Wednesday, July 11, 2012

broken facit: the problem

2012 07 11 - typecast
2012 07 11 - broken facit part

9 comments:

  1. Oh no! I agree, that would not be an easy repair. It would be better to get a replacement part, if someone has a parts machine.

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    1. I've seen a TP1 for 10€ plus shipping on the internet, but I think that the problem of my Facit can be addressed to the fact that the seller hadn't used a proper package to protect the typewriter. Probably during the travel the parcel has been knocked around or something alike and a weak part might have been weakened further.
      So I'm not gonna take another Facit through ebay, the risk is that maybe I'll get another problem :-(

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  2. JB Weld may work if available in your country.

    I was hoping that was not the problem. I have seen several where the shift arm linkage cracks and / or breaks. It not a common problem, but it happens. I do not know if Facit just used cheap white metal as it is nick-mnmed in the US for powdered metal, or some other cheap metal to make a weak point an an otherwise very nicely engineered and manufactured typewriter.

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    1. I'll try to find JB Weld (or similar) in my hardware shop.

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  3. That really is a shame. As bill said, JB Weld or a similar epoxy may do the trick. Definitely more of a hassle than a simple spring. Sorry to hear it, and hope it works out.

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  4. I would suggest finding another part or possibly making one. I can't see the entire part, so I don't know how hard making one might be. Since a solid metal part broke because of stress, it is doubtful that JBWeld or another patch would work.

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    1. Yes, making a new one should be a lot better, let's see if I can make it after the summer!

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  5. This is going to need some ingenuity. But it isn't impossible to patch. You won't fix it though. What you need to do is get the part clear of the rest of the unit. You also need to figure out was stresses are causing the part to break, and why. It looks like cast metal, which often has a 'grain' and as such weak-spots.

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    1. I'll try to disassemble the parts to get the broken one, however at first sight it seems quite difficult compared to other typewriters I've seen :-(

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