I may have just acquired a 1958 Olympia SM3 portable typewriter. I suspect it would make a good 50th birthday present come Monday. I’ll spend some time over the weekend cleaning it up.
I’m hoping this 8’x10′ non-slip rug pad can be cut down into enough typewriter pads to accommodate the segment of typewriters in my collection. They’ll both help protect my wooden tables from scratches as well as to keep my typewriters from “travelling” during use.
Complete 1946 OAMI Service and Adjustment Manual Covering:
Standard Manual Typewriters: Remington * Royal * Underwood * Woodstock * L.C. Smith,
Portable Manual Typewriters: Remington * Royal * Corona * Underwood.
Typewriter Tools, Ribbon Spools, Ribbons, Platens, Springs and Ball Bearings Reference.
Typewriter Typeface and Keyboard Reference.
An early birthday present has arrived!
Starting off my second half-century with a shot of Penderyn Single Malt Whisky and some work on an Olympia SM3 manual typewriter.
I just downloaded my copy of Bob Doto’s book A System for Writing which was released for purchase this morning. I read an early draft in April and know it’s excellent. If knowledge management, zettelkasten, or writing are of interest to you, this is one of the best books on these topics. If you’re just getting into these areas, it’s required reading and will advance your practice more quickly than any four other books you’ll find.
Usually I don’t make typewriter acquisition posts until I’ve done some reasonable work to get them cleaned up and working well. I’m going to make an exception with this one because it’s in much rougher shape than others I’ve picked up. It’s going to take more work to clean up and get functioning properly again. I’ll try to document the work I do on it to get it back into fighting shape.
I suspect it’s either going to be this or an Olympia SG1 I’ve had my eye on which will be my daily standard machine.
The Royal HH
First, it’s a Royal HH. It’s one of Royal’s standard desktop machines which they started manufacturing in 1952 and which ran until at least 1957.
This is my first standard typewriter as most of the others in my collection are portable typewriters which accompany one ultra-portable. “Standard” indicates its a big machine that was meant to be placed permanently on a desk. At about 30 pounds, it wasn’t meant to be carried around like the portables, but on the other hand, being built with more weight and internal space, it was designed to work smoothly forever with modest care. Thirty pounds is a lot of typewriter. For comparison, my Smith-Corona Silent is just 12.8 pounds.
According to Richard Polt’s well-researched compilation, writers who were known to own and use the Royal HH include: William Buckley, Charles Bukowski, George Burns, Herb Coen, Truman Capote, Bruce Catton, Patty Chayefsky, Don Dellilo, Alicen Denham, James T. Farrell, Paul Russell, Hugh Heffner, Elia Kazan, Sterling North, Robert B. Parker, Syliva Plath, Mario Puzo, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, and William Zinzer.
The serial number stamped on the right side of my machine just underneath the carriage when moved to the left is HHE-5765903, which the typewriterdatabase.com places as a late 1955 machine. (The grid for the Royal serial numbers starts 1955 with 5,500,000 and the 1956 model year stars with serial number 5,787,000.) The HH portion of the serial number identifies it as an HH model and the E indicates that it’s an elite typeface with 12 characters per inch versus the P which was reserved for pica typeface (usually 10 CPI). Like most typewriters of this vintage it also types at 6 lines per inch.
Based on the available original colors listed at the Typewriter Database, I’m going to say that mine is done in Royaltone Light Gray wrinkle. Other HH model paint colors included: Charcoal Grey smooth, Nile Green smooth, Horizon Blue smooth, Coral Rose, Gray Frieze, and Royaltone Dark Gray wrinkle.
Purchase and initial observations/testing
I got this typewriter in an uncontested online auction for $5.99, so in my book it’s already a steal. It had sat on the site for weeks, slowly coming down from a price of $30. Sadly as is almost always the case with online auctions, shipping is the true ordeal. Even moreso when you consider that this typewriter is 2-3 times the weight and significantly larger than portable machines. It also doesn’t help that these machines never had cases.
Naturally the seller chose a poorly sized box, put in some heavy padding, threw the typewriter in, and put some modest, but heavily inadequate padding around it. That’s it… ugh. They made no effort to secure the carriage, so when I opened it up, it was all the way to the right. They didn’t even bother to do padding for the back of the machine.
How not to package up a typewriter for shipping.
Worse, it definitely took some hits in shipping so the right side Magic Margin lever is bent and isn’t working. Not having the carriage in place, the left side also took a major hit and the frame in the back left corner is bent so that the carriage doesn’t move freely. It’s going to take some heavy work to get it back into alignment if it can be done at all.
With a screwdriver as a lever and some significant manual help, I was able to eke out a short typing sample. The key action is gummy at best though none of the keys were too sticky. I expect a thorough cleaning will revive a more snappy typing action.
It’s definitely going to need a serious cleaning both inside and out. Someone wrote a large “50” on the back of the machine in the left rear in thick black magic marker. (Perhaps it was from a large typing pool with at least 50+ machines?) This seemed like a a propitious “sign” when I bought it as a 50th Birthday present, so let’s hope for good luck as a result. The decals on it are mediocre at best, so maybe it’s a good candidate for redoing the exterior even though the rest of the paint is in really good condition.
The alignment of the type is generally okay, but it’s going to need at least a motion adjustment. There’s some occasional piling of letters in my short test. Hopefully some of it clears up in cleaning, but knowing my terrible typing technique and Royal’s famous finicky touch, it may also need some adjustment afterwards to the timing.
The platen is as hard as they come, and will need replacing.
The all black ribbon isn’t totally horrible, but is a tad old and on the drying side. It came with original metal standard spools. I’m sure I’ll swap out the ribbon for a new bichrome black/red which the machine supports. It’s possible that the ribbon reverse mechanism may need some help.
The right platen knob is loose. It’s going to need a screw tightened and/or replaced. The variable spacing mechanisms seem to work, but could be cleaner in their functioning.
Hopefully I don’t run across any additional internal damage or issues as a result of the poor shipping.
Favorite Feature
Because I do a lot of typing on index cards, I can already tell that the most interesting feature on this machine are the spring loaded card fingers. They’ve got tiny little switches on them, which—when pressed—flip them over and out of the way.
If you’ve gotten a terribly dusty and dirty typewriter and don’t have an air compressor or canned air at home, a quick trip to the car wash might not only get your car clean, but allow you to blow out your typewriter too!
(They might not smile much on your use of mineral spirits while you’re there, so use caution.)
I used a hand towel underneath the typewriter to capture any springs, loose screws, or pieces that might pop out just in case. You don’t want to loose anything at the carwash.If only the car mat platform was horizontal for typewriter cleaning…
Spending part of the day cleaning up the 50th birthday Olympia SM3 typewriter. It’s “fuzzier” than I thought it would be initially.
I got a 1958 Olympia SM3 De Luxe typewriter in a gray crinkle finish for my birthday. Naturally I’ve been doing some research and working on cleaning it up for regular use.
Along the way I’ve been aggregating some related Olympia SM3 (and other SM family) resources and videos which include several on use, a few comparing them to other machines (for those considering buying them), and a variety on taking them apart and adjusting them to peak performance including doing rack, ring & cylinder, on feet, motion, silent return spring, trip timing, and spacebar adjustments.
Olympia SM series typewriter Identification
First a note on the name. The SM designator is an abbreviation for the German Schreibmaschine Mittelgroß which translates as medium-sized typewriter (portable). This stands in comparison with Olympia’s SG series which stands for Schreibmaschine Groß meaning large typewriter (standard) and the SF series which stands for Schreibmaschine Flach or flat typewriter (ultraportable) .
Olympia typewriters are often identified with clear badging as to their make, but almost never have a model number listed on the typewriter itself. Originally identification was only done with the inclusion of a typewriter manual which listed the model name on the front of the brochure. Sadly, after decades of use, as with most typewriter manuals, it has frequently gone missing. This means that owners and collectors will typically need to be able to visually distinguish between the various models which can often be missing from online sales listings. How is one able to identify which model their Olympia typewriter is?
Differentiating the Olympia SM2, Olympia SM3, and Olympia SM4
The primary means of distinguishing between the SM2, SM3, and SM4 is the tabulator functionality or lack thereof. The Olympia SM2 doesn’t have a tabulator at all, so you won’t see the ability to set or remove tabs or a tab key on the keyboard. The SM3 has its tab sets on the back of the machine and a simple tab key on the top right hand side of the keyboard. Finally, the SM4 has tab set and clear keys on either side of the spacebar and the tab key in the same spot as the SM3. While there are other subtle differences between the three, which also showed small changes throughout the years they were made, the visual presence or absence of the tabs and their keys is the primary distinguishing feature that most collectors use to properly identify and distinguish among the three.
Most typically the Olympia SM3 typewriter came with a futuristic looking, curvy shaped silver case with a plastic strap handle while the SM2 and SM4 came rectangular cases. There are definitely diversions from this rule of thumb, but it generally holds true which usually allows one to identify an SM3 simply from the shape of its case. Incidentally those restoring broken cases may find it interesting to know that the silver paint is often hiding some spectacularly beautiful grained wood.
Be aware that the various models of the SM series were manufactured simultaneously and their serial numbers ran concurrently, so the serial numbers can’t be used to distinguish between them. Doing so requires looking at the variations of features and visual cues which are generally well documented on the Typewriter Database.
Differentiating the Olympia SM5, Olympia SM7, Olympia SM8, and Olympia SM9
The SM5 and SM7 were introduced at the same time in 1961 and are very similar to the internals of the SM4 mechanically. The SM5 was a less expensive model and the SM7 had a newer and more angular body.
The SM8 and SM9 were introduced in 1964. A primary change here is that they have a segment shift instead of the carriage shift of the earlier SM models. The SM8 is lacking both a keyset tabulator and touch selector which were standard on the higher end SM9. The SM8 also has body-colored carriage ends, rather than chromed ends used on the SM9.
Example of a 1964 Olympia SM9 typewriter
Olympia SM3 Video Playlist
I’ve aggregated a variety of YouTube videos covering the Olympia SM3 typewriter as a playlist which cover general use as well as tear down, common repairs, adjustments, and reassembly. They appear in rough order of introductory to more advanced as well as in order of adjustments. Because of similarities across the SM line, these should serve as a good guide for other machines, though quick searches for specific models may reveal more relevant advice, particularly when it comes to small differences across the line (the shift from carriage shift to segment shift in the SM8/SM9 comes quickly to mind here.)
Special thanks should go to Duane Jensen of Phoenix Typewriter and Gerren Balch of The HotRod Typewriter Co. for the bulk of the work in creating and generating most of these videos.
Surely there are other excellent videos out there, but this list makes a pretty solid crash course which can be used as a jumping off point.
Visually looking at them is usually enough to diagnose the issue, but the problem usually presents as the carriage sitting noticeably lower than it should so that it rubs against the body of the typewriter and/or doesn’t move freely. Some people will notice that typing in lower case is troublesome, but that typing in uppercase doesn’t present any issues. Often these rubber spacers have been compressed and have hardened. In less lucky cases, (usually only) the rear bushings have turned into black tar, so you’ll want to take care to keep this tar off of anything nearby as it’s incredibly sticky and difficult to clean. It can definitely stain the case and/or the machine itself.
Fortunately the repair only requires some readily available generic rubber washers and a screwdriver to replace them. This is one of the quickest and easiest typewriter repairs to start off with and can be a good confidence booster. Incidentally appropriate washers should be approximately 1/4″ thick, large enough in diameter to provide some cushion and with a hole big enough to fit the screw that holds the frame on. Your plumbers’ section at the local hardware store likely sells something appropriate. I’ve used Everbilt 1/4″ thick flat bibb washers with 1/2″ or 9/16″ OD. Others have reported good luck with Danco 1/2 rubber washer Universal (item #198804, model #88569) — 00 trade size with 1/2″ OD and 3/16″ ID.
Olympia SM Series Usage and Repair Manuals
Along with other typewriter manuals collected by Richard Polt, he’s got manuals for the Olympia SM3 in both English and German. Manuals for most of the rest of the series are available on his site as well.
Hopefully this aggregated list of resources will help the next Olympia typewriter enthusiast who finds one in grandma’s basement or who wants to kick off a writing career following in the footsteps of fellow SM3 typists including John Updike, Woody Allen, Frank Herbert, Patricia Highsmith, Robert Penn Warren, Harlan Ellison, Carson McCullers, John Hughes, Louis L’ Amour, William Gaddis, Stan Laurel, Ryan Adams, Ruskin Bond, Evan S. Connell, Kevin McGowin, or Anaïs Nin.
If I’ve missed any truly important resources, please do let me know.
Cheers!
I remember chuckling when I saw Tom Hanks’ tags on his typewriters. Now that I’m over 15 of my own which are constantly out and about the house, I realize the benefit of matching tags on machines and their cases. I don’t have an issue with identification and matching (yet), but if nothing else, less interested family members can properly store them out of the way if they need to without causing issues. Interested visitors can also get a quick précis of machines they run across.
Thank goodness I’ve got a card catalog big enough to log and cross-file a couple hundred models. I’m thinking of categorizing by manufacturer, by decade, and including typeface samples, which I’ve already been doing as I add them to the typewriter database.
You see photos of standard typewriters, but you’re never ready for what shows up. To provide some scale, here are my 12.8 pound 1949 Royal Quiet De Luxe portable and my 29.8 pound 1955 Royal HH standard next to each other. The Royal HH is a substantial typewriter. (I think I’m in love. 😍)
Ted Munk (Lulu)
