Flexowriter: Round 2!

Today I started working on the 2nd Flexowriter. First I should point out that this is a newer machine than the first one. This one has an ~13,500 serial number and the first one has an ~4,000 serial number. This is what it looked like to begin with; front <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2front.jpg> and back <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2back.jp.g> and right hand side <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2right.jpg>. At least the keyboard hasn't been smashed in this one but you can tell that it hasn't been used in a LONG time by the mildew on the keys. The keys are supposed to be black and not white! The power cords of both machines had been wrapped around the carriage for so long that they had taken a permanent set and they broke when I tried to unwrap them! The first thing that you notice about this machine is that all the removeable covers are dark blue instead of brown. I've been told that sometime in the 60s they changed the machine color from brown to blue. Perhaps this is a transistion model or maybe somebody just mixed up the parts during a repair or modification. This is the same model as the first one but it's very different. For one thing it has a transformer in it <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2motor.jpg>. It also has a 2nd circuit board lurking behind the transformer and the fuse holders are very different from the first machine. But in the back it's even more changed. There are a lot more relays in it and the relays have a lot more contacts. <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2relays.jpg>. The blue arrows show all the new relays and the red arrow shows a stepping relay that has also been added to this machine. This appears to be a factory modification since all the brackets, wiring, etc fit perfectly. However all the added parts use wire with grey plastic insulation instead of the various colored cloth covered wire used originaly so this appears to have been done long after the machine was originally built. This mod also uses a different type connector (white arrow). In addition to the added relays, the encoder <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2encoder.jpg> has three more switch levers added (red arrows) to the original seven levers (blue arrows. And of course there are three added sets of switch contacts (red arrows) on the back of the plate that hold the original seven sets (blue arrows) <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2switches.jpg>. All of the added electrical parts use the same grey plastic insulated wires. Another change that I spotted was the use of round rubber feet with studs sticking out of the top and bottom of it (the one in the picture is broken). The top stud screws into the machine to mount the foot but I don't know for sure what the bottom stud was supposed to screw into.* The first machine used square rubber feet that were obviously make to sit on a flat surface such as a table top. Both of these machines were built by Commercial Controls Corporation prior to it being taken over by Frieden in the early '60s. <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/CC.jpg>. FWIW Here is also a picture of the PT punch <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2punch.jpg>. It's a modular design and I had to take it off to remove the encoder. *When I was a kid my dad had several teletype machines. A year of two ago he told me about another machine that he used to have that printed form letters from a paper tape. He said that it stopped printing at certain points and you could manually type in people's names, addresses, etc. He got rid of the machine many years ago and didn't remember the name on it. Today I called him and asked him about it and asked if it was a Fleowriter and he said that it was. He said that he still has a few accessories for it including a bit bucket and a Frieden marked dust cover. He also said that his Flexowriter sat on it's own stand. I suppose that that is what the rubber feet with studs on this machine are intended for. As I mentioned. I worked on the second machine today. I found that there's something locking up the carriage and preventing it from going back to the left. The release buttons have no effect even though all the linkage is free and moves like it should. The problem seems to be in something UNDER the carriage. I finally found a escapement behind the carriage and I pryed over the lever that prevents it from turning backwards and I was able to move the carriage to the left. I need to find out more about the escapement and what how it's supposed to work. The shafts in the encoder <http://www.classiccmp.org/hp/flexo2/2encoder.jpg> that rotate and move the switch levers were also rusted up. I had to take the encover out and take it apart and clean the pivots before it worked. Boy getting it all back together was fun! NOT! Joe