1 of 1- zebrettino
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Offline - Registered: 27-5-2014
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Smith-Corona Corsair Deluxe - small part missing
Hey everyone, yesterday I purchased my very first typewriter, a Smith-Corona Corsair Deluxe I found for $8 at a thrift store. It seems to be in good shape, everything works, but there's one small part missing: a 6 cm-long rod, threaded on the bottom, and with a screwdriver slot on the top, that goes through the middle of the spool holder. One is present, the one on the other side is missing. Without it, the gear beneath the spool holder doesn't engage, and the ribbon doesn't advance like it should.
My question is, is this a part I might be able to find a replacement for, and if not, is there an improvised fix someone can recommend? Thank you!
As I need to make a couple posts before I can include links, scroll down for photos.
Last edited by zebrettino (26-5-2014 23:19:54)
- zebrettino
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Re: Smith-Corona Corsair Deluxe - small part missing
Photos of my missing part:
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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Re: Smith-Corona Corsair Deluxe - small part missing
So the part you need is the one shown in the last photo? I suspect that you'll have a hard time finding one, but the good news is that I can't think of an easier part to fabricate. All you need is piece of rod of the same diameter, cut to the same length, threaded on one end and notched on the other to accept a screwdriver blade.
I'll have to check my Corsair, but I think there might be other parts missing too, unless you removed a few things for the purpose of taking your photo.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- zebrettino
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Re: Smith-Corona Corsair Deluxe - small part missing
Thanks for the reply! I thought as much. The problem is I can't think where I might get ahold of such a peice of metal. For the moment, I found a drill bit of the same diameter, which is doing a reasonably decent-ish, but not great, job of keeping things in place.
I removed the spool holders for the purposes of taking a photo, as well as the gear flange that goes over the rod. I noticed that I'm also missing a spring that hooks onto the ribbon guide bit in the top left of the first photo.
Aside from that, if I'm missing any parts, I'm missing them on both sides. :/ Linking these photos due to large size:
Last edited by zebrettino (27-5-2014 07:49:18)
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
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Re: Smith-Corona Corsair Deluxe - small part missing
No, that makes sense. I suspected you had removed those parts as there is no way the machine would have been working without them. As for the rod, there are a number of places you can try. Lowes and Home Depot sell solid metal rods - although I don't know if they offer such a small guage. There are also specialty store chains such as Metal Supermarket (), Bfrafasco, and Fastenal that should have what you need as well. You will need to get a tap with the same thread pitch too (Canadian Tire or Princess Auto).
Another option might be to buy a threaded bolt that is the same size and thread pitch, but then you will need to file the head of the bolt down to match the diameter of the bolt. It won't looks as finished, but it doesn't really matter given no one is going to see it. Function first in this case.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
