Typewriter Talk / Facit 1601

**Posted by thetypewriter** 03-6-2023 12:53:07

Hi everybody,

I happened to buy a new typewriter today: a Facit 1601. It's made in Japan (serial number 92346671) and it's in great condition! But I have a few questions:

1. When was it made?
2. When typing, the upper part of some letters (b, h, d for example) is cut off. What can I do to fix it?

Here are some pictures:

https://imgbox.com/EbVnofe6
https://imgbox.com/OOw3rlYL
https://imgbox.com/SVbXC0zW
https://imgbox.com/HhRxaMbk

Best regards from Sweden,
Tobias

**Posted by Pete E.** 03-6-2023 13:40:43

Hi Tobias,

Type the following "test" along the paper at the left, center, and right side of the platen.

Post up a photo of the results.

HhHhHhHhHhHhHhHh HhHhHhHhHhHhHh HhHhHhHhHh

If the letters are not even along the bottoms and some tops are faint, you may need to look for the adjustment screws to align the Upper and Lower case with each other.

Is this Japan-made "Facit" a segment-shfting or a carriage-shifting typewriter ?
.

**Posted by thetypewriter** 03-6-2023 14:24:00

Pete E. wrote:
Hi Tobias,

Type the following "test" along the paper at the left, center, and right side of the platen.

Post up a photo of the results.

HhHhHhHhHhHhHhHh HhHhHhHhHhHhHh HhHhHhHhHh

If the letters are not even along the bottoms and some tops are faint, you may need to look for the adjustment screws to align the Upper and Lower case with each other.

Is this Japan-made "Facit" a segment-shfting or a carriage-shifting typewriter ?

Here's a picture:

https://imgbox.com/mGwnn3sn

The whole thing lifts up when I hit the shift key. Like it does on my Adler Tippa!

.

**Posted by Pete E.** 03-6-2023 14:42:56

Tobias,

Your machine is a carriage-shifter, then.

Look along the side of the machine on the right and the left when you move the carriage from one side to the other. You should see some pivot arms which raises and lowers the carriage when you use the "Shift" key-tops. Associated with those pivot arms, would be some sort of stop at the rise of travel and the lowest point of travel. Look for a pair of adjustment nuts/screw at both sides of the machine just below the carriage travel.

Typically I will try to set the lower-case adjustment, first, until the entire shape of the lower-case characters print out. Then I would set the upper-case adjustment so the Hh line up with each other at the bottom of the characters.

If you cannot find those 2 pairs of adjustment points, take some photos of those areas and maybe we can see/find them in your photos.

BTW...I think these Japan-made "Facit" badged machines were made by Nakajima for Silver-Seko / Silver-Reed in the later 1960's and early 1970's.

Here is an example on Etsy with some photos. It is very similar to your machine...including the single metal card holder on the right-side of the type guide / ribbon vibrator area.

Design of the case of both machines is very similar as well.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/922631874/vintage-silver-reed-idol-2-in-orange?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=silver+seiko+typewriter&ref=sr_gallery-1-6&organic_search_click=1

**Posted by thetypewriter** 03-6-2023 15:09:56

Thanks Pete!

It's funny because the first thing that popped in my head when I saw it was: "that's a Silver Reed!"

I'll take a closer look at it tomorrow. If I'm not successful, I'll post some more pictures! 😃

**Posted by thetypewriter** 04-6-2023 04:39:44

And we're back!

Took a look at the back of the machine after watching some YouTube videos. I think these are the screws I'm looking for but I'm not sure:

https://imgbox.com/T6XGli9U
https://imgbox.com/7xZsRNHw
https://imgbox.com/EcAcuL5Y

What way do I turn it and what tool size would fit?

**Posted by Pete E.** 04-6-2023 08:06:10

Hi Tobias,

I wish I had a machine similar to yours...so I am guessing where your 4 total adjustment screw are located.

The photos you posted seem to show mechanics at the center/back of the machine. The type-alignment screws are typically a pair of screws on the left-side and the right-side towards the back when you push the carriage a bit out of the way.

I have posted some photos, below, showing the 4 adjustment points on my :

* Japan-made Olpympia 3 ultra-portable.

* Triumph Tippa ultra-portable.

You have to study the mechanisms of your Nakajima-made machine to figure out which 2 screws adjust the upper-case character placement on paper and which 2 screws adjust the lower-case characters. And a bit of trial & error to adjust inward and outwards on the screws to get the adjustments you need.

Get the lower-case on both sides adjusted and then adjust the upper-case to align with the lower-case characters on paper...i.e. HhHhHh HhHhHh HhHhHh

And keep track of how many turns and in which direction you make on the screw on one side so you can do the same on the other side.
.

**Posted by Pete E.** 04-6-2023 08:41:48

Tobias,

Here is a very good article about how to make these adjustments on some other-brand carriage-shift machines :

https://munk.org/typecast/2013/08/01/typewriter-repair-101-adjusting-vertical-typeface-alignment-carriage-shift-typewriters/#comment-167930

**Posted by thetypewriter** 11-6-2023 12:58:23

Thanks for that, Pete! This is how the machine looks on the sides:

https://imgbox.com/0j86MbQQ
https://imgbox.com/GXJdtBWa

Are these the ones I should be focusing on?

**Posted by Pete E.** 11-6-2023 17:04:40

Tobias,

Looks like those, indeed, would be the adjustment points.