Look what followed me home....

I picked up this hitch hiker earlier today

It contained some neat keys

Which is better -- this one with fill flash?

Or this one -- no flash?

I found another oddity on/in the database.  A carry-over from Dirk's original.
There is not a Signet Sr. listed.  Signet Jr, which I am guessing is what this one is incorrectly called and Signet which would be the incorrect name for the Sr.

I found where I noted the difference when I got my first Signet a few years ago.
This one is only a bit newer by the serial number but feeds paper better.  I think somewhere in its life the platen was recovered since today I did not realize until I went to remove my typecast that I had not closed the paper feed.  Platen is not real hard either although I would like to send it of to J.J. Short.

Itam 6, Typeweriter Repairs and a Mystery

Before alignment

Left alignment adjusting hardware

Right alignment adjusting hardware

Hold the screw while making adjustments.  A Grace G2 Gunsmith Screwdriver fits it great.

Use an open end ignition wrench and turn the nut to the right to lower the character or left to raise it.  An angled typewriter wrench would work a bit easier, but ignition wrenches work fine.

This is the adjustment.  I used 2 wrenches to free the jam nut, made the adjustment and rejammed the nuts.  I really did use 2 hands, but at the moment of the photo, one was holding the camera.

After the completed adjustments

This is the first typewriter added to the collection in 2014.  Do you know what make and model?

This started out as a short break from paper work to clean my HHE.  I was going to post on the HHE, but when I pulled my Underwood 4B I found I never replaced the ribbon I stole to install onto the SS.  I could have used the HHE, but decided to wait.

While searching Craigslist I found an offer too good to refuse.  One night after work I made a stop and the typewriter above found a new home.  A further hint is that it works fine.

I spent most of Saturday cleaning a few typewriters and then typing in the garage where I only have test paper and engineering paper.  I used the engineering paper and made many many typos.

I hope everyone is enjoying I.T.A.M.  Does not seem to be as much I.T.A.M. activity as a few years ago.  Each year seems to be a bit less.

Cameras?  Well the rain that is needed on the Left Coast is steadily falling for the past 2 weeks on the Right Coast.  Unless of course the coasts are observed from the North looking South.  No running, bicycling, or photography.  I think we had one day of sun.

Here is the original post on my HH.

Montana

1950 Montana Luxe

Original Type Bar Rest

Type bars did not align.

Some cork was missing.

The shades were really flattened areas of paint that needed to wrinkle again to match the rest of the housing. This may have been caused by me towel drying some places harder than others or even from holding the housing in that area, or it could have been normal wear that I did not notice before cleaning.

New Type Bar Rest Installed

All the bars nicely aligned

The obvious gap in the rest is now gone.

February is off to a busy start

The type slugs did not clean quite as well as those on Hermes 3000.3

A preview of a future post.

These last 2 examples are from a ?

Hermes 3000 Techno Pica

Typo 1, od, should be of. Typo 2 vit should be bit

Setag Techno Pica

The Mysterious Hermes 3000 Techno Pica

The Hermes 3000 Typewriter with Techno Pica is not really mysterious.  I am just not posting a picture of it at the moment.

Adler J4 Part 2

Carriage without platen

All the parts removed from the carriage

Original left knob, repaired right knob

My Olympia B12 started to skip badly tonight.  It may be due to using it on my lap.  I still have a bit of a problem with consistent pressure using my left hand since I broke it last summer.  However, there is no comparison between this Japanese machine and my Hermes 3000.  Hand injury or not the Hermes 3000 does not skip and the letters impact the paper at the same velocity giving consistently good clean impression.

I should have taken a picture of the knob when it was broken.  I am surprised I had all the pieces.  In my typecast I mentioned polystyrene and Duco Cement.  I used Duco since it does melt the pieces together, just like Testor's will.  Something I remembered from many years ago building plastic model airplanes and cars.  The result is be careful and you get a joint that stays together quite quickly.

All the keys and typebars are now working freely since the carburetor cleaner bath.  Someone tried to improve this typewriter by using Moly grease in the segment slots!  Carb cleaner is one of the few things that will clean Moly grease from things.

A few cautions if one decides to take typewriters apart (I know many who read this blog already know what I am about to write)  use gunsmith screw drivers (and even these may need to be honed a bit to correctly fit the screw slots), and if one chooses to use carb cleaner it will eat rubber and can harm plastic.  I ensured there was no rubber anywhere that could be hit with the spray, and I covered the keys with aluminum foil to prevent any splashes from white-spotting the keys.  If using any kind of compressed air and / or spray cleaners; wear appropriate goggles, safety glasses do not protect from sprays and splashes.