The Vagaries of Typewriter-Hunting Luck

... lazy update just to update, pretty much, and get in one last post before November is well and truly over.

And I also want to say thank you to everyone who has commented, emailed, or otherwise commiserated with me about the Voss - in that sense, it has brought me much joy because I feel so much closer to all of you! We are all in this together - fighting to resuscitate typewriters one at a time, although some need more help than others. Besides, what fun would a blog be if I only had good stories to tell? This one is not over yet, though! It might take a while, but I shall take out the Voss one day and give you all an update. In the meantime, here is to happier stories in December :-)

Sad Face Voss Still Sad

Type slug fully extended as far as it will go - not touching the platen, just lightly grazing the ribbon. Another problem is that the paper bail rests quite close to the plastic guard, perhaps a result of the carriage sitting too low.

The shadow of the type slug on the platen - so close. And yet.

Look at that carriage - it just isn't sitting right. The groove is where it's rubbing against the shell each time I move it back and forth, wearing off the paint.

Does anyone know what the little lever under the left platen knob is for? I doubt it is the key to our problems, but I'm curious as to its function.

More scraping on the right side of the carriage.

A look at the innards - anything obvious out of place?

The carriage lock is the lever on the right, but it seems to be working as intended.

Another thing we're wondering is whether the metal nuts above need to be resting directly on the green hole below - it's slightly offset. But how we would manipulate it back, and whether it would make a difference... well, who knows.

These days, I am this guy. Oh, and as if to tempt me, this "Oliver" just appeared on eBay UK...

While My Voss Gently Weeps

Sad face Voss really has something to be sad about.  At least it's back together, not that taking it apart did any good :(