Typewriter Talk / WTB: Olympia SG-1 right margin stop

**Posted by robmck** 05-2-2023 15:58:59

The right margin stop on my Olympia SG-1 is crumbling away. I could use another if anyone has one handy or knows where one might be.

Thanks!

**Posted by thetypewriterman** 06-2-2023 05:54:36

Is your SG1 Pica or Elite ? I might be able to help.

**Posted by robmck** 06-2-2023 13:23:42

Thanks! It's an Elite.

**Posted by thetypewriterman** 07-2-2023 06:52:50

The machine I have for spares is Pica. But thinking about it, all you need is the casting not the slider that grips the margin rack, so the casting should be the same. Postage from England to the USA won't be cheap though !

**Posted by robmck** 07-2-2023 12:34:29

Thanks for looking into it. I remember those US-UK postage charges from when I went to school in Reading. Postage for shipping my books there and back was astronomical.

I'll check around locally and let you know if I come up with nothing. I also want to finish giving this machine a thorough going-over to see if there are other parts I need to find. Right now, I'm working on the tabulator and the brake barely moves. Taking it apart, the cast parts are similarly expanded and cracked like the right margin stop. I'm going to swap in my SG3 brake to see how that fares. If that sorts it, I'll need to look for a brake, too.

**Posted by thetypewriterman** 07-2-2023 13:43:22

Ahh yes, the disintegrating tab. brake shoes ! I have seen this on SM portables too - they have the same tab. brake. As a temporary measure, you could try filing the worst of the expansion off and re-fitting. You can also sometimes get away with having just three brake shoes instead of four.

**Posted by robmck** 07-2-2023 14:09:36

Ahh yes! That's a simple solution for the brake. I'll look at that.

**Posted by Uwe** 07-2-2023 17:06:49

thetypewriterman wrote:
... all you need is the casting not the slider that grips the margin rack...

Tom, is this degradation common? Of all the SGs that I own, I don't recall having seen one that displayed this issue. I'm interested to know if I've been lucky so far, and it's also something to check in case I buy another (highly unlikely).

**Posted by thetypewriterman** 07-2-2023 18:02:21

Although the 'Mazac' tab. brake shoe problem is common, I cannot say that I have seen this before on an SG1 margin. Interestingly, there is a similar 'exploding Mazac' problem on the ribbon reverse arm of the Olympia Model 8 post-war. The factory probably had no idea at the time that this 'easy to die cast' metal would do this in years to come.

**Posted by robmck** 16-2-2023 23:35:43

Great tip Tom about filing down the tab brake wedges. I shaved half an mm from them, they turn more easily (but not too easily thanks to the cork that's still doing its job). So, the tabulator is now working fabulously.