Turning of the Screws - adjusting the Blickensderfer

This Blickensderfer 5 typewriter was out of adjustement from severe knocks to the frame - so it was unavoidable to attempt to re-adjust the typing mechanism. Adjusting the typewheel mechanism with its several set-screws dotted around the machine is somewhat intimidating, further made interesting by the bent-parts taking some adjustments out of the range of the set-screw.

Even though intimidating, there logically has to be a way to simply converge on a properly adjusted Blickensderfer step-by-step. The factory turned out hundreds of machines per week - there will have been a 'recipe' for the adjuster to efficiently adjust a machine. (Some of the training material or instructions for the factory would have been great here.)

The basic method of selecting the right rotation for a specific key is fairly straightforward. As nicely illustrated in below sketch, the wheel is rotated by the difference in deflection between bars G and D as actuated by the stepped-section of the key-lever. 

(G. Tilghman Richards - 1938)

The bar D is actuated first, rotating the wheel as it rotates one "quadrant" C downward via the transmission of the geared-prongs (essentially very small sections of large gear-wheels). The rotation stops when the keylever also touches and starts actuating the bar G that causes the whole typewheel stack plus the other quadrant B to start moving in sync with C. Also moving quadrant B is part of the trickiness - this is timed via the set-screws on the base of the mechanism. Quadrant B is actuated via a prong (with set-screws) that is part of bar G.

Another trick is that the static quadrant is locked at first, to prevent any slippage or being pulled along as the wheel rotates. It is held by the hook shown in the diagram; only by actuating the bar D corresponding with the quadrant is this hook pulled out of the way to allow movement. 

The start of ajusting probably was to set the set-screw for each side to to start touching the other side's prong just as the universal bar G starts to move. That means for the right side of the keyboard, the left set-screw must be set to ensure the left prong moves in-sync with the central 'universal prong' and vice versa. Likely that is the start of adjusting the base. The next step is to check that the least-deflection keys (here T and E) are balanced. And when the top-assembly is installed, to screw inward just enough for the lock to be released. I.e. for the unlock of key E on the right-side of the keyboard the left screw (red) and vice-versa.

On this banged-up specimen the left-side could not be brought in-range. At the maximum setting, the letter E would not rotate before the universal bar G stopped it. To fix without attempting any more bending, bar D was padded with copper shim to 'cheat'. This is too soft and not durable, but it'll hold for now. 

The three set-screws on the top-assembly regulate the wheel locking-moment and release - when the balance of T and E is right and the opposing quadrant is unlocked just-in-time, then the centre screw (yellow) sets the range of the end-rotation. This then adjusts so that the largest-deflection key (Z and J) register correct.

Another trickiness of the mechanism is a prong that locks the typewheel in its rotated state from below. Probably its function is to prevent any smudging from the wheel starting to rotate back before it has fully left the paper. When the typewheel stack is rotating back upwards again, this lock needs to be pushed out of engagement. The right set-screw (purple) adjusts the timing via a bail to trigger this unlock. It is sensitive. (The left set-screw is an imposter; this merely is the mounting srcew of a spring.)

After a lot of time staring at the mechanism and imagining what the steps would've been, this little Blickensderfer 5 is starting to make sense again!

There still are some characters that are at the edge of their range (wrong character about 1 in 10 times) and the unlocking is likewise at the edge. I.e. when depressing the lowest-rotation character, a clear resistance is felt from the other side's quadrant slipping off the locking-hook. Even though this adjusting mostly worked, there are likely more details/tricks (that were well-known in Stamford 120 years ago). Probably more small tweaks as the machine 'settles in'.

Another aspect is that the adjustments and details of the wheel mechanism were changed over time by Blickensderfer - this adjustment worked on a 1905-ish No. 5, but an older or newer machine or e.g. a No. 8 are likely to be slightly different.

Result is that this project machine has now cleared its biggest hurdle to again becoming a typing machine! :-)

Cleaning the Blickensderfer 5 head-assembly (writing cipher)

The head assembly of the Blickensderfer typewriter is a bit daunting to take apart completely. For this one, the main pivot-rod was left in place, but the other bits were removed for proper cleaning.

The ink-roller bracket was completely bent out of shape and the thumb-screw for adjusting spring-tension was also bent badly. Fortunately it was possible to bend this back (a bit) without snapping the threaded rod. The fact that these parts were both bent so severely means that the top-casting of this Blickensderfer 5 got a very nasty knock at one time.

Most of the paint-splatter could be removed without damage, but the thick lacquer had also been chipped in many spots.

To make these chips less noticeable, a method to mask these was tried. First filling-in with black enamel paint.

And then followed by sanding the filled-in areas smooth and level with the surrounding paint, using fine, wet P400 sandpaper.

That was then followed by a polishing (car-polish for black) and given the sewing-machine oily-rag treatment.

Definitely still visible as damaged areas, but much less noticeable from a distance. A different, high-gloss enamel lacquer could have been used to better match the surrounding gloss. Nevertheless, the whole appearance is deemed good enough for now. (The typewriter is 120 years old, it's allowed to have some blemishes and show wear.)

The whole top assembled again and placed back onto the machine. Then popped-on a brand-new Italic typewheel (Blickensderfer Mfg Co catalogue number 440) plus a new ink-pad and to see if it works!

Yes, the machine types! 

However; the printed characters are not what's on the keys, and not always the same characted for a key either. (That was the 'w' that was pressed repeatedly, not the 'f'.) It's now a bit like a cipher machine.

From checking how the machine is out of adjustment, this is almost certainly caused by the top-casting being bent backward. This threw the wheel-locking out of adjustment and made it unusable. If the fall/knock happened long ago when it was still in use, it would definitely then have been 'retired' to the shed, basement or attic.

A quick check of the adjustment screws of the base also showed-up that the geared-prongs of the actuating bars also are bent. These bars are now impossible to adjust to be in-range with the adjustment screws.

Much more puzzling to be done! The little typewriter shows it can write, now only to make it write sense :)

Case for the Blickensderfer 5 cleaned up

The most-common type of wooden case for the Blickensderfer 5 typewriter is a plain wedge-shape carrying case with a leather handle. From pictures available online, these cases seem plain wood - or at least they look plain, unfinished wood.

This specimen looked fairly bad, but underneath the hinges a spot of original finish remained - looking almost as if it'd been lacquered. The exposed, weathered surfaces however didn't look as if they'd ever been lacquered. Adding that almost all cases seen online look unfinished - perhaps these cases were originally not lacquered but oiled wood.

Whatever it originally was, this one was first sanded down to remove all water-staining and mold-spots - down to bare wood and made smooth. At least, smooth to the touch, if not to the eye. 

Where the case was coming apart, the cracks were glued and clamped - left for a day to fully set. In the meantime, the brass fittings were cleaned and given a polish.

Then linseed oil was applied and rubbed with a soft cloth. This really darkened the wood again and made the grain stand out. It then becomes noticable that the sides are made of single pieces of wood, split over top and lower half of the case.

The fittings mounted again and a new leather strap cut from 3.5 mm saddle-leather was fitted. The handle-brackets originally were nailed onto/into the wood, now instead fitted with screws.

Structurally fine, clean and still looking its 120 years.

The inside only cleaned lightly with a damp cloth - and the pencil scribbles on the screw-cap were removed (rubber eraser). The rubber machine buffers will be replaced when the machine is ready for a fitting - to ensure a snug fit. 

The case is ready to hold a Blickensderfer 5 typewriter again! (being assembled...)

Book with numbers and advertising therefor

Numbers - a book full of them.

This is a book full of multiplications, one large table.  It was advertised for in a technical handbook shown below. This was aimed at engineering students (MTS students; Middelbare Technische School), for the year 39-40, and itself is filled with mathematical and technical information as wel as practical information on many technical components of the day. 

Amongst the several sponsored sections and adverts for all the things a starting engineer or machinist might need, here is the one for a calculating- or arithmetic-dictionary, the Rekendictionnaire by W. Vriesendorp.

The advertisement clearly explains what it is; a bound book with all multiplications of 1 to 999 by 1 to 999. A quote of an NRC newspaper review: "Het geheel is het product van een merkwaardig geduld en nauwgezetheid..." - The work is the product of a curious patience and scrupulousness. The line is hard to translate, but is neatly phrasing it as a product (i.e. a multiplication result) and might have a hint of irony, perhaps sarcasm?

That did not however deter Vriesendorp from using the quote in advertising his book of tables.

(The ad on the other page recommends spending a few Guilders more for the quality of a Richter drawing set - recently did :-)

Such books of mathematical tables were fairly common, every region or country having its own variant. Mathematical tables 'proper' would at least have a table of logarithms. These simple books with multiplication-tables are a bit of a 'subset' of the category; but multiplication-tables still had a market, even when the 'proper' books of tables were already largely displaced by sliderule or calculator.

(Advertising in a technical handbook might seem logical at first sight, however for the technical audience almost all calculations can be done with a sliderule - rarely needing nore than 3 digits significance. But in tallying partslists, extending bills etc, there might be a need.)

So a multiplication-tables only book, and only for the Dutch market, the Rekendictionnaire can still be found for sale second-hand:

It is indeed a hefty, bound book about A4-page size weighing in at almost 2 kilos. Published in 1937, it claims to contain 'tables' - or rather, it contains one large table.

In one page is the foreword and the full instructions on how to use the book to do multiplications. Not just of numbers up to 999, but also how to break-up problems to be able to do larger products. There would have been a loose-leaf insert with more examples, that sheet was however missing in this specimen.

The book itself is then pages full of numbers (quite the nightmare to set and proofread, I imagine). 

The numbers 0 to 9 are printed on the side to assist in opening it near the right number.

The book does not reduce the duplicates, i.e. it contains the answer for 28 by 231 both on the page of 28 (6468) as well as for 231 by 28 on the pages of 231 (6468). 

Looking up an answer is pretty easy; finding for example the product of 495 and 617. On the page of 495, look in the 600s column and find in the 10s row the answer 305415 printed behind 617.

Doing a quick check on a contemporary ~1940 pinwheel calculator; it of course arrives at the same answer :) 

The book is less capable than the calculator, but at Hfl 12,50 it only cost a small fraction of the price of a calculator that would have cost several hundred. As a way to do multiplications rapidly with a precision of more than 3 digits (sliderule), this book could have seemed an attractive solution.

Carriage of a Blickensderfer 5 progress

The carriage of a Blickensderfer 5 typewriter is a relatively simple affair, as is shown on several pages online. One end of the baseplate casting had been quite badly rusted, but overall the parts came out reasonably clean and usable.

From point of view of the restorer/repairer, there are two unfortunate aspects to the Blickensderfer carriage. One is that the main brackets are held with dowel-pins in a delicate casting. The other is that to remove the platen, pretty much the whole carriage and side-brackets need to be taken off.

The pins fortunately came out with precisely applied careful hammering without any mishaps. When putting it together again, these pins will not be used. Instead, a 2.5mm rod is formed to be a springy-fit through the holes and keep the pressure-brackets in place (arrow).

One of the front paper-guiding springs was broken. Using the remaining original as guide a brass replacement was cut (card as flat template).

Brass is nowhere near as strong or springy as the steel original, but it'll do for light use. It will also be assisted by the ruler (when such is re-created too and fitted). To make it blend in, the brass spring was nickel-plated. (Nickel at the plus, part to be plated at minus, electrolyte from vinegar with 10% salt and 10% sugar. Around 5V works fine at small distances.)

Another broken item was the platen-knob. Again very fortunate that still half a knob remained, so that could be used as guide to make a new platen-knob.

With a scrubbed and polished-up platen (slate-hard), the carriage fits and actually moves when space is pressed. The feed-roller will need re-covering later on, but for now is serviceable. Strangely, the feed-roller is still soft and rubbery, but the platen is rock-hard.

The missing paper-rack and more importantly the carriage-release bar were re-created from 2.5 and 3 mm steel wire. The carriage-release rod should be ~3.5 mm rod, but the 3 mm was difficult enough already to bend in shape. Knitting needles from the thrift store again are a great source of nicely straight polished rod material.

A very neat feature that hadn't been apparent to me initially, is that the chamfered wooden blocks at the back of the case press-in the carriage-release bar when the machine is placed in the case. This automatically dis-engages the escapement when the typewriter is placed in its travel-case; very clever!

But then, the Blickensderfer overall is a very clever machine :-)

Strengtheners inside Blickensderfer plastic keys? (And a cleaned-up base)

The plastic keys of Blickensderfer typewriters can sometimes be missing. These keys can't be pulled off. They've been molded onto the keystem, a small hole in the metal stem firmly locks the plastic key. When a key is missing, it will have somehow broken - the black plastic either deformed or became brittle, causing the key to become loose and be lost.

It looked as if these ~1906 keys have a brass ring molded into the plastic. This would a useful strengthening to reduce the chance of a key splitting, becoming loose and be lost. (Wondering if early Blickensderfer typewriters also have this brass ring! Or was this a change to fix this vulnerability of the keys.)

This ring will work well as a re-enforcement, make it much less likely for a plastic key to split and get lost. 

The brass ring in this key is askew, confirming that indeed the brass is molded into the plastic key.

This little detail became noticeable during the thorough cleaning of the keybars of the Blickensderfer 5 typewriter - before re-assembling the base of the typewriter.

Assembling the base of the Blickensderfer is reasonably straightforward. Very well described and pictured elsewhere online. One tricky bit perhaps is the special springs in the middle of the machine. These four springs have a different shape and act on the activating segments, spacebar and universal bar. Here still in-situ seen from below:

Taken off the machine, these four springs laid out in the same order.

The strong outer springs drop their 'eyelet' hook over a stud on the side of the activator arms. One stud indicated below:

After cleaning and polishing all parts individually, everything was placed back. Then it's ready for all the keys with their springs.

First all keylevers were cleaned too. Mere brass-polish was not enough to tackle the stubborn dirt and tarnish of these parts; fine steel wool first however gets them back to their shiny state. (Polishing with steel wool always creates a lot of steel-wool-dust; so always used inside a tray or other container. Parts then washed in soapy water to remove any steel wool particles.)

The missing keytops were replaced with newly manufactured keys. The lettering will be filled when the keyboard is fully cleaned, to then match the whiteness (or rather, the "brownish-grayness") of the original keys.

Start of re-building - next; on to a carriage : )

Third and last version of the Meccano hay tedder

To complete the series, after the first and second iterations, also built the third and final version of a Meccano model of a hay tedder.

Here shown again as "Hooi Keer Machine"  in a 1937 Dutch book of instructions.

Numbered model E8, this is a model needing at least an Outfit E. 

Meccano had changed their system of tiered Outfits in 1934 from numbered sets to lettered sets with new parts (plates) and bright new colours. The new range started with a small Outfit A, all the way up to the massive Outfit L. There was an even smaller Outfit 0, that was outside of the lettered system without upgrade set to make it an A. This lettered system was replaced in 1937 with a new range of numbered sets. This lettered-system booklet from 1937 is from the last year of these sets, and also the last year a model of a hay tedder was in the manuals.

The model is quite brilliant in the blue and gold. (A bit bright for a working farm implement perhaps :)

The model is essentially the 1928 version, but with plates added to close the sides of gthe 'box' around the single rotating rake. Pulling in the sides to the 3-hole width of the sector plate does put a lot of stress on the parts - strips get bent quite a bit.

Both the driving axle and the tedder-rod now use a 1" pulley, so this version also does not really 'ted'. The rake ends actually move slightly slower than the hay-tedder itself moves over the ground.

When the entire system was again reorganized into numbered sets, the hay tedder did not return. By 1937 a hay tedder was perhaps no longer a marvel of mechanical achievement to be modelled.

Hay tedders are an essential core element of the Meccano system. Hay tedders are an iconic model in Meccano.