Adler model 7 - complete overhaul
This is a machine I wanted to acquire for quite some time now. They are not very common and when they appear on auctions they usually have prices beyond my range.
This particular specimen was in poor shape with few parts missing. Price was attractive thou and it has Swedish keyboard so I did not hesitate to byu it. Its characteristic Adler logo, with German eagle sitting on bicycle wheel was covered with sticker, making it non recognisable at the first glance.
It matched quite nicely the model name, gold-lettered on the key-levers cover but I could not find any trace of such coloured Adlers anywhere in the literature. Upon closer inspection I noticed that this is in fact a foil sticker, cut nicely to shape but certainly not true to the time when this machine was built: 1912.
I removed the sticker. The whole cover was apparently painted black with someone who did not fancy doing it properly: thick, black goo, splashed all over the place, mixed with the sticker’s glue rests.
I attacked it with denatured alcohol, to remove the glue. Lots of paint came out, too. Original Adler logo appeared faintly from below together with original, glossy enamel paint.
It seams that the logo - eagle - was scraped away, as if someone thought it’s nazi symbol - while the rest of lettering is just covered with paint.
In its glory it should look like a machine on this page.
I was hoping to remove the goo-paint and reveal original enamel but had no idea how to do it. While thinking about it I switched to the mechanism.
As a first step I fabricated new set of rubber legs - old ones were far gone. Then I could work more safely on the internals.
It is quite different than most known typewriters - it strokes the paper horizontally. Most modern typewriters we know today use down-strike mechanism for printing: type slug is meeting the paper (and ribbon) on its way down towards it. Adler machines have shorter movement as they attack the paper horizontally.
My machine suffered from someone who sprayed the mechanism with WD-40. That inevitably clogs the mechanism, with all the dust and grit glued to it.
Surprisingly, even though very dirty, this machine still worked quite OK! That says a lot about the sturdiness of the mechanism indeed!
Anyhow - to become part of my arsenal it had to go through proper cleaning and lubrication.
This is undoubtedly the easiest machine I ever worked with, in terms of taking it apart for cleaning.
Type bars can be accessed after removing 4 screws of the top casting.
All felt cushions are in perfect shape - not smelly nor deteriorated. I just cleaned them with compressed air.
Once the top casting is removed each type bar can be lifted for cleaning.
I place them on temporary fixture to keep the order - for easier assembly after cleaning.
Each type slug has 3 characters: capitals, small letter and a sign. Similarly to Oliver machines the carriage moves in 3 steps. Oliver lifts or lowers the carriage for different letters, Adler uses double down-shifts: lower for capitals and lowest for signs. They are operated by side levers, characteristic only to Adler machines.
Gliding surface is nice and smooth but quite a lot of debris was accumulated under slugs.
Draw string was missing so the machine was inanimate. Luckily one part - connection to main spring - was still attached. Carefully to not brake it I managed to unfold the metal to remove old draw string rests. Curved needles came handy here.
New string attached - I used natural - fibre cord, matching better this old machine than nylon string.
Mounted on main spring drum.
The other end was missing so I made one in brass.
It is slightly different from original but serves the purpose equally well.
Tensioning knob on the main spring was not moving. I took all apart and found out that it is the small screw on the side which locks the knob. Same as in old Colt revolvers - I should have known that without disassembly. But it was fun anyway.
And then the machine came to life!
Escapement - although dirty as hell - is doing its job flawlessly. Great feeling to see this machine working!
I came back to disassembly before chemical cleaning.
Carriage on this machine is easily removable. Almost as easy as on Oliver machines, it slides out of guide rails on the right side.
With carriage and type bars removed I had enough access to perform chemical bathing. Activities moved outside, onto the fresh air.
Flushed with white spirit + engine oil the machine was now clean and protected from rusting. Drying in the evening Sun.
Back in the workshop I turned my attention to key levers. They were originally nickel or chrome-plated but now they were covered with goo. I removed them one by one for cleaning.
Key-lever cover bears model name. This is the only part left with original gold-plated lettering. I cleaned it carefully to not damage it.
Sound dampening re-attached with spray-glue.
I turned back to the top cover. Tried different chemicals in the hope of removing top paint but keeping the original enamel. Alcohol worked to some extend but I reached the end point. Time for stronger stuff - acetone bath.
I left it in the tray for several hours and moved into the carriage assembly.
Paper-feed roller was in bad shape.
In my attempt to remove the platen the right knob got cracked. There was a lot of corrosion there, apparently it weakened also the bakelite knob.
I wanted to remove the platen to get access to this damaged paper-feed roller. Taking note on geared rack position before removal.
I need to disassembly one side of the carriage to remove the platen. Left side it will be.
Separated into two parts, with main spring visible in the background.
Why stop here? I go further! Here is tensioning spring for paper-feed roller.
Finally the platen can be removed. Certainly not as straight forward as on Remington Rand!
Mission objectives finally reached - both the platen and paper-feed roller removed.
Frame is broken in one end. Machine works fine with this fault but eventually tension from the main spring will break the other side. Time to fix this.
This is a cast iron - I think - so welding is not an option. Luckily we have XXI century, JB Welds come with help.
Platen knob gets epoxied at the same time.
All metal parts cleaned and ready for re-assembly.
The platen got sanded and treated with rubber reconditioner.
After chemical cleaning serial number of the carriage appeared on the frame casting.
Paper-feed roller is in bad shape.
I tried sanding away cracked rubber. It didn’t make the situation better.
I cannot leave it this way so I cut out all bad rubber with a knife.
Poor-man’s lathe to smooth it out.
I found a rubber hose matching the outside diameter. After sanding the remains to a proper internal diameter I prepare for sliding a replacement rubber. Exposed steel is polished at this stage.
It is a tight fit. Sliding the hose onto a core is done with the help of liquid soap. When doing such installation one needs to make sure the hose never stops gliding - if it does all gets stalled and very difficult to move. My take is to use rotation while sliding the hose onto the core.
Final result after trimming the excess rubber and chamfering the edges as in the original roller. Nice & grippy, ready for installation.
My machine has a mechanism which I never saw on any other Adler in the Internet. It is a lever with attached hands, on both side of the platen. Size matches standard 1/2 inch ribbon but it is not spring-held in position for typing. My guess is that it was added by someone afterwards, possibly for correction tape.
When one inspects the platen frame there are cavities made for hiding screw heads inside the frame.
These very screws are instead used to hold additional mechanism, sitting on top of small steel tabs.
Certainly an after-market addition.
I put all parts back together.
Lubrication of key components - there are lubrication holes on the platen’s axis.
Carriage back in place. Space bar got polished to bare steel.
Initial type test on the old, dried ribbon.
Not bad - the print is faint but rows are straight and capitals sit on the same level as small letters.
I check on top cover in acetone bath - no success there. Paint sits as it was. I try hot air, with the hope of lifting the black goo from the original paint.
No luck neither.
Last idea is to use chrome-polishing paste to lift the paint with help of ammonia.
Nope, that did not work either. Flakes of new paint still of the same size. Original enamel is nice and glossy but only in few spots.
I decided to remove all to bare metal. If I paint it back into glossy black it is good to have clean layer of steel for fresh paint. If I leave it bare it can look good as is.
Few hours of hand-sanding later the cover is shiny silver. Steel is covered with camellia oil to prevent rust.
Sound-dumpening re-attached.
The machine is now ready!
I don’t know a source for so wide ribbon so I attempt to re-use the original one, re-inking it manually on a simple fixture.
Time-consuming process but the result is quite OK.
Ready for serving its user for another 100 years!