Sadly, for the time being at least, I've got nothing more to report on the Smith-Corona Model 88 restoration. "Rain has stopped play", as they say in cricket. But since there has been so much interest in the SC 88 project, I thought I'd better keep posting on it. Or rather, in the interim, until such time as play can resume, I'll post on some other, far simpler "reintegrations".
This one, on an Olivetti Lettera 22 which had seen far, far better days, was completed last week. The rubber rings through which the four frame screws go, top and back, had completely disintegrated, so I used grommets Richard Polt had sent me from Cincinnati, cut them in half and placed them top and bottom of where the screws go in. It worked a treat, as the mask feels as snug as one thing, no movement at all, and the firmness of the body really improves the typing action:
I could make no further progress on the Smith-Corona 88 today because, for the first time in yonks, we got some heavy rain. The next step is the repainting of the body parts and then finally the complete reassembly of the machine. The parts are all primed and ready to go, and the inner workings are looking spic and span (and typing beautifully). But without another spell of warm, dry weather, I can do no more. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but then the weather will clear and I can resume work on the 88 on Wednesday.
Here are the parts hanging out on the clothes line so the inner felt can dry, and then the priming:
There has been consensus on the colour. Ted Munk sorely tempted me this morning when he mentioned a light green ("just imagine," Ted said, and I did, I did; I had even tried a light green primer on some parts to give me a better idea). But I have developed a very clear vision of a very shiny dark grey finish, like Richard Polt's Deluxe Secretarial, and it has given me the ambition to aim for something like this:
This one, on an Olivetti Lettera 22 which had seen far, far better days, was completed last week. The rubber rings through which the four frame screws go, top and back, had completely disintegrated, so I used grommets Richard Polt had sent me from Cincinnati, cut them in half and placed them top and bottom of where the screws go in. It worked a treat, as the mask feels as snug as one thing, no movement at all, and the firmness of the body really improves the typing action:
Here are the parts hanging out on the clothes line so the inner felt can dry, and then the priming:
The body colour strikes me as matching the frontispiece and keyboard trimming. I like it. Not sure I'll get the same overall smoothness of the ribbon spools cover, though.
5 comments:
I'm glad to hear that those grommets are getting use!
Good choice! It was worthwhile just imagining the green (:
That Lettera 22 is a beauty, too.
You are entitled to a well deserved rest from you restorations provided by a bit of rain.
Beautiful Lettera 22.
Coincidentally I work on a Lettera 22 quite similar to yours and the four rubber frame rigs are gone too. I hope to fashion something out soon...
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