VISUALLY IT IS IN FINE CONDITION
All the tapes, belts, cords and other parts are intact, with no signs of damage. There is one very common broken part, the return cord tension pulley, which has a nylon part that cracks on almost every machine after this many decades. However, that is easily replaced and won't stop restoration efforts in the interim.
TRANSFORMING CEMENT INTO OIL
The greases and oils used in Selectric typewriters (and all IBM products of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s), solidify into near cement with age. Coupled with that, the foam soundproofing insulation converts to dust, tar or both.
There are two schools of thought about solving the cement issue. One is to dunk the entire machine in a solvent bath to dissolve away the old lubricants. The other is to use an extremely light oil and carefully manipulate every moving part to restore normal motion.
The problems with the solvent method are twofold. First, the 1053 has solenoids, a motor and other parts that can be damaged by the solvents. The enamel insulation on windings, if dissolved, shorts out the component or impairs its operation. Second, the solvent might not completely get into the pivot points and other locations where the lubricants turned to cement.
I have great success using Nye clock oil and manipulating machines, so I will use that method on this machine.
CARRIER FROZEN IN POSITION
The carrier was stuck in one position and wouldn't budge as I gently tried to move it leftward. The escapement, tab and backspace pawls were also frozen in position. I began to lubricate and free up those small parts and to work on the roller upon which the carrier moves at the rear.
I succeeded in getting it to move left a bit, but I really have to work on the operational clutch and related parts first. I see the clutches triggering repeatedly which are trying to activate functions like tab, carrier return, backspace and so forth. I need those to settle down and sit at idle before I can do much with the carrier.
No comments:
Post a Comment