The Pittsburg 10

The Pittsburg 10 was based on the earlier Daugherty, the first true visible front stroke machine with a four bank keyboard. It was the beginning of the end of typewriter development, but it was not a very good start. If you look at this model with its very long type bars, the problem with the machine seems almost obvious. It is virtually impossible to align the type with such long, drunken type bars swinging up to the platen. And so, the Pittsburg was a nice visible writer, but the text it produced was less than perfect. For collectors, the PB10 is a dream of a machine. The shape is beautiful with abundant nickel and lovely decals.

   

There was very little wrong with this particular machine: Both ring shaped margin stops and the screws at the end of the carriage rail were missing, and the main spring was broken, but everything else was there. Also, the decal on top of the type basket was damaged and needed to be replaced.

Therefore, this project is mostly a guideline for dismantling and cleaning the PB10. The pleasant part is that the machine comes apart quite easily.

 
To begin with, the entire type basket can be removed by just loosening the two clamps on either side of the basket and lifting it out. And the carriage comes off just as easily. Unhook the carriage return string and hook it onto the special pin behind the carriage. Next, take off the screw to the right of the carriage, remove the margin stop and slide the carriage off the machine.  
The carriage
Undo the screws 1, 2 and 3, holding the paper bail, the platen and the carriage return lever. Do this on both sides of the carriage to remove the platen. The carriage now comes apart completely and you can remove the paper tray and all other parts for cleaning. I cleaned up the platen by lightly ‘sanding’ it with 1000 enamel paper and thinner, to achieve an excellent result. All the nickel parts (on the carriage and on other parts of the machine) were buffed, using a Dremel with red buffing paste, after cleaning off dust and dirt. 		 
Ribbon holders and alignment section
One of the most striking features of the PB10 is the nickel plated section in front of the carriage: ribbon holders, alignment section and ribbon reversal mechanism. This section also can be dismantled completely. To start with, remove both ribbon spools and the ribbon. -picture 1) 		 
To remove the ribbon holder, and loosen the ribbon reversal lever, you need to undo the bolts that hold the ribbon holders in place. ( picture 2).  
(Note: When you undo the right hand bolt and remove the ribbon reversal lever, a tiny spring and ball may come jumping out. The ball locks the lever in place when you reverse the movement of the ribbon. Make sure you return the ball properly when putting the mechanism back together. See number 2 in picture 3)  
You now have the ribbon holders and the reverse mechanism off the machine and ready to be cleaned. The next step is to take off the thin nickel plated bar that protects the paper in front of the platen, by undoing screw 1 (picture 3-above) on both sides. Finally, loosen up the screws on the side of the alignment bars (3 in picture 3) and lift it out. Take care: this is a pretty vulnerable part that may break if handled to harshly while cleaning. Also make sure you don’t loose the spring between the two pins of the alignment bar. (If you can’t find it on your machine, it was lost already...)  

Once it has been cleaned and reassembled, it looks like this: