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Nice Steve! I also have a cursive Hermes, but it's a 3000. I have a thread somewhere on here where I show my makshift Hermes knob replacement. It might even be on this thread, I'm too lazy to go look, so I'll post it again here.
The new knob is the lid to a contact case, painted with a custom mix of Sally Hanson XTreme wear nail polish, lol. After painting, I filled the lid with a product called Instamorph (moldable plastic) and press fit it onto the knurled platen thing. It functions perfectly, and seems to be holding up very well (I was worried that the plastic would lose it's grip, but it seems durable). The knob looks halfway decent too, IMO. At first glance it's kind of hard to tell it's a fake.
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You did an excellent job, Spazmelda. Especially impressive is the tricky colour match. Where did you source the typewriter pad?
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Oh, that is a foam carpet pad with rubber on the back that I cut up. I have extras. If you want one I can figure out how much each cost. Probably around $5 each.
From here:
Last edited by Spazmelda (20-8-2015 10:12:22)
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I have discovered what the noise at the left hand end of the carriage is - teeth failing to engage with the escapement mechanism. It appears to have had a strong downward force on the carriage at some stage, possibly pushing the escapement towards the bottom of the typewriter, or bending the carriage rails.
The light just catches the edge of a crescent shaped gouge towards the middle of the photo above. It was presumably caused by the teeth on the escapement mechanism.
The teeth to the right of this picture have had their tops rounded off from repeated sliding over the escapement.
rounded off teeth
Escapement mechanism.
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I suppose half the battle is determining what the problem is. Now, can you fix it? Or do you need to?
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Wish I could get that view on my escapement in my Smith Corona Silent. I have one that is acting up, but sporadically.
Last edited by colrehogan (20-8-2015 13:25:46)
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It does need fixing - the carriage can only be moved by hand over the damaged section, it won't move with attempted typing, space bar or back space. It would be completely frustrating to be able to type only narrow pages! I shall find out whether I can fix it over the next few days....
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New, as of today, cursive Olympia SF De Luxe
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Very nice machine, and lovely to get some original paperwork with it. I guess that's how they sold it, upside down in the case? 😉 Did you pay the sticker price? I guess cursive is still only obtainable at a premium....
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I did not pay the sticker price, but it wasn't a bargain basement deal. The case is messed up. The zipper is broken. The machine is in very good shape though.