Consul Typewriter Tab Repair Tabulator Fix - Tabulation Not Engaging When I Press Tab Key - Solved

A demonstration of a Clackers Clinic (Auckland workshop) typewriter repair for a 1978 Consul 235, made in Czechoslovakia.The Tab key wasn't working at all because the Tabulation wasn't setting. I adjust the Tab rack at the back so it engages with the Tab-setting-and-releasing system. You need a small flat-head screwdriver and a pair of tweezers.

My first experimental video so please be patient. This is a portable typewriter I purchased recently. It was drenched in rust and in need of a through cleaning and blowing out with the compressor. At the time of filming there is still a lot of work to do but I thought I would record a small portion of the process in case anyone else has had the problem.

Because this is my first attempt at filming on my phone I am aware of the fact that my camera is shaking, the focus is poor, and I have held my phone the wrong way up (vertical as opposed to horizontal) and so the final shot is not full screen. I will endeavour to get better lighting for future videos also.

I repair and trade typewriters of all brands - portable and standard - and supply ribbons in Auckland, New Zealand. My customers are usually authors (or writers of some description) who want to be away from all the distractions that computers are heir to. My job, as I see it, is to get neglected typewriters out of attics and basements and back into circulation until each typewriter is matched with its typer. I do not specialize in refurbishing typewriters or decorating them in any capacity. I simply get them functional again and leave all cosmetic considerations up to the new owner.

In New Zealand the most common brands I find are: Olivetti (Lettera 32, Lettera 22, Dora), Brother, Royal, Remington, Smith-Corona, Hermes (Baby, Media 3, 3000). I have found that the most popular colour for any typewriter is orange.

Timestamps:

00:00 - the tabulation problem

00:22 - quick fix

02:13 - the Tab mechanism location

03:20 - Tab set-and-release controller and how the tab is misaligned

04:55 - the adjusting screws

05:33 - removed Tab rack bar

06:57 - post-adjustment test

08:14 - putting it all back

10:34 - success

11:23 - Keeping Track of Screws in Ribbon Boxes using a Blackwing 602 (the pencil preferred by Steinbeck).

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Email Clackers Clinic: nztypewriter@gmail.com

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