1 - beak
- Key Master
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- From: Qld Australia
- Registered: 24-3-2013
- Posts: 912
Smith-Corona tab stops required.
Hi all
Can anyone point me to a source for the loose tab stops needed for a Smith Corona Sterling from the 1940s? They look like this...
Any clues appreciated!
Sincerely,
beak.
- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
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Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
How many do you need? I have the exact machine with tab the stops, and I'm betting it would be farily easy to fabricate them. Otherwise, I've never come across them being sold individually before, so it could be a really tough find.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- beak
- Key Master
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- From: Qld Australia
- Registered: 24-3-2013
- Posts: 912
Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
Uwe wrote:
How many do you need? I have the exact machine with tab the stops, and I'm betting it would be farily easy to fabricate them. Otherwise, I've never come across them being sold individually before, so it could be a really tough find.
Yes, anyone who had them probably wouldn't know what they were - I would not have known unless someone had not knidly given me this machine; trying to work out how the tabs worked led me to the picture above on line.
Please see PM.
Sincerely,
beak.
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
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Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
Sorry it took me so long to have a closer look at them. However, here are a few photos I took that might be of assistance to you. I forgot to measure the thickness of the tab, but can still do so if you think that you're going to fabricate something based on the photos.
I was going to make something up for you untill I reailised that the curved part of the tab with the hook on the end acts as a spring and 'clips' the tab into place. I don't think that the spring clip is essential. You could probably make anything that was U-shaped to slip onto the rail and it would work if it was tight enough.
If you still want one of mine to use as a template, PM me your mailing address and I'll send it to you.
[img](1).JPG[/img]
[img](2).JPG[/img]
[img](3).JPG[/img]
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
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Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
I just realized that in Australia, like here in Canada, that you might be using the metric system and not the antiquated Imperial forms of measurement. I was going to give you the dimensions in mm, but then started second guessing what you'd be most familiar with...
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- beak
- Key Master
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- From: Qld Australia
- Registered: 24-3-2013
- Posts: 912
Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
Thanks for this, it explains a lot. I can convert to mm easily enough.
I'll have a go at reproducing based on this info - should be straightforward enough, but if I get into trouble I'll yell.
Thanks so much for the picture and dims!
ETA
I guess the thickness can be taken from the slots in the tab rack, so shouldn't need that.
Last edited by beak (14-1-2014 01:36:16)
Sincerely,
beak.
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
I guess the thickness can be taken from the slots in the tab rack, so shouldn't need that.
Yes, exactly. If I was making a few for myself, I'd just make a U-shaped piece of metal and make sure the opening was on the tight side to keep it from slipping off too easily; the spring clip arrangement is too much work in my opinion for what it does.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 737
Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
Greetings
Here's a thought, find someone who has a laser or water jet cutter and see if they would be able to scan the tab clip then cut from something like a used hacksaw blade or band saw blade of the correct thickness.
?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)
- ProfessorC30
- Platen Punisher
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- From: Arkansas, USA
- Registered: 20-4-2013
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Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
If you are not interested in originality, only functionality, a hair pin from a hardware store may work for you. These are about 10 cents each. They are available in various wire sizes, but could be ground on the sides if necessary to fit the notches in the tab rack.
Clark
- beak
- Key Master
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- From: Qld Australia
- Registered: 24-3-2013
- Posts: 912
Re: Smith-Corona tab stops required.
I
Good idea - thanks.
Sincerely,
beak.
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Thread Starter