A Day of Inky Fingers and fun finds!

1951 Smith-Corona Silent and Eyelet Pliers Kit

Floating Shift!

Slightly different shaped knobs than my later model Super-5's

Light green keys!

Underlined logo

Inking up the rollers...

Pica Poles!

Ink by the 5-pound can!

The Business end

Just to make the day complete, I dropped by MTE and showed him my new find. He had this mint green SM-3 that he'd just finished cleaning up. It had been found in a field with the case rotting around it, and was caked with rust and dirt when it went into Bill Wahl's Typewriter Spa. Now it functions perfectly, and is clean as a whistle! This is a pretty fecthing shade of green that I hadn't seen on an SM before. Just think. Someone left this in a field to *rot*.

And another Olympia, this time an SM-7 in blue. Newly cleaned and serviced and serving front window duty at MTE.

Updated: December 12, 2011 — 10:42 pm

12 Comments

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  1. Nice machines! Similar models are on my list for 2012. The SM-3 looks great, especially since it was in a rotted case in a field. G

  2. I had been meaning to get an eyelet tool for the same purpose, but I wasn’t sure how successful the procedure would be. Be sure to keep us all posted on how well (or not) it works. Nice find with the SM3. The typewriter bone, sorry, Typewriter Bone strikes again!

    1. The eyeletter works great. I just used it on a ribbon to replace the faded one in the ’51 Silent, and the eyelet is a perfect size (:

  3. Not tried an eyeletter but makes perfect sense. I did a makeshift ribbon-reversing trip switch thingy with a regular desk stapler though. Depends on the size of the ribbon’s guide slot. Eyelet’s a safer bet – sure I must have one… somewhere.

    1. Yep, I’ve used the stapler method before, but staples seem to catch in some of the reversing actuators and sometimes don’t trip others. For awhile I’d just tie a knot in the end of the ribbon, and that sometimes works, but can also get hung up in the actuator. I’ve been looking for an eyeletter for some time and was pleasantly surprised to find a brand new one at a thrift store, with a baggie of small eyelets included for $3.

  4. Yeah the knot didn’t work for me. I like the idea of an eyelet tool or rivet.

  5. February 17, 2023

    What is the inside diameter size of the eyelets you are using?

    3/32″?
    1/8″?
    3/16″?

    Having a challenging time finding this information… !

    Thanks!

    1. dunno, doesn’t matter. Just use ones small enough not to cut the ribbon in half.

  6. Oops, sorry, I meant 5/32″

  7. Thanks munk,

    Yes, that makes sense. Caught myself practicing over-thinking again, me thinks.

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