Monday, February 3, 2014

Olympia Carina 2


Sent from my Olympia Carina 2 SN 48116741

Left alignment screws.

Right alignment screws.

This is just a macro of the screws.  Top most is for UPPER and bottom most is for lower case.

Before a Zep bath.


After a quick washing in Zep



Olympia Carina 2, Made in Japan by Nakajima
This is the second Japanese Olympia I've had in my collection.  The first one was B12 and it is no longer in the collection.  I did not like its action or tinny sound.
This one is a bit flimsy, reminds me of my Brother which is also a flimsy machine.  The Carina 2 is a nicer typer than my B12 and it does not have the tinny sound.  It is all plastic except for the paper tray and the major machine components.  To rate the machine compared to the B12 I would say the B12 is an ok typer and the Carina 2 is a fairly good typer.

The Carina 2 is a nice travel typewriter as far as weight and size, but with the large blow molded case it is quite large, about the size of a big brief case where a Skyriter, Baby or Montana is much more suited to travel as they are all much smaller when in their case.

The Carina 2, being a Nakajima machine has no information on line about its history or date of manufacture.  None of the serial number databases have it or any serial numbers close to it listed.

Here is the link to my earlier article when I first got the Carina 2.

The Olympia B12 is here.


14 comments:

  1. Came out nice and clean. You should add it to the Typewriter Database.

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    Replies
    1. I need to rephotograph and add all of my machines. I should also take some after cleaning photos of the adjustment screws and send Nick the link to this post.

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  2. My B12 had the same problem with alignment, though if I remember correctly, the screws were in different places. Perhaps the design between these two models is more different than I thought.

    I like my B12 but I want it to be better. Maybe I should get a Carina… I'm starting to warm up to their looks.

    My rough, under construction, holding place for the typewriter repairs can be found here. I decided to make it a page on my blog just so it can be accessed even though it's not well put together yet. http://phlsphthght.blogspot.com/p/typewriter-repairs.html

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    1. In a way I liked the sleek looks of the B12. To me it never measured up to being a decent typer although many people do like them. So far I found Nakajima machines to be low quality.

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  3. That's an excellent outcome. Great work. I'm still enjoying my Carina 2 from time to time.

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  4. So that are the alignment screws! Read so much about it, but never where they are positioned. Thanks Bill!

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  5. Zep must be a miracle product. That was one dirty little machine, and it's sparkling clean now. Looks great!

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    Replies
    1. We use it for all kind of cleaning at work. The product used on the typewriter was Zep Dyna 143 (I think) I know it is Dyna some number. The stuff is excellent for typewriters as it will evaporate and leave a light coating of non polarized oil behind. The oil is not slippery or wet or anything but a very light coating to inhibit rust. Reminds me of vanishing oil, the carrier evaporates and a very light coating remains.

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  6. Hi Bill! Just finished fixing my upper and lower case. Your posts with pictures saved me a lot of money. Thank you very much! D

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  7. Excellent! That works for the Carina I as well. I found the misalignment may be due to the securing lacquer from the rear end of the screw breaking loose and thus changing the gap for the adjustment.
    Thanks a LOT! :-)

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  8. Thanks so much, mate. The lower case being misaligned on my Carina 2 has been bothering me for WEEKS. Especially because it's out enough that the top bit of tall letters often doesn't get ink on it. Now to reassembling it because I had to take off the cover altogether and loosen the screws from the bottom.

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  9. I can't find the two screws on the back of my Carina 2 to remove the case. Do you mean the two on the back of the carriage?

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    1. Perhaps I should have stated top back corners. I think. Move the carriage to the left like you were doing a return. There should be a screw at the left rear corner of housing. Move the right margin stop to the full length of the carriage so it will go all the way left. Release the carriage and let the carriage go to the end of the line which will now me the maximum length of the carriage movement. There should be a screw at the back right corner of the housing. They are recessed in holes so they will be below the top surface of the housing. I'll get my Carina 2 out over the week end and add another post on you questions.

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  10. Hello, could you tell me the measurements of this machine? Will the dimensions be similar to an SM9? Thanks!

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