The Erika M typewriter is a magnificent writing machine, but it may not be the most maintenance-friendly machine. To give it a proper cleaning and to get at the feed-rollers of this 'barn-find' project machine, some disassembly was attempted. Removing the platen seemed a logical, basic step.
- To remove the platen-rod, the bracket around the paper-release lever has to be removed.
- To remove the bracket around the paper-release lever, the carriage side-plate has to be removed.
- To remove the carriage side-plate, the platen-rod has to be removed. (See point 1.)
Turns out that by loosening the side-plate screws (to give it a smidgeon of play) and a bit of luck with wiggling the bracket, it can just about be manipulated out between the platen and the side-plate. Only then are the set-screws that hold the platen-rod revealed. Loosening these then allows the platen-rod (and knob) to be pulled out and then the side-plate simply screws off. (Oh, first take off the tabs-clearing lever of course).
Lots of felt and lots of dirt to be cleaned away.
This is a proper puzzle, this is.
(Still haven't figured out how the paper-guide can be removed from the paper-tray...)
Thank you for documenting the procedure! I may never have one, but it's nice to know there's a trick to it (:
ReplyDeleteThe M's full of these little conundrums :)
DeleteI guess these are rare in the New World, fairly common in Germany though (sometimes eye-wateringly priced however).
It is an intricate construction. One must be a Meister to handle one, I guess!
ReplyDelete