Offline
On my Smith Corona Super Speed (a 1949 model closed sides, grey crinkle paint), the carriage return is VERY hard. I have narrowed it down to it being the mainspring (I disconnected the draw band, and the carriage moves freely without it). Why is the mainspring so hard to turn? It feels like there is LOADS of tension on it, but I have wound it, and wound it once, and it feels like there is like 10 winds...
Why is this doing this? Built up grease?
Last edited by Uwe (30-12-2015 23:50:43)
Offline
So it was OK before you wound it, I gather? Have you tried backing it off some to see if that makes a difference? Sorry if these are obvious questions.
Offline
No, it wasn't, thats why I unwound it. And I wound it once and it feels (as I said) like is wound ten times.
Its okay, start with the basics first..
Ive narrowed it down in further to the actual spring, not the mechanism. I cannot turn the gear in the back to decrease or increase tension, so thats the problem. Its stuck. What should I do at this point?
Last edited by Uwe (30-12-2015 23:52:51)
Offline
Let's get this straight: you had off the draw band and the mainspring was able to freewheel to a stop, and then when you reattached the band and manually wound the spring one full turn (360 degrees) the tension was much too high?
That does not sound to me like the adjustment. In my minor experience spring adjustments have been continuous - you can tighten or loosen the tension but if the spring unwinds you are starting from scratch. Maybe it's the spring itself: if it's jammed such that only part of the spring is tightening it might behave as you say - winding part of the spring is equivalent to a stiffer spring. Perhaps if you tap on the spring casing you will be rewarded with a whir and a normal spring. Something like this already happened to me.
Offline
From what you said, it sounds like it is jammed. Ive even gotten a wrench and tried moving the bolt that is attached to the mainspring, and it does not move.,so its jammed.
Offline
I believe you said it was working normally recently, which is a good thing. Again from my very limited experience I've noticed that when something was working recently and now seems to be stuck there is an excellent chance if you mess with it long enough that it will return to normal operation. Not very scientific, I admit! This has happened to me with several escapements, a segment shift, and yes - a mainspring.
Scientific rationalization mode on: If it was recently working it's probably not seized hard, and while something may have broken it may be that the mechanism simply got itself stuck outside its normal range of motion.
Offline
It was never working, and Im stumped. I haven't seen anything like this... Im going keep playing around with it I guess.
Offline
Sounds like that was quite the struggle. Looking forward to pics and the story.
TypewriterGuy wrote:
Mainspring removed. Ughhhhhh myhands wontstop sthaking.
Pictures coming soon
Offline
I'm keeping an eye on this thread because my new Voss has the same problem. I'm hoping the fix will be the same for my machine.
Offline
MISSION SUCCESS!
I was right, just built up grease! I HAD to remove the mainspring to clean it though.
First:
Unhooked all the linkages connected to the escapement (Forgot to mention, its part of the mainspring) and mainspring. Unscrewed escapement to universal bar. Then found out the screws to unscrew the assembly from the frame where under the carriage.
Then:
Removed carriage. Unscrewed the mainspring from the frame.
Then:
Found out Icouldnt remove the mainspring without moving the top of the frame. Unscrewed the top of the frame after MUCH struggle.
Thennnn...
Removed the mainspring assembly. At this point my hands were shaking.
LOADED the mainspring with degreaser. At this point strange brown and yellow goo started dripping out. Now the mainspring started working!
Now:
Screwed the frame back on, connected most of the linkages, now in the process of finishing it.
The most important thing is that it IS possible to do this within two hours, and that the mainspring is working now!
Although the back gear still won't adjust tension :/