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Ok,now I have no idea what that piece of leather is for. I looked closer, and the keybars come to rest on this green rubber thing,
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Well, I can help you out ! The leather strip (replaced with a rubbery plastic on later models - I just checked the one I have here) is the upper stop for the keylevers. The keylevers are the parts that the keytops on the keyboard are attached to. When you take your finger off the keytop after pressing it down to type a character, the keylever returns to its original position. To stop it clattering, it contacts the leather strip as it reaches the top of its stroke. The strip should be glued to a metal bar above and behind the keyboard. If you turn the machine on its back and peer underneath with a torch (flashlight if you are American) you should be able to work out where the leather strip came from.
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Ahhh...I see where it goes, but I'm not sure I could get up in there to fasten it to the metal bar, and I don't know what would be a good method. It looks like I would have to "thread" it in from the side, and make sure it is lined up. It's pretty stiff, and I don't think it would cooperate very much with that.
I really don't notice any loud clacking, so I may just leave it off, and put it away just in case I find an easy way to do it.
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You probably want to replace that strip with new leather or felt and secure it properly in place. It is there to serve as a "bumper" so the key link has something soft on which to lands.
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I glued a piece of rubber tubing to it.
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BTW, it has become my favorite typewriter. It has personality that is hard to explain. It speaks to me as I walk by, and entices me to sit and type something on it.
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And you have to love that "gear shift lever" on the right side of the carriage...
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Oh, yeah! That lever is really nice. I'm loaded and ready to type in mere moments.
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I haven't had it out in a while, and now I can't seem to set the margins. I must be doing it wrong. I push the margin buttons in, but it doesn't set on either side. Ideas?
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The margins do not work. I must have banged it around and something came loose?