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  1. Last 7 days
  2. Jul 2024
    1. Part 3: COMPLETE Olympia SM3 Service/Set Up Guide- Carriage Adjustments/ Ring and Cylinder by [[The HotRod Typewriter Co.]]

      Not mentioned in the video is that, at least on his model, most of the common adjustment points have screws or nuts which have a brassy look rather than silvery almost as a means of highlighting them as subtle adjustment points for improving the performance of the machine.

      Sometimes the carriage lock mechanism on the Olympia SM3 may not clear the carriage rail completely and this can result in it rubbing on the returns which results in a zipper or grinding sound. Forming the bar that connects the lever to the mechanism can quickly remedy this issue. See timestamp 2:17

      Fore and aft adjustments on carriages

      Details at timestamp

      Side to side adjustment on carriage:

      Details at timestamp

      Forward and backward carriage adjustments (on both sides):

      Details at timestamp

      Adjustment for the spacing between the carriage rails:

      This adjustment is rarely done unless there is something drastically wrong with the machine Details at timestamp

      Adjustment on the carriage stoppers for how much bounce the carriage shift might have as well as how high or low the carriage sits at it's lowest point using the triangle sliding bracket on each side of the carriage with two screws. If these force the carriage too high, it can affect where the type sits in terms of potentially interfering with the bichrome settings to make letters (especially the tallest ones) have two colors when they should only have one. Details at timestamp 8:14

      Adjustment on the rear springs for how light or heavy the carriage shift may be. Raise the spring and then adjust the small "nut" on the top. Details at timestamp 9:52

      Ring and Cylinder adjustment for Olympia SM3<br /> Details at timestamp

      Gerren doesn't seem to understand (or perhaps doesn't discuss it) some of the mechanics behind this adjustment beyond the distance of the platen to the typeface, but the usual suggestion is that the typeface shouldn't actually strike the paper and/or the platen. Ideally there should be just enough space between the typeface and the platen that an addition sheet of paper can be easily slid between the two along with the ribbon and another sheet of paper. This will allow the typeface to just kiss the ribbon and force the ink onto the front sheet of paper. Doing this will help to protect the integrity of the paper being typed on (ie, no deep imprints being pressed into the paper -- often seen with the period), as well as the integrity of the platen (preventing chips and imprints into the rubber, especially if it has been hardened), and the longer term integrity of the ribbon which can tend to be cut into by the typeface if it's too close.

      From a physics perspective there is some minor amount of flex in the typebar arm between where the "hammer" at the bottom of the typebar hits the "anvil" (aka ring) and the top of the typeface which, when typing at speed will tend to "throw" the typeface a tad farther than it would hit when the hammer hits the anvil when simply holding it against the ring manually.

  3. Jun 2024
    1. Links to Typeface Resources- Olympia- https://munk.org/typecast/2011/04/23/... Royal- https://munk.org/typecast/2011/04/24/... Smith Corona- https://munk.org/typecast/2020/06/15/... Adler- https://munk.org/typecast/2023/02/04/... Story of vertical script- https://munk.org/typecast/2022/02/26/... Typewriter Database Typefaces- https://typewriterdatabase.com/typefa... Typographica.org- https://typographica.org/on-typograph... Type Slug Specs- https://munk.org/typecast/2023/02/05/...
    2. Typewriter 101: The ULTIMATE TYPEFACE Guide (ft. Typewriter Chicago) by [[Just My Typewriter]]

      featuring Typewriter Chicago's Lucas Dul

    1. Not sure if it may help your Typewriter Typefaces Bible project or not, but I'll mention that Marcin Wichary used the Internet Archive to collect a lot of the materials for his massive 3 volume 2023 book "Shift Happens: A Book About Keyboards": https://archive.org/details/wicharytypewriter

      In addition to lots of material which he found and collected on the Archive, he added a huge number of resources, catalogs, and books which are either rare or incredibly difficult to find by uploading them to the Archive for others to potentially find and use. You and others may find it valuable and or useful to follow his pattern of uploading and storage there.

      syndication link

  4. Apr 2024
    1. Replacing the key cap [as a means of switching from QWERTZ to QWERTY] isn't going to help at all, it's just a label. You'd have to swap out internal parts too. Depending on the model, you'd either have to remove and swap typebars or remove the head off the typebar and resolder it onto the appropriate alternate (and ensure that it's properly aligned, not an easy task). Then you'd have to swap the key caps (labels). It's definitely a mechanically doable process, but it's probably almost never done in practice. Doing it as a newbie probably isn't recommendable; you're better off having a repair shop do it for you if you decide to go this route. Depending on the keyboard/model, you'd also have to deal with accents, umlauts, etc.

      Given the difficulty (or cost) of the process and the potential end results, you're assuredly better off locating a QWERTY machine and paying a bit more for shipping to your area if necessary.

      Your mileage may vary depending on model.

      reply to u/imprisoningmymemory at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1cg1avp/replacing_keys/

  5. Mar 2024
    1. Typewriter Typefaces: Pica vs Elite, an explainer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwCD69jUPps

      Pica machines (12 characters per inch) will usually have a scale up to about 80-84.

      Elite machines (10 characters per inch) will have a scale up to 100.

      On Olympia machines, script only comes in Elite sizes (scale to 100 on platen).

  6. Dec 2023