The margin release does not work well. It looks like someone fixed it with a paper clip, or similar wire. Is it possible to find the correct part to replace this wire? If so, any suggestions where I would find it?
I need some kind soul to tell me where this goes? I know the part circled in red engages with the platen ratchet, but I don't know how. Also, the spring attaches to something in the back. There is a little rod that is preventing the dog from moving up. I am really struggling to figure out how all of these pieces find their place. Unfortunately, it fell off before I had a chance to take a picture, so I am really flying blind here. Happy to provide more pictures.
I deleted the other post because I don’t put the images of the machine . (I am new here at the typewriters world) I recently buy a ibm selectric 1 and someone gift me a ibm selectric 2 but ibm selectric 1 make a loud noise and is stuck I don’t know how to fix it
The vertical graduated aluminum rule is snapped off and missing. The rest of the mechanism, spring, link, release lever is all there. I understand this is a very hard part to get. Any ideas on what is the best way to fix or is the part available in somebodies collection?
Hi typewriter friends,
I’m cleaning up a lovely blue Smith Corona Clipper. Any idea where this bit goes? Thanks in advance 😊
I had an issue with the upper and lower case letters not being on the same space and couldn’t find any info on how to fix it, I eventually figured it out, so wanted to post how it did it so that future generations don’t have to suffer. It was quite simple actually.
I’ve fixed alignment issues where the carriage shifts, but not where the type basket does. I found a nut and screw on the bottom left that needed to be adjusted. I couldn’t get a wrench flush on, so I used a 7/32 and 13/64 one to kinda swat at it until it turned a little bit, then I was able to turn it with my fingers. Then it was a matter of trial and error, rotating the screw left and right until the alignment was good (or good enough), then I tightened everything back it and viola.
Hope this helps.
https://postimg.cc/gallery/5MD0VfB
Bonjour.
Je cherche désespérément la pièce numéro 29 de ma machine à écrire Underwood numéro 5 qui s’est brisée. ( la pièce numéro C sur le schéma )
Impossible de trouver ça sur eBay. Je réside en France et je n’ai pas envie de détruire une autre machine juste pour cette pièce.
Si quelqu’un a cette pièce , on peut s’arranger via une annonce sur eBay ? Ou Etsy ?
Cordialement
Loïc
I found this olivetti lettera 42 in my grandmas garage, the carriage isn't moving when keys are pressed and there's a string coming out, how do i fix it, i am entirely new to typewriters
My typewriter fell on the ground and these two things fell out of it and it broke😭😭 Please, somebody help me, I’m begging you. My heart is breaking. 😭😭
Hey guys, so today I brought home this beautiful machine that needs a LOT of love. It has seen better days. But I committed to bring it back to life.
My first challenge is that as the user disclosed from the Craigslist ad, the carriage won’t move. I tried everything I could but it won’t budge. Anybody has been through this before? Any ideas on how to at least get this moving?
Besides that I already see the machine has issues with the draw band. But that’s a problem for future me, I’ll start with the carriage probably.
Hello! My studio 44 has an issue with the backspace, the pawl seems get caught at times under the star wheel for some reason so it gets stuck and I have to use the carriage release to free it. Has anyone experienced this and how to fix?
Cannot stop this smudge underneath type.
Troubleshooting: (skip to the bottom for the final conclusion/question)
I've made every adjustment I can figure out how to adjust with the carriage, type alignment, ribbon/vibrator position.
Tried gently bending the vibrator to hold the ribbon further away, no difference.
Even tried threading the ribbon through the vibrator backwards. It actually works until you try to type caps or change color.
I bought the $60 metal spools thinking that would definitely solve it, with many people thinking that the weight different of plastic ones wasn't providing enough resistance to hold the ribbon taught. No difference.
The fact is at this point: I'm confident that the ribbon is not being held tight enough, and therefore it's leaving enough slack that it's almost always touching the paper/platen, regardless of how far back the platen position is.
The platen is definitely hard, but smooth. If anything, a shrunken platen should leave TOO MUCH space, not too little.
A while back someone posted here about the same problem with their SM3, and they cut pieces of soft foam and placed them above the spools. I tried this with a dozen different thicknesses and materials. It helps some, definitely LESS smudge, but the slacks reappears as soon as you start typing caps or color changing. And the foam doesn't rebound and slowly compresses more and more as it sits pinched between the spools and the cover.
If you hold your finger on the take up spool and type, it solves the problem. Tension stays on it because you're holding it, no smudge.
I am convinced at this point that then problem MUST be caused by the springs underneath the carriage holders that hold the ribbon in place on either side.
How on earth can I source new springs? I can't even find any info on disassembling the spool holders, and I don't want to break anything more without guidance. Don't know if they are identical or mirrored for each side. I can't even figure out what they are called, can't find any info online or reddit or FB.
*Is there any hack anyone knows to temporarily add more tension to these springs/the level that hold the spools?
Pics show the spring and holder on the right side only. Also a page of type from a while back that very obviously shows the smudging. And a closeup that shows the ribbon resting on the paper/platen.
Please. Please help me here. I just want this thing to work properly.
About 30 % of the type bars get stuck in the guide. This is not an issue of dirt or cleanliness, as the bar swings smoothly UNTIL it reaches the guide.
I included videos, and it appears like (somehow) the type bar became slightly too wide for the guide. It sticks on the way in and then gets stuck again on the way out. It doesn’t feel like simple misalignment because of how firm it is. There is a picture that shows the base of one of the type bars. I could be wrong, but it looks like it’s rounded off at the bottom. I don’t see what it could have collided with to cause this flattening.
I know that filing down metal is practically a deadly sin, so I want to ask the community first. What causes this pressure point? Could I take a small file and attempt to thin the base of the type bar that enters the guide?
I just bought my friend their birthday present, a 1960s typewriter… but I didn’t really think this through since I am totally new to the typewriter world and have no idea how to fix/repair without guidance. 😅 Do you think this would be an easy fix I can figure out, or should I go seek someone that could fix this?
A year ago I acquired my grandmothers typewriter after she passed away at 103. I remember myself typing on this when I was just a kid, and my grandmother up to 102 typing letters out to my uncle in Arizona. I have recently picked up a project that a typewriter would be the key instrument in helping me complete it, as well as high sentimental value, but I have noticed that it has some issues.
Within my first hour of using the typewriter, the striking keys don't seem to line up correctly. Lower case letters, and numbers will not type correctly when it hits the ink ribbon and then the page. It seems like only half of it gets ink, and it somehow hits the paper between the capital and lower case letters. It types in capital letters only. Also the L key does not even raise up to hit the ink ribbon when pressed.
I would also like to add that the typewriter has been sitting out on a high table that just acted like a shelf for years at my grandmothers as more decoration then a actual machine. I am sure at one point it had a metal cover, but it was eventually put in a plastic pillow case storage bag, and then eventually nothing at all covering it.
I did a brief youtube video search of how to service a typewriter yourself. It seems like the two most common things causing this type of malfunction is a old ink ribbon and to replace it with a new one (which there was one included with the typewriter when I got it from my grandmothers, still in its out of the factory plastic bag).
The second would be to just clean all the old ink off the type set keys with something like simple green and spray it out with end dust air duster to clear up any debris and dust that's been in there for years.
Unfortunately typewriter repair places especially local ones don't exist anymore, and those searches that do pop up are old houses that retirees ran businesses out of that are no longer active because they passed away, or closed businesses.
Thanks for your help.
I just found a Remington Standard 12 at a thrift shop and want to repair it to the point of being functional. So far, I have sewing machine lubricant and a new ink ribbon on the way.
My main issue right now is that the carriage does not advance. Whenever I press a key, the carriage doesn't budge. It still has old ink ribbons spooled on both sides (which I'm assuming have been there since the 1930s), and the ribbon mechanism isn't moving either. The space bar also seems dis functional
I'm completely new to this and not sure how any of these mechanisms work. Any advice on how to get the carriage moving or where to start troubleshooting would be greatly appreciated!