1 of 1- Fleetwing
- Typewriter Talk Vet
Offline - From: Hartford, CT USA
- Registered: 30-6-2015
- Posts: 1,011
Singer Scholastic
I recently got one of these for $20, with its "briefcase" (kind of nice, actually -- not obviously a typewriter case). Some cleaning has gotten it working pretty well -- the margin release was gummed up, for instance. The bell is still very quiet (inaudible when typing, really), and I would love to figure out how to make it louder.
But my main question relates to what happened when I put in a brand new ribbon today. I tested the machine by swapping in a used ribbon from another machine, but the new ribbon drags lightly across the paper, such that it lightly but clearly deposits ink on the surface of the paper. It doesn't seem to be purely a function of typing -- some ink is deposited even at rest. So I've replaced the new ribbon with another used one, and the problem is solved.
Is this a function of a misaligned, or dirty, vibrator assembly? The Scholastic has some crud and dust on the vibrator, but I would not have thought that would cause this problem. Is this common? How to fix it? (I will tell you that I put the new ribbon on my SM3 and it exhibits no such problems, but that's 1) cleaner and 2) a better machine, without question.) Thanks.
- Uwe
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Singer Scholastic
Some vibrators have tighter tolerances than others, and some allow more room for the ribbon to flex as it moves through the type point. And some are more sensitive than others to the ribbon tension between the two spools.However, to answer your question, I've had a number of typewriters exhibit this problem but there was never a standard solution to repairing it. Some vibrators, and their associated linkages, were full of crud that once cleaned allowed them to move in a manner they were designed to. Others required physical adjustment because they had been bent, slightly, out of shape, perhaps by someone who was trying to remove a ribbon in too rough a manner. A few times the problem was with the rest of the ribbon transport system and the ribbon not moving from one spool to the other freely. And then there's the machine that I'm typing on today. The first few lines with a new ribbon left an ink smudge on the page that slowly went away and is now nonexistent.
I only have a couple of Singer models, a T.50 and T.51, but the Scholastic has a full metal case and was made in Holland by Royal McBee, right?
Last edited by Uwe (30-6-2015 18:55:41)
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Fleetwing
- Typewriter Talk Vet
Offline
- From: Hartford, CT USA
- Registered: 30-6-2015
- Posts: 1,011
Re: Singer Scholastic
That's correct -- made in Leiden, as I understand it, at the Royal factory there. They had bought the Halberg company in the mid-50s, and the Halberg Traveller continued in production as the Royal Royalite. The Scholastic is a Royalite internally, with a different design for the ribbon cover -- all metal exterior. According to the serial number, this is a model T2, but I have no idea what that means in terms of when it was made. Robert Messenger says on his site that production of the Scholastic would have commenced around 1961, but I'd love to find more information about this model. I saw some instructions for the Scholastic online that referred to it as model T-4, but I wonder if mine is an older version somehow.
- •
Thread Starter- tomhitt
- New Member
Offline
- From: Fairview PA
- Registered: 16-1-2015
- Posts: 6
Re: Singer Scholastic
I just picked up a Royal Citadel (CT 5602339, made in Holland), it appears to be doggone close the exact same machine as the Singer Scholastic. ~TH~
Right on the lake in Erie PA.
- Fleetwing
- Typewriter Talk Vet
Offline
- From: Hartford, CT USA
- Registered: 30-6-2015
- Posts: 1,011
Re: Singer Scholastic
I couldn't see a picture on your blog of the Citadel, and that model name is unknown to me -- I didn't see it on the Typewriter Data Base. The Royal Dart (which I believe was sold through the Montgomery Wards chain) is the Royal that looks the same as the Scholastic. Maybe the Citadel is the name for the Dart in markets outside North America?
- •
Thread Starter- tomhitt
- New Member
Offline
- From: Fairview PA
- Registered: 16-1-2015
- Posts: 6
Re: Singer Scholastic
Here's a photo of the critter.
Last edited by Uwe (31-12-2015 00:15:48)
Right on the lake in Erie PA.
