1 - Platenboy
- Platen Punisher
Offline 
- From: South Yorkshire, England
- Registered: 22-12-2014
- Posts: 54
Missing spring?
Hi all,
My name is Richard, AKA Platenboy/Coronaboy, I joined only today. Looks a great resource and a good way of getting to know fellow typewriter enthusiasts
I wonder if someone would mind helping me.
My Olympia SM8 has a large spring which is under constant expansion and contracts when the type basket goes back from typing capitals. However, there only seems to be one spring on the left. The right side which has identical pieces for hanging a spring, doesn't have one. Goodness knows how such big spring got knocked out of the machine, or even thrown away. Or maybe it just doesn't have one on the right.
I have no problems with the machine, and just noticed it when I was looking inside admiring the machine. It causes no issues and the return is still fine.
If I do have a spring missing, does anyone know what size/strength it might be or how I might go about finding a replacement please? I'm in the UK.
As this is my first post, I was unable to include a link but I do have photos of the spring on the Typewriter Database, my username is Coronaboy.
Many thanks
Richard
- TypewriterGuy
- Typewriter Talk Vet
Offline
- From: United States
- Registered: 24-4-2015
- Posts: 1,250
Re: Missing spring?
I don't have one of these, however when finding a new one, you may want to remove the remaining spring from measurements if possible. Just go with the absolute closest you can find. Places like Aubuchaun hardware have whole sections of their store dedicated to little stuff like nuts bolts and washers, and one pull out drawer section is all springs. You should be able to find a nice replacement.
Back from a long break.
Starting fresh with my favorite typer. A Royal Futura!
- TypewriterGuy
- Typewriter Talk Vet
Offline
- From: United States
- Registered: 24-4-2015
- Posts: 1,250
Re: Missing spring?
Oops. In the U.K. I'm not sure what hardware stores you have...
Back from a long break.
Starting fresh with my favorite typer. A Royal Futura!
- Platenboy
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- From: South Yorkshire, England
- Registered: 22-12-2014
- Posts: 54
Re: Missing spring?
Thanks, yes, I can probably source one fairly easily from our equivalent of your big DIY store, ours is called B&Q (other stores are available 
)
But I just want to make sure it is definitely missing first. I can't imagine Olympia only using one spring.
- •
Thread Starter- Uwe
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Missing spring?
I'm fairly certain that all SM models, from the earlier carriage-shift models to the last of the segment-shift models used two springs.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Platenboy
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- From: South Yorkshire, England
- Registered: 22-12-2014
- Posts: 54
Re: Missing spring?
I thought this might be the case. Thank you.
I guess someone has been hacking about in my machine. How on earth they dislodged such a big spring I have no idea.
I'll try and dig it out and get a close match
Cheers
- •
Thread Starter- Uwe
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Missing spring?
Platenboy wrote:
I guess someone has been hacking about in my machine.
As long as there have been typewriters there have been backyard butchers trying to repair them. Royal even ran ads during the early '40s to discourage what it called "amateur tinkers" from working on its machines.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Platenboy
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- From: South Yorkshire, England
- Registered: 22-12-2014
- Posts: 54
Re: Missing spring?
Yes, true. Perhaps it was serviced and the "professionals" forgot to replace it when they removed it.
Do you think it will feel weird if the other spring is fractionally less strong? I don't know the technical words or what instruments you use to test a spring, but I don't have the equipment to determine its strength.
- •
Thread Starter- Uwe
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Missing spring?
Do you think it will feel weird if the other spring is fractionally less strong? I don't know the technical words or what instruments you use to test a spring, but I don't have the equipment to determine its strength.
No, I don't think that it would feel weird if it's close to the original. Then again, you're not having an issue with it as is, so I would err on the weaker side if I was trying to source a replacement.You're after an extension spring, and you'll want to match as closely as possible the critical factors of overall length, number of coils, and the gauge of wire used in its construction.
Personally, I would wait to find an SM that was being scrapped for parts rather than try to hunt down an exact replacement srping. The machine is shifting fine at the moment, so it seems to me that you have the luxury of time and can wait until such an SM presents itself; it's an extremely common machine and I doubt you would have to wait that long anyway.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Platenboy
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- From: South Yorkshire, England
- Registered: 22-12-2014
- Posts: 54
Re: Missing spring?
Yes, you're right, why rock the boat.
I'll do that.
Many thanks
- •
Thread Starter