tothetrail wrote:

Can anyone tell me if this one might be able to be fixed relatively easily?  I know it would be a risk to ship, but it seems to be a reasonalble price for this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-SUPER-De-Luxe-Olympia-Vintage-Metal-Typewriter-Gray-Green-Manual-Germany-/191721701343?ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

Wow, that's one heavy looking machine!  It made me think of a recent post on page 10 of the broken-during-shipping thread:

Now that's coincidental. I just received a damaged Olympia SG1 via United Parcel Service - via ground across the US - and I was contemplating sharing my experiences. The seller turned out to be a noble soul who when I merely sent him a polite note with photos of the damage asking what he though we should do, immediately refunded my total outlay, and left me with the damaged typewriter and him with a total loss!

I hardly blame him or the carrier - the machine is so heavy that unless packed as originally shipped by the manufacturer it's almost guaranteed to damage itself by its own weight with any rough handling: this particular machine was further sabotaged by loss of two of the four screws holding sheet metal body to frame. Shipper packed with care and the shipping container had no visible damage but the machine would probably best be screwed down inside a crate, even if not weakened: I see some threaded holes in the base which may have served this original purpose.Nothing a trip to the auto body shop could not fix, but its built-like-a-tank aura is extinguished, at least for me! Looks more now like a Chevy that's been in a collision - in a soul crushing office bland paint job. What was I thinking?

KatLondon wrote:

The packing and shipping will be key. And you'll have to tactfully but firmly establish with the seller that 'item not as described' will most CERTAINLY apply if it arrives damaged in a way it wasn't in the pictures!!

Thanks, and great way to put, I love that wording!
 

Uwe wrote:

tothetrail wrote:

Can anyone tell me if this one might be able to be fixed relatively easily?  

It could be a very easy fix, or a very difficult one. You can't glean from that auction description what exactly the problem with the carriage is, so you should weigh the cost versus risk of buying it. The SG1 is highly servicable, and a very robust machine, so I like to think the odds would be in your favour that it would an easy repair. Probably half of the eight or so SG1s that I own had issues when I bought them (due to years of neglect and/or abuse from a previous owner), and with the exception of one, they were all easy fixes. The one that isn't currently working had some liquid dumped into the machine that congealed and seized most of the type bars. I've been working them free one at a time, but it's time consuming work and just haven't got around to finishing it yet.

Thanks, I really appreciate your insight.
 

Uwe - Your SG3 with the sticky typebars - A previous owner probably sprayed rust-inhibiting fluid into it before putting it away in storage.  This stuff is intended to protect garden tools in the shed over the winter and sets like concrete.  I recently had to treat a machine like this, and found that the only thing that would remove this gunk was acetone (celluloid paint thinners) applied with an old tooth-brush.  Just try to keep the acetone clear of painted surfaces.  I did try white spirits (Varsol) and petrol (gasoline), but it was the acetone that finally did the trick.

Surely this has to be the ugliest thing anyone here has ever seen... I've looked at it several times today in a sort of morbid fascination...