This Olympia SM2 portable typewriter was brought in for service. Undeniable it was dirty on first examination. Wow . . . what a mess. It was such a dirt bucket. Corrosion and rust, copious dust and debris, chunks of unidentifiable matter (yes I closed my eyes then whimpered).
Also as I dismantled the machine for cleaning it became apparent this machine had been THRASHED. As in well used. As in worked hard and put away wet. Damn did I underestimate this repair!
I had to clean it three times before the machine started behaving like a typewriter and not a wet cat. Once I got it cleaned and re-oiled the shift mechanism needed so much adjusting, the ribbon vibrator was uber bent along with the card guide and many many more. Of course the typical frame spacers needed replacing. I really enjoy bringing these not working machines back to usefulness.
An interesting thing; serial number 909255 would put this typewriter at about 1956. This did not make sense to me as according to typewriterdatabase.com this plants it squarely in SM3 territory. Possibly one of my typewriter enthusiasts could enlighten. Also on the back import/export plate that says “Made In Germany Western Zone” and the ribbon spools are DIN standard. Was this machine a European model and not for export?