- malole
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- From: East Anglia, UK
- Registered: 02-6-2014
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
I was taking some photos of the large type for the Database this afternoon, and noticed that the type is curved, ever so slightly. 
Hope this works ok.
(Thanks, Uwe, for fixing my mistake. I did get things muddled up.)
- Uwe
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
The slug face is slightly curved on my large type machine too, presumably to match that of the platen's surface.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Spazmelda
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
Makes sense that they'd be curved. I had not noticed that.
I found a guy listed on Richard Polt's site who supposedly sells silk and various other ribbons, and odd sizes as well. I wrote him an email to see what he'd recomend. If he has something that would work, and it's not too expensive, I will give it a try.
Last edited by Spazmelda (15-5-2015 15:46:07)
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Thread Starter- thetypewriterman
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
ALL typeface is curved, to match the curvature of the platen ! It is just that it is not normally noticable to the naked eye. This is one of the reasons why you have to be careful when swopping typeface from one make to another. My guess is that you need a heavily-inked ribbon for a Display Type machine. This is because the impact pressure would be spread out over a larger surface. Something relatively cheap that might be worth trying is rewinding a calculator ribbon onto the existing spools. Calculator ribbons are more heavily inked than typewriter ribbons because the impact pressure is much lower.
- malole
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
Wow. I'm going to get out my magnifying glass!
I am also persuaded now to fork out on some bottles of metal stamp ink and see if that will make any difference to the quality of impression, too.
Re-typing certainly helped for the type sample I made for the Database, but you don't want to be re-typing everything!
- Spazmelda
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
Malole- did you happen to record the serial number of yours before you sent it off to the spa? Mine is 6LTV 387388. Just curious where yours is in relation. They look like twins. Never mind. It was right there on your blog post, duh! Yours is 6LTV 379472.
Last edited by Spazmelda (16-5-2015 18:20:18)
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Thread Starter- skywatcher
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
Greetings Fellow Members of the Large Typeface Fanciers Club
After a few years of working with my SCM Smith-Corona Classic-12 with 6 cpi (S/N 6LTV-298107) I have found the best copy impression is achieved with a good wet sturdy cotton ribbon. I was lucky enough to stumble across a box of assorted ribbons that were being sold off by a tin collector as he or she had no interest in the ribbons. I got a box of over 120 various ribbons for $22.00 + shipping.
Many of these ribbons although having never been used were dried out. A mixture of acetone and medicinal grade castor oil worked really well on the old cotton ribbons. Being cotton, the ink is held within the threads of the fabric as well as between the threads as on a nylon ribbon. Silk ribbons tend to be a little too delicate for this type of machine.
The other fun thing about having a 12" platen on these large type machines, is one can use a sheet of 11" x 17" paper (in England, one would use a sheet of A-3 paper) and the typed letter looks proportionally correct even though it's twice the size of a normal letter. Anyhow, happy typing to all, and I'm gradually getting back into the swing of normal life after an episode of the shingles. Take care and 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)
- malole
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
Thanks for the tip! I will try some castor oil as well as the metal stamp ink. (On different ribbons. )
Looking forward so much to having my machine sent back from being repaired. And I will definitely have to write a massive letter or two. Another excuse to go stationery hunting.
- Uwe
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
malole wrote:
Thanks for the tip! I will try some castor oil as well as the metal stamp ink.
For what it's worth, the majority of period articles I've read concerning the revival of old or dried out ribbons recommended using glycerin.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- malole
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Re: Large type smith-corona?
I was wondering this morning about glycerin, so it's now going on my list! I have a small stash of very old dry cotton ribbons which would make good test subjects.
