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13-4-2018 17:19:11  #1601


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

I wanted a compact portable but I ended up winning an Olympia SM9 (I think it's a 9 at least) with the mid-to-late 60s body style, complete with the case. From what I understand on here and elsewhere Olympias are solid machines so I am looking forward to using it. I will post a picture in one of the gallery threads when it comes in!

 

13-4-2018 20:52:14  #1602


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

You will love that machine. I will be interested to hear your reactions.

 

03-5-2018 19:41:36  #1603


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a Remington Super-Riter (labeled simply "Standard" on the ribbon cover -- not a decal but part of the aluminum casting; nice touch). Bought it from a retired couple who were clearing out the house; it was her mother's. Based on the serial number, J2319xxx, it's from December 1959 I believe.  The carriage did not engage with the escapement so it kept sliding all the way to the left. I had thought maybe the tab bar was stuck but that wasn't the case -- still, worth $15.

I finally got to work on it today. Some mineral spirits on the escapement fixed the carriage. One part of the mechanism (don't ask me which; my eyes gaze over when I hear the technical terms for these parts) was gummed up and not engaging the escapement. Spirits applied to the segment freed up some sticking keys. The typeslugs needed a lot of cleaning, as did the body shell -- which is still pretty grubby looking even after repeated applications of ammonia. The keys were pretty cruddy but responded to the ammonia. The ribbon was dead, but I wound on a Staples ribbon and the printing looks great. (The Remington "spoolless" ribbon mechanism can be a pain if you have to respool, but I think the ribbon reversing mechanism is about as seamless as it gets.)

The left platen knob is missing, unfortunately, but I can live without it. (I asked the sellers to see if maybe it is lying around the house still.) In sum, this is a fine typewriter -- nice action and really well made. The guys at Ilion did not skimp. It has 88 keys! Three ribbon positions + stencil. Small wonder it was Superman's (Clark Kent's) typewriter (look it up at oz.typewriter).

Very easy to work on -- loosen a screw on the top of each of the side panels and they come right off. That reveals two screws that hold the back cover on. That was enough access for me, but I understand the innards fold back for further access once several additional screws on either side are removed.

I think the Remington standard machines don't get a lot of love; maybe it's because they're not overly stylish -- the same can be said of their portables of that era too. But the proof of the pudding, as it were, is in the typing.

Sorry for the epistle, but hopefully this will be of interest to some folks.

 

06-5-2018 14:33:48  #1604


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Addition to the previous post -- I found a platen knob that fits -- came from a later model Super-Riter so the color and shape aren't the same, but you wouldn't notice unless you were looking hard. I also used Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner on the body panels (easily removed, as mentioned above) and that made a huge difference. I tried masking the Remington-Rand decal on the back panel and it came through pretty unscathed.

 

 

06-5-2018 14:50:19  #1605


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Craigslist results from this weekend: a 1946 Smith-Corona Super-Speed and a 1929 Underwood 3, both from the same person. I went initially for the SM, but it was in bad shape -- carriage really didn't move at all; platen ratchet spun freely. The Underwood, on the other hand, was in pretty decent shape -- not much rust; keys and carriage moved fine. She offered $25 for both and I took it.

The 3 has replacement feet and it's very slightly wobbly, and a replacement righthand platen knob. Feeder rollers and the "finger" rollers for the paper have flat spots, but paper feeds fine even so. Maybe I'll deal with those at some point, if only to try rounding off the flat spots some.  Some more cleaning is called for, but it's basically working fine. (Need to see how one does a motion adjustment since the capitals are printing a little low.)

The Super-Speed is responding to treatment -- cleaning the carriage track as best I can and applying sewing machine oil to the track and the bearings. The platen ratchet issue was simply a matter of the variable spacing plunger being engaged and needing a little elbow grease to free up. Further cleaning is called for as well. Haven't loaded ribbon in it just yet; I still need to clean the slugs. But it'll get there eventually. I already have one of these machines and its type alignment isn't the best (common with these "no segment comb" machines), so this may be the same way.

Too many standards! Not enough space.

 

06-5-2018 18:16:49  #1606


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Fleetwing wrote:

Too many standards! Not enough space.

​I hear you! They certainly don't stack as nicely as portables in travel cases, but nothing beats the feel of a standard for long writing sessions.


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
     Thread Starter
 

13-5-2018 17:55:24  #1607


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Just picked these up today from someone on Facebook marketplace. Posted the pair for $200, so I decided to lowball them for $75 to see what would happen. They accepted the price and I picked them up today. Very dirty and need some TLC. Remington has some flaking paint on the side and a few spots of rust on both plus a disconnected drawband on the Royal. Cases are trashed but I'm pretty happy with them![img][/img][img][/img]

 

14-5-2018 11:22:16  #1608


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Awesome Jeff! Congrats! They don't look too bad. Now you have some work to do! Enjoy!

 

06-6-2018 15:34:26  #1609


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Fleetwing wrote:

Addition to the previous post -- I found a platen knob that fits -- came from a later model Super-Riter so the color and shape aren't the same, but you wouldn't notice unless you were looking hard. I also used Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner on the body panels (easily removed, as mentioned above) and that made a huge difference. I tried masking the Remington-Rand decal on the back panel and it came through pretty unscathed.

 

Further update -- the people I bought the machine from found the original left platen knob, so that's great. Downside is that the variable line spacing plunger appears to be missing, based on the picture they sent. But maybe I can swap in the plunger from the replacement knob; we'll see.

 

06-6-2018 15:53:33  #1610


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Latest acquisitions, both from Craigslist locally -- a West Bromwich-made SCM Skyriter (about 1961 I think) and an L.C. Smith No. 8, from 1933 as best as I can tell. Same seller, but purchased at different times. Ten dollars for each.

The Skyriter's ribbon cover was somewhat cockeyed, but by forming the hinges and the latch I got it sorted out. The latch is a little tight, but it will be fine. The zipper on the case is shot, unfortunately, and there isn't any place around here that makes these sorts of repairs that I have found.

But the machine itself is a real pleasure to use, I must say -- type alignment is exemplary, and very nice touch. The ribbon was pretty dry, so I found cash register ribbon (purple color) at Staples that is of a shorter than standard typewriter spool length to fit the smaller spools. Looks pretty decent, I think. This is a nice machine.

The L.C. Smith looked nice in the pictures but was more of a project -- pretty seized up, and it took a while to get the escapement working and the carriage to move freely. A combination of rust and gunk. Likewise the typebars required several applications of mineral spirits and lighter fluid to get working, which they now do, very snappily thanks to those ball bearings. The bell trip mechanism is rather complicated, and fiddly to get adjusted so that the bell rings at all -- it's still pretty quiet, but that seems to be the case with a lot of the Smith and Smith Coronas I've dealt with. 

This is a rebuilt machine -- crinkle finish black paint, and the L.C. Smith decal only appears on the paper tray. Most important, though, the rollers and platen are in nice condition, most likely replaced when the machine was rebuilt. A right hand line spacing lever, the first I've experienced. Not bad at all to use, though.

All that remains is to try and get the type aligned better -- the ball bearing typebar Smiths don't have a regular segment, so each typebar is held in place by a screw that has to be loosened in order to move the typebar up or down. (And each such screw appears to clamp down two typebars.) I can't see how to get in at these screws, even the ones on the extreme sides, and even if I did, I can see getting the typebars shifted to align properly may be the very definition of "tedious." But I'd love to hear from anybody who has experience with this adjustment.

 

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