1 of 1- Traviswf
- New Member
Offline - Registered: 09-5-2017
- Posts: 4
Help with Olivetti Leterra 32
Hi everyone. I picked up one of these typewriters and it was filled with gunk and dust all the way through. I think otherwise it's in good shape so I'm aiming to clean it thoroughly. However, I have been unable to remove the bottom panel. I tried what was in this video:
But all I've succeeded in doing is bending the panel and making no progress in removing it. I don't want to go any further because I'm worried about breaking the thing -- any ideas?
Thanks for much if you can help!
- skywatcher
- Moderator
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 737
Re: Help with Olivetti Leterra 32
Hi Travis
This is where silicone spray lube comes in really handy. Give each grommet a spritz around the center peg and the base should come off a little more easily. It may be necessary to push the base in towards the typewriter to make the grommet open up slightly and allow the lube to find its way between the grommet and the peg.
Do not use WD-40 as this will deteriorate the rubber making the base even harder to remove next time. Once you have cleaned all the internals, smear a little silicone grease or plumbers grease around the inside of the grommets before reinstalling the base and it will come off far more easily the next time. Hope this helps and all the best,
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)
- thetypewriterman
- Key Master
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- From: Leiston, England
- Registered: 29-5-2013
- Posts: 923
Re: Help with Olivetti Leterra 32
Yes, those grommets go very hard and stiff, and the bottom plate bending as you take it off is quite common. To try to minimise this, rather than using a screwdriver and twisting as the video suggests, insert the jaws of a pair of long-nose pliers either side of the stud and then lever the bottom plate off the stud. If you do not have a pair of long-nose pliers, you could try two screwdrivers, one each side of the stud. Then, once you have the bottom plate off, do as skywatcher suggests and lubricate the grommet with silicon grease to make removal easier next time.
