Little Typewriter Jobs

After a week of frustrations fixing the line-spacing mechanism and other problems on a Brother portable, it was a joy yesterday to be able to tackle quite straightforward tasks on two other portables, and to have customers go away delighted with the outcomes.
First an Adler Tippa, which had obviously been dropped. The back panel over the margin setters was badly out of shape (where there is a largish paint chip) and somehow the drawband had got all caught up in the tabulation setters at the back. This is meant the carriage couldn't move fully to the left. On top of all that, almost all the typebars were sticking at the printing point.

The second job took a lot more thought and a little more effort. The right ribbon spool on an Olivetti Valentine wouldn't turn as the orange cap wouldn't screw down on to the spindle properly. Having ascertained that the mechanism worked as it should, by using two standard Olivetti nuts, the issue came down to the secure fitting the orange cap. It turned out a little bit of rust had got in at the base of the spindle (see white circle), and as one tried to screw on the cap, the capstan on which the spool sits simply turned with the spindle. A small screwdriver was used to hold it in place which the cap was fitted properly.