Electric typewriters. I spend a lot of time with these things. We talk. We sit. I cuss tons of swear words. They listen.
I’ve noticed more and more electric typewriters are coming to the shop for service in worse condition. Most are driven by belts that drive a power roller or in the case of Selectric typewriters a rotating shaft. You press a key top, attached to a key lever, that drops a latch that connects with the spinning roller that causes the type bar to whack ribbon onto the platen. All very simple.
Until you have old oils that are all gummed up and belts that have seen better days.
Look at this lovely Sears Medalist 12, a gussied up Smith-Corona electric. Sherry donated this typewriter having used it since she was young. Cosmetically, the typewriter is quite well preserved. Inside, not so much. When I opened up the machine to get it ready to re-sell, the first thing I noticed were the belts. Not the same size as a normal Smith-Corona. Plus it has a nifty ribbon winder powered by a third belt (which fell apart as soon as I touched it). I couldn’t find any belts in our inventory that matched so I got out the magic belt maker. Really just round eighth inch polyurethane material where you melt the ends to create a belt that works. And, yes it works.
After I got all the new belts matched up I realized each and every type bar, key lever and trip latch were sooo stuck. That requires time at the solvent station slowly working each back and forth until they free up. Each latch is three separate parts that have to move as fast as you type. Sluggish and you get repeating type bar action or no action. After you think you’ve got them all freed up, turn on the machine and start over. Blow all the crap out and repeat. Let it sit overnight and do it all over again. That is what it takes.
So here I am talking to this typewriter. We sit. I cuss. Now the typewriter will not shift.