Reassembly

Generally speaking, put things back together in the reverse of the order you used to take them apart.
Starting with the mainframe, assemble the shafts running under the type tower pedestal casting and then screw the casting into position. Mount the proper levers onto the left end of these shafts and screw on the shaft end support.

Photo 2

Photo 6

13. Shift levers and links on the left side of the typewriter

14. Reassembling the key levers and typebars. The alcohol bottle holds the key levers down while typebars are attached.

15. Type tower details on refinished machine. Things are much cleaner and shinier now

Photo 8

16. Carriage rail/escapement assembly as found. Not a pretty picture.

17. Escapement mechanism after cleaning. Paint stripper made it easy.

Photo 7

Attach the cranks and levers on the right side of the pedestal casting, noting their proper relationships (See Photo 2 again). Adjust the little concentric screw arrangements with the itty-bitty springs so that the levers rest naturally at least 180 degrees back from their eventual position. You have to attach the shift lever assembly on the left side before you can secure the left-hand levers into their final positions. We’ll come back to that.
Leave the shift levers off for the time being because with them in place it is difficult to tip the machine on its back for bottom work. Instead, install the patent plate and the spacebar stops that secure it and you will now be able to rest the machine upside down so that it rests on the top of the type bar towers and on the spacebar stops.
The newly painted front edge of the frame will not touch the bench. In this inverted position, reassemble the rest of the underframe components.
Adjust cone bearings for the various shafts for free movement without side play. Various springs, for the ribbon reverse lever, the universal bar, and the two "mystery springs" that contact the universal bar at its travel limit, will have to be calibrated later. Just adjust them to a more or less middle setting right now. Refer to Photo 6 again for details of underframe structures.
Now replace the left side shift lever subassembly. Attach the L-shaped vertical travel limiter to the type pedestal first and then slide the shift lever assembly under it, maneuvering the springs into their holes as you do so. Using your third hand, insert the screws for the mounting standard from underneath the machine. Attach the connecting links to the levers on the cross shafts that run to the right side.

IMPORTANT: Adjust these levers on their cross shafts so that the top arms of the shift lockers on the right side are close to their eventual position but still somewhat ABOVE the horizontal. When the carriage rail assembly is added later, it will push these arms down on their springs to a nearly horizontal position (See Photo 2 again). If they are below horizontal to begin with, they will not work properly, and after the carriage rail assembly is in position, it will be almost impossible to access the screws to readjust them. Depress one of the shift levers and slide the shift lock lever with its mounting angle into position. Secure with its screw from the bottom of the machine (See Photo 13 for left-side shift lever detail).

With the base reassembled, it is time to move on to the key lever and typebar assemblies. The order in which you do things here can make the difference between a relatively easy job and endless frustration. Doing one side at a time, first install the key levers, working from the outside in so that you can attach the springs easily. Push the shaft into the key lever standard at the back of the machine one slot at a time as the levers are positioned. The springs, of course, will leave the levers standing at a steep angle. After all have been installed, push them down into their respective comb slots and then wedge some kind of object on top of them and under the typebar plate to hold them down. I found a rubbing alcohol bottle to be just the right size (See Photo 14). This lets you install the typebars without having to fight the springs. Remember to tighten the setscrew on the key lever standard when you are done.

Next, install the typebars, again working from the outside in, opening the gates on the key levers with a small screwdriver as needed, and then bending the gates closed again with needle nosed pliers. When all the typebars are in position, screw the retainers down onto the mounting plate. Remember to position the foot of the typebar rest and the little brass trim piece over the front inside hole of the typebar retainer first. Tighten this last screw only minimally for the time being. Attach the ribbon cup (remember the washers that go under it), and then drop the ribbon shaft into place, positioning the washer and knurled knob as you go. Don’t worry about the gear on the bottom of the shaft just yet.

Now, replace the arched typebar guard. Last, insert the big screw with its felt washer and plastic bushing through the top of the typebar guard and then finish tightening the screw on the bottom end of the typebar rest (See Photo 15 for type tower details).

Repeat this whole process on the other side of the machine. It’s starting to look like a typewriter again, isn’t it! Now that both type towers are back together, the machine will again be stable when flipped on its back. It is safe to rest it upside down on its type tower guards. Just don’t apply undue forces. (Rule of thumb—If you have to use force, you’re probably not doing it right)!

With the machine upside down, attach the gears to the ends of the ribbon shafts. Now adjust the spring that holds the ribbon switch lever so that the gears engage evenly on both sides when the switch is thrown. With the key levers back in place it is now time to reassemble and replace the spring barrel. I took mine completely apart because something heavy had apparently been dropped on the machine at some point and the barrel shaft (along with the rear carriage rail) was bent.
During reassembly I applied some powdered graphite to the spring to lubricate it. IMPORTANT: Do NOT use oil inside the spring barrel, as it will eventually cause the spring to stick to itself and act erratically, making loud, strange noises in the process. I am convinced that my machine used a leather strap for a carriage string. Both the screw that goes into the face of the barrel and the clip that attaches to the carriage (amazing that it was still there!) had fibers of what appeared to be rotted leather on them. Also, the clip was designed with rivets, not the sort of thing that would be needed if a string were employed, but ideal for a leather strap. The final convincing bit of evidence was an illustration in the Oliver 2 instruction manual that refers to the "spring barrel strap." In view of all this, I used a length of leather for this application (See Photo 8).

Next comes the carriage rail/escapement assembly. Considering how filthy it was to begin with (See Photo 16), I completely disassembled it EXCEPT for the calibration nuts on the tail brace, the shift calibrations on the sides, and parts making up the ribbon vibrator that were pressed together. This is one of those cases where spraying the parts with paint stripper made the cleanup a lot easier. After about 20 minutes of soaking, 100 years of gross crud came off of these small, intricate parts with amazing ease (See Photo 17). In reassembling this component, I purposely flipped the two carriage rails 180 degrees. This moved some visible signs of corrosion down out of sight and also presented fresh bearing surfaces to the carriage wheels.

Juggle the complete assembly back down into position. You have to keep your eye on about four things at once while you do it. Make sure the shifting arm goes back onto its activating lever under the keyboard. Check to see that the slotted escapement activator arm under the back of the assembly does not tangle with anything on its way in. See that the left and right shift positioning tabs interact properly with the shift levers on the left and the levers on the right typebar pedestal.
Now insert the rockers on each side. See how the levers on the right side are now pushed down to a near horizontal position? If one or the other of them is dangling below the stops on the carriage rail assembly, stop now and adjust it upward. Next, reposition the L-shaped vertical stops on each side, minimizing play without causing things to bind, and then do the same with the cap and vertical adjustment on the tail brace standard. Keep fiddling with the shift levers for a while to make sure everything works without binding and that the mechanism goes to its stops in each direction. If you did not disturb calibration settings when you disassembled things, you should not have to do anything to them now.

Reassembling the carriage is fairly straightforward. Just reverse the process of disassembly and look again at Photos 7 and 8 for how things are supposed to look when you are done. Now FINALLY, you can slide the carriage back onto its rails and see if it all works. As you are doing this, check to see that the carriage strap clip engages properly. If it doesn’t, bend either the clip or the hanger on the carriage until it works reliably. In case your machine didn’t come with its clip, see Photo 8 to see what one looks like.

And now, the finishing touch:
Calibration and realignment: