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12-3-2026 13:34:16  #21


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Mike,

My machine was moving when I just placed it on my desk-top.  It would rotate as I typed and really moved when I did a carriage-return to the point I had to anchor it with my right hand.

But once I put it on my bar -service mat, it is rock solid and does not need the right hand anchor when doing a CR.
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12-3-2026 15:17:56  #22


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Pete E. wrote:

New print sample after this morning's work on the Skyriter...
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Looks good I think - Even though the picture isn't very big.
 

 

12-3-2026 16:50:44  #23


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Sorry, Eagle...I thought the photo was going to enlarge when viewed.

Trying again.

You can see that the "Z" type-slug is shifted left as was the "A" previously shown.  I will leave both of those alone and not try to bend their metal.
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     Thread Starter
 

12-3-2026 17:05:15  #24


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Yes, better leave it as it is. The print quality is actually still quite good, considering the age of the typewriter.

 

14-3-2026 14:26:44  #25


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Last bits of work done on the Skywriter this morning :

1.  Right-hand ribbon spindle was not reversing, so I went back in with some lacquer thinner in my little applicator bottles I like to use.  Few squirts here and there and some compressed air blows and that sorted out the gunked-up mechanisms for the right-hand spool.  These little applicator bottles are so easy to get into small/tight places with the cleaning solvent.  (See photo, below, of the applicator bottles I get from eBay.)

2.  I also needed to make a new Dymo label of "1951"...as I previously and mistakenly made one of "1953".  My machine's SN places it in 1951 production.

I really enjoy typing on the Skywriter.  For its light weight of 7.5 lbs. (w/out the cover/lid on), it does not type like a toy-typewriter.  It is well-built, stout, and very capable.  The spacing of the key-tops fits my hands/fingers perfectly, and I can type at about 3/4 of my normal typing speed. The very short CR lever takes a couple of hours getting used to but now I can do a CR (with the machine on my bar-service mat) with my left hand only and the carriage "zips" back to its starting position very quickly.  Touch-control even works and I can feel the different settings along the lever.

Only "con" I can report is that the machine is built for 1-colour ribbon use only.  No Tabulator either, but easily solved with 5 hits on the space-bar to indent for  a new paragraph.

Glad I picked up the machine and got it back on-the-road.  It has a home in my collection.
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     Thread Starter
 

14-3-2026 14:33:52  #26


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Tucked away for now.
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     Thread Starter
 

25-3-2026 14:19:54  #27


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Congratulations! I think a well-sorted Skywriter is really enjoyable to have for their ease/weight. I miss bichrome, but the Skywriter fits in my backpack enabling me to write in the middle of a forest. 

 

25-3-2026 19:27:25  #28


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Hi Rob,

I was really surprised how good a build this Skyriter is.  At 7.5 lbs. without its lid, it feels more like my heavier ultra-portables like the Olympis SF., Splendid 99 ,and even the Travellers...which weigh in the 9-10 lbs. ranges.

My Hermes Baby at 7.4 lbs. is just a piece of toy-quality I can only stand to use for one short note or letter.

And the action of the key-tops of the Skyriter is light and quick.  The Olympias I have make me work a bit more with my finger-touch/action.
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     Thread Starter
 

Yesterday 10:01:46  #29


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

Side-by-side :   My 1949 Sterling and my 1951 Skyriter.

Two really good typewriters upon which to type and both taken care of  well by their previous owners.
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     Thread Starter
 

Yesterday 16:35:04  #30


Re: Skyriter....This Week...

A nice pairing. 
Something endearing about the variations of color you find in the space bars on Sterlings and Clippers of that period. Rugged machines that will probably type for another 77 years.


- Be kind 
 

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