:
I have heard of quality going down after the '70's,
From where? Other than a redesign of the controls and their layout I've never noticed a difference in the performance of Olympia machines between the '60s and '70s. In fact, even the SG3 models that were produced in Mexico type extremely well. If you SM9 isn't working that well it could use a good cleaning, especially of the segment. And what parts did you oil? What type of oil did you use? Many (most) components were never meant to be oiled.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Guess I'll Try
- Platen Punisher
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- Posts: 76
Re: My Olympia SM 9
I did oil the segments with a light oil,spray, from Radio Shack. I have used it on other typers and thet work well, but I will reclean the secments and leave them dry. I have run into the case where I left the segments dry of another machine and keybars slowed down--I figured from abrasions from former use. A little oil let them run free again.
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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Re: My Olympia SM 9
Segments can be difficult to properly clean, but with perseverance you should be able to get it to type smoothly and with less required key pressure. I think I've only used oil in a segment on two different machines, both of which were severely corroded, and even then it was a light weight oil mean for sewing machines. I don't know what kind of oil you got from Radio Shack, but if it's the wrong type it will definitely make the keys feel sluggish.
It's also worth mentioning that you shouldn't restrict your cleaning to just the segment. I clean every pivot point and linkage from the key all the way to the slug.
Last edited by Uwe (14-1-2015 18:23:50)
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- ztyper
- Key Master
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- From: Somewhere in New Jersey
- Registered: 01-10-2014
- Posts: 773
Re: My Olympia SM 9
On a side note, I'm sorry if I came across that the quality was substandard for Olympia. That's not what I meant at all, I was just surprised that the later SM-9s had no automatic tab stops when they have been on the SM line since the SM-4 (save the SM-5 and SM-8).I'm not sure why they woiuld do that when Olympia was probably doing the best in the typewriter business at the start of the 70's. Especially if was on the same model. But the quality is excellent on your machine. It's possibly one of the best machines ever made (best one I've ever used so far, granted I've only used ten).
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- Uwe
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Re: My Olympia SM 9
I was just surprised that the later SM-9s had no automatic tab stops when they have been on the SM line since the SM-4 (save the SM-5 and SM-8).
If your SM9 doesn't have 'automatic' tab stops (keyboard tab control) then you don't have a SM9. Later model SM9s moved the tab control from either side of the space bar to the left side of the keyboard, which used to be the lever for the touch control. If you have to manually adjust the tab stops behind the carriage you have a SM8.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- ztyper
- Key Master
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- From: Somewhere in New Jersey
- Registered: 01-10-2014
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Re: My Olympia SM 9
Hm. That's interesting. So the machine I saw at the flea market must have been something like a Monica or SM-8. Because it had the manual tab stops on the back. Oh well. I still want it though...
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
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Re: My Olympia SM 9
So the machine I saw at the flea market must have been something like a Monica or SM-8. Because it had the manual tab stops on the back.
The Monica doesn't have a tabulator. It was a SM8.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
