You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



25-1-2015 20:53:48  #1


Missing tabulator?

So I went to a local thrift shop yesterday because I hear that many people find machines there. But there wasn't a single manual. Only clothes and junk. But I did spot a mid 70's Smith-Corona Enterprise electric typewriter. It looks like this:



So mine is missing the back case plate and the space bar. Other than that, it works. But there's one thing wrong. I have no idea where the tab sets are. There are tabs that were set when I got it, but I don't know how to set/remove them. Can anyone please help? This is my first electric and I like how it hums quietly as if it is alive somehow (even though I prefer my SM-9).


A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
 

25-1-2015 21:24:38  #2


Re: Missing tabulator?

ztyper, I can't see the keyboard very clearly in your pic and it looks like just a power switch on one side and probably ribbon color selector on the other, right? But there's this: some of these had fixed tabs, factory set, usually every ten spaces. See if yours stops every ten or 12 or so spaces. If so, that's what you have. Some typewriters with fixed tabs also have special marks on the paper bail, like red tick marks, showing where the tabs are set.  HTH

 

25-1-2015 23:25:41  #3


Re: Missing tabulator?

Just to clarify Michael's explanation a little, factory fixed tabs are - as the name implies - permanently fixed in position and can't be adjusted by the user.


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

26-1-2015 22:07:40  #4


Re: Missing tabulator?

Oh, and how do I fix sticking keys? I have no idea how an electic works (some explaination of it's mechanics would be wonderful...) and only two keys stick: the Z and 4. How do I fix this?

And it is a pre-set tab machine. Every 10 spaces.


A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
     Thread Starter
 

27-1-2015 12:12:43  #5


Re: Missing tabulator?

Do the keys stick up by the paper or down at their resting place? If the former, it's an easy fix (usually) involving just cleaning. Work a solvent into the slots of the segment for those keys and work them back and forth for a while. I successfully use alcohol or naptha (aka cigarette-lighter fluid). If that doesn't do it, check for gunk at all the other places in the linkages and check for bent links that might be getting hung up on other near-by parts. Once you get it all cleaned and working well, you do not have to oil any of these parts. Light oil on the carriage rails is OK but not so much that it holds dust.

But if they stick while down, that's a bigger deal and I'm not going to worry about it until you confirm that's what the problem is.

How do they work? Smith-Corona electrics have a motor in the back that, through a rubber belt, spins a three-bladed, <1 inch diameter rotor near the middle of the machine. When you press a key, that action releases the corresponding link which drops down to be hit by the spinning rotor and then be kicked up to the platen. All the typebars are kicked with the same force, independent of how hard you hit the key, so the type impressions are all uniform. Do NOT let that rotor catch your finger while you're investigating!

You also have a powered carriage return and that is handled by the same motor through a whole different mechanism: a clutch, triggered by the CR key, engages a pulley that pulls a cord attached to the left end of the carriage in order to, well, return the carriage to the left margin. Early S-C electrics had a manual CR until the engineers perfected the powered one. Both manual and powered carriages are advanced by the same spring-and-cord arrangement as most other typewriters.

Similarly, you probably have a manual Backspace because of the difficulty of designing a powered one and the fact that the Backspace is much less used and so less of a selling point. Some machines also have that, though.

HTH

 

27-1-2015 12:33:20  #6


Re: Missing tabulator?

The keys stick down in their resting position and can move freely if I pull the up with my fingers, so I guess this is an easy fix. And I did see that there is a motor spinning a wheel that turns a rotor, but I couldn't quite see the links. (and I already almost cut my finger off the day I got it... oops...). And mine has a powered backspace. I have no idea how that quite works, but the only features that aren't powered by thie rotor is tab and margin release. But thanks for the explaination!


A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
     Thread Starter
 

27-1-2015 17:27:57  #7


Re: Missing tabulator?

OK. Now I have to ask: are the Z and the 4 really sticking or just failing to move at all when you press a key? Do you hear any noise at all when you press the Z or 4, as if the linkage is moving a bit and maybe hitting the rotor but then not getting kicked up?

S-Cs have a point in their links that consists of a hole in one end of one link and the mating link has a knob that fits through that hole and a flat spring that rotates on the other side of the hole to prevent the knob from slipping out. Fairly often, I think through abuse, that joint gets disconnected anyway; maybe it's designed to disconnect rather than bend the rods. Anyway, it's a little fiddly but you should be able to move the spring out of the way and slip the knob in place and then turn the spring back to cover the hole. You'll see how it works when you're looking at it. I have always been able to maneuver the parts without having to take anything apart. A long tweezer and a dental pick or other thin stick help.

Then, too, it might be some other problem...Onward.
HTH

Last edited by M. Höhne (27-1-2015 18:14:11)

 

27-1-2015 18:25:44  #8


Re: Missing tabulator?

The Z and 4 keys just fail to move at all. There isn't even any noise when they're pressed down. I might not even fix it, this machine is more of a novelty of mine because I've never used an electric. But I don't think I ever will. This type of typewriter just isn't my style. I think I'll stick with my SM-9 for now. But thanks for your help!


A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
     Thread Starter
 

27-1-2015 19:58:03  #9


Re: Missing tabulator?

First of all, I agree with your choice between these two.

As for the repair, tell whoever buys it that she or he should set aside some time to carefully watch the mechanisms in motion to determine where the problem lies and get an idea of how to fix it. That's the point we're at now anyway; we can't do it remotely without a lot more info.

Have Fun!

 

27-1-2015 20:55:20  #10


Re: Missing tabulator?

Oh, I'm not selling this one. I've only sold one, but that was because I didn't want it. I think I'll keep this, but just because I think it's cool. I might sell it one day, along with the crystal I attached to the empty space where the space bar was (I didn't have anything else, so I used what I saw first. I think it looks glamorous). So now it needs a different spot, because it's too wide. Perhaps I'll try my like with a Royal portable.


A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
     Thread Starter
 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum