- TypewriterGuy
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
If you want house a heat torch or whatever, I say go ahead. Those feed rollers look shot anyways.
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Starting fresh with my favorite typer. A Royal Futura!
- Repartee
- Key Master
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
Spazmelda wrote:
My husband bought me a screwdriver that was really helpful for getting stubborn screws unstuck. The handle is in the shape of a T (I think it's called a T screwdriver). Anyway, it allows you to get more torque or something.
I have an inexpensive screwdriver with a bendable handle - you rotate the back half 90 degrees when you need more torque. Remarkably effective. The biggest thing I've "learned" about screws (meaning, although I've seen the advice numerous times I had to reinforce it by destroying some screws 
) is to use a properly fitting screw driver, which fills the slot. Even with a pocket screwdriver you can produce MORE than enough torque to destroy the head of an average screw when the blade tip is too small!
And yes - or no - I was not talking about screws. I shall post the results of my amateur mechanical adventure elsewhere.
"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
- Repartee
- Key Master
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
If you want house a heat torch or whatever, I say go ahead. Those feed rollers look shot anyways.
I was on a mission of pragmatic destructive repair. Got it functional - at a price. But even if I had followed a more patient method I'm not sure it would have worked: I'm tending to believe the mechanism was not not frozen by corrosion but outside its normal range of motion and mechanically locked up. If that was the case, I could have oiled, vibrated, tapped, cursed and torched till I couldn't stand it anymore without effect!
"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
- Spazmelda
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
My husband bought me a screwdriver that was really helpful for getting stubborn screws unstuck. The handle is in the shape of a T (I think it's called a T screwdriver). Anyway, it allows you to get more torque or something.
I have an inexpensive screwdriver with a bendable handle - you rotate the back half 90 degrees when you need more torque. Remarkably effective. The biggest thing I've "learned" about screws (meaning, although I've seen the advice numerous times I had to reinforce it by destroying some screws
And yes - or no - I was not talking about screws. I shall post the results of my amateur mechanical adventure elsewhere.
Right, I realized that right after I posted and... no more editing here (which really REALLY bothers me). Sorry for the non-sequitur!
- TypewriterGuy
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
Just got the heat shrink tubing here that I ordered... The stuff worked great for the feed rollers, but its too small and won't stretch over the platen! So I ordered some bigger stuff which will be here next week...
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- ztyper
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
What size heat shrink tubing did you use for the platens? I would like to use it for my Oliver because that thing tears through ribbons worse than a tornado in Texas.
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
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Thread Starter- TypewriterGuy
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
I TRIED using 1 inch diameter for my Corona 4 platen, which looks about the size of the olives. It would not stretch enough, but the diameter of the platen was about 1 1/4th inch, and I'm going to guess the Olivers is around 1 1/2 inches, so the stuff I justordered (Look around online) should fit. I need to re new my Ofivers platen too...
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- Uwe
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
Heat shrink tubing on feed and pressure rollers is one thing, but I'd never use it on a platen where its original diameter (along with the specific characteristics of its rubber) is CRITICAL to the proper operation of the typewriter. Maybe it won't matter much if you only plunk out the odd sentence or two with the machine, but it's not a proper repair in my books.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- TypewriterGuy
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
I sand down the platen down a millimeter, so it matches the size of the heat shrink. I do agree though Uwe, I would never just slip on heat shrink tubing on the platen as is. But, don't forget, platens do shrink. (The 100 year old ones anyways.). And, its better than spending $60 and waiting a few weeks. Its not professional, but its good for now.
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Starting fresh with my favorite typer. A Royal Futura!
- TypewriterGuy
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Re: DIY Platen Recovery
"(along with the specific characteristics of its rubber)"
AND, Im pretty sure the platen being rock hard isn't helping any. Which is why heat shrink also protects it for a little longer.
Back from a long break.
Starting fresh with my favorite typer. A Royal Futura!
