Friday 20 April 2012

Larry, for short

Photos by request of Bill M. Harsh sunlight not showing the rich tweedy green colour to its best. Very different to the dove grey/green SM3

Plenty of pitted and tarnished chrome but the badge is pristine. It is all about the badge.

Unsuccessful attempt to install Adobe CS... it is still a typewriter, no matter how close you put the mouse.

Lazarus? Larry? It'll do as a name (strictly one-off) until I make a note of the serial number. First look, its appearance is better on-screen than in the flesh (how often do you hear that in the green room).

Apart from blowing away some dust and hair and moth larva cases (and the laying on of hands), I haven't cleaned it. There's tarnish to the brightwork on the carriage, especially the control surfaces. This is just part of the machine's story, like wrinkles. But in comparison to an SM3 in far finer fettle, the key action is a tiny bit on the stiff side. The surface tarnish has affected the segment but it is easing with use. It is impossible to clean the slots and the pivot area of the type arms so I'm tempted to try a miniscule drop of WD40 (a "dry" lube) along the pivots to free them up further - any objections?

Notes
  1. The shift and backspace are mossy green, the rest of the keys are black.
  2. None of the character keys are sprung - unlike SMs 3 and 4 - though the shift keys are.
  3. The return lever sticks up at the end, not down.
  4. All sheet metal surfaces of the housing have black felt sound insulation. Therefore it stinks a bit.
There's a group of men in the street in hi-viz jackets digging a hole. They are either looking for Lazarus or fixing my broadband. Hard to tell. Hard hats conceal halos.

7 comments:

  1. I am a sucker for pressed paper table logos. Very nice.

    I've had to resort to imperfect solutions to segment gunk. In the worst cases, I have used PB Blaster to loosen up things up with the knowledge that the oil will attract dirt and eventually stiffen. One other approach that has worked is repeated applications of mineral spirits and working it in by operating the keys. Presumably, the solvent that drips out through the bottom is carrying crud.

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  2. No objections to WD-40 from me! I've read all the put-downs on the forums, but I have used it in a couple of dire situations (and not as little as you plan to use, either) without ill effect. Give it a try.

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  3. I agree with Adwoa, used sparingly, WD-40 works miracles.

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  4. I would try carburetor cleaner.

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  5. Nice curves. Nice colour! I want one!

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  6. ..... And if we're being religious, Hard hats conceal horns too.

    Oh wait, I think this is going off on a potentially perverse tangent.

    Are you sure they aren't the village people?

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  7. Carb cleaner or other solvent is much better than WD-40. Then blow things out with compressed air. WD-40 was and is made as a water displacement although it gets used for many other purposes (like restoring a ribbon) It will also stiffen after awhile and it can get sticky. WD-40 is not a very good penetrant either. Penetrating oils that also flush out dirt and grime are Liquid Wrench, Kroil. PB Blaster and similar products. Some leave more oil behind than others.

    Nice looking typewriter.

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