Haha! I found someone who has a Hermes 2000 with almost the exact same skipping key issue that I have! You may remember the last time I pulled Ellery out to play, where I described the annoying problem I was having with him, well it turns out that fellow typecaster Fossils Without Fear is having the same problem – he describes his issue here. I decided to go grab Ellery again and do some more investigation…
Right now, I’m leaning towards finding a stronger spring for the linkage shown above. Bending the “A” key seems a little extreme, but if nothing else comes up that works, that may be something I try later on… Any other ideas?
******* UPDATE! *******
Since the skipping problem seemed to get better the more I typed, I went ahead and typed a sheet of stream-of-consciousness as fast as I could think of words to string together. Result: ZERO SKIPS!
Now, if I can just figure out what’s up with the left margin… :|
I’ve said it before: usage is the best lubricant for most typewriters. Get the gunk out and use them, and chances are those strange every-now-and-then problems clear up. Glad you’ve got it working!
First thought was a chipped escapement wheel, but they’d be more regular relative to the position of the carriage, not the character. Then I thought about a bent type bar, but how would it get bent in that direction in the first place? Then the intermittent nature of the problem made me wonder about lubrication. Mike may have a point. If it is really dry on the pivots, a drop of oil might fix it for good?
Thank you! My follow up.
I have my grandmother’s Hermes 2000 which served her well for many years as school secretary. I took it to be cleaned and a new platen installed many years ago and those technicians assured me the skipping “a” key could not be adjusted or fixed. I am encouraged by these posts and will be digging mine out of the closet!
Thanks and here’s hoping my machine wants to be revived!