Saturday 13 February 2021

Typewriter paper support for an Oliver Courier, 1957


This British made Patria variant Oliver Courier typewriter is very portable, however it does not have a paper support.  This is annoying if what you have typed so far is not visible. There is a paper table at the back, and with this design I used an old wire coathanger, and a single small electrical zip tie.



At the back of the typewriter, there is paper release lever bar that runs the length of the carriage.  The zip tie is already in place on it in the picture. To the back of the machine, is the  toothed margin bar.  The coathanger paper support will tuck under the paper release bar and over the margin bar, to stick out at the same angle as the paper table.

The lengths and angles of the parts of the wire coathanger support are shown in the following pictures.  They are not  measured to the 1,000ths of an inch, and they don't have to be, which is good when you are bending wire.
 Here is the shape you are aiming for.  You need one side of a wire coathanger, minus the hook, to make this.  Bend one side at a time into shape, then follow what you have done on the other side.

The length of the support to the first bend is here.

Bend the wire up at the first bend to 120 degrees or so.

The second bend comes just after an inch.

The bend needs to be about 120 degrees again, back in the direction of the first side, close to parallel with it.

After about an inch and a quarter you make a hook.

This hook is only about half an inch, bend to end.

The distance between the two sides at the top is shown here.


Between the two hooks, the distance is shown here.

Fit the support in position like this.

When it is central, and you have tested it, add the zip tie to the left of the paper release bar, as seen from the back, but inside the left hand hook.  The tendancy is for the support to drift towards the carriage return lever end when you are typing, and the zip tie is enough to stop that.

In position, seen from the right, the support looks like this.

This shows it follows the angle of the small paper table, and supports the paper as you type.

Rear view.

When you put the typewriter back in its case, the support can rest on the platen and the typebars like this.

It will clear the lid of the case when you replace it.


Happy typing!











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