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| 1958 Olympia SM3 1138039 |
The ribbon's a bit darkish. I type very close to the bottom of these pages so that slight slipping on the platen wouldn't interfere with typical correspondence. The paper was also not centered in the platen.
Sent from my new Olympia SM3.
Congratulations on the wonderful find. I have been watching a green one since my SM4 turned out to be such a good typer. My SM4 does not have a stiff carriage at any point, but the escapement does not fully disengage 100% all the time and I get the zip on return. When there is no zip the return is silky smooth.
ReplyDeleteCould it be that the rubber grommets under the basket? I had a similar problem when I first got my SM2.
ReplyDeletehttp://teeritz.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/sm3-that-needs-repairingso-i-took.html
Read the comments from some of the esteemed members of the Typosphere. Their suggestions did the trick.
Best of luck. As you'd already know, a nicely running SM2 is a helluva thing!
Sorry, I meant SM3!
DeleteMy carriage doesn't hit anything, and I've fixed that problem myself on another Olympia by adding cardboard spacers where the rubber has disintegrated to elevate the back of the typewriter. I'm guessing this we're talking about the same thing?
DeleteYes, this is what I thought your SM3 was experiencing. Damn, I hate a mystery.
DeleteOkay. Teeritz (and you) are probably going to be right on the subject.
ReplyDeleteThey are usually referred to as Grommets, but they are basically just rubber washers that sit between the shell and the frame. On the SM1 and earlier, these also sat behind the feet.
Basically they were a soft rubber that was put in place to reduce noise vibration through the frame. As such they rubber is softer than most rubberised washers on the machine. This soft rubber perishes quickly, particularly in heat. But I'd say that 99% of Olympias - heat or not, are likely to be perished by now.
Now, when they go they can cause the carriage to drag on the shell. But it doesn't always catch the carriage this way. The grommets can perish at different rates around the machine, and leave the shell lop-sided. If the shell is out by, say a millimetre or two more on one corner than the other, it will interfere with other components that can catch and drag the carriage. Interestingly, it is the front grommets that matter the most here.
As such, whenever I get an olympia SM, I always turn it over and replace the grommets straight away. I have never come across one (in now 7 machines) that hasn't needed it.
I'll look at them first thing tomorrow morning. I never would have guessed that those pesky washers could be the cause of this as well...seems rather likely, though. Thanks for the detailed comment.
DeleteI'd go along with putting on fresh rubber grommets. At least you can then eliminate that problem in your diagnosis. After that, it wouldn't take very much to make a carriage grumble on the Olympia's bearings - even a speck of hard oil or eraser rubber in there would give you a noticeable bump. It is a fine looking SM3 though!
DeleteUrg... Dodgy english. Sorry, I just got home from a big night at work. But I think you can get what I am trying to say.
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, I use 5mm rubber rings that I manufacture myself. I don't think cardboard is likely to cut it long term.
Congrats on your new find! I have an SM# and an SM9 and they are (so far) among my favorite machines, ranking highly with me for their style, heft, smoothness and ease of use. I love the feeling of quality to the controls - as if every little detail was engineered and considered carefully during their production and design. My SM3 is gray, and I love them in that color, but that brown is awesome, too!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy, my friend!
I've never seen an SM3 in a colour I didn't like!
DeleteThanks. :)
You will not regret replacing the rubber. I got rubber washers at Home Depot (can't rmemeber the siz, sadly, though.), and it makes such a difference. The carriage on mine was acting the same way--okay, but grindy. Check it :http://clickthing.blogspot.com/2011/03/amazing-floating-olympia.html
ReplyDeleteCongrats on an awesome find. I agree that the color is rather lovely, and not just bcause it's the same color as mine!
Fantastic photography work as well. You're getting very skilled at it (:
ReplyDeleteBeaten to the grommet-comments. Yes, change them out at once! @Art even posted the link. It's true repair magic.
ReplyDeleteAnd hooray, SM3! My favorite portable.
What camera do you use?
ReplyDeleteI use a Fuji X10. It has been replaced by the X20, so I definitely paid less than it was really worth. :)
DeleteI have one just like this, but with Pica. Change the grommets. They are available at Ace Hardware for about a dime each.
ReplyDelete