Wrangling Some Hermes's

This older-style H3K I got from a local collector, while the most recent find that I worked on earlier this week, the middle-era H3K, I got from my friend Bill. They're very similar mechanically. The curvy, first generation version has metal carriage end-cap plates, while the 2nd and 3rd generation versions are plastic. The 2nd and 3rd generation also don't have the sliding feet brackets like the first one does, so they're a bit less intricate to disassemble. I think if you're comfortable working on any of the three versions, the others shouldn't be a problem.

Besides working on these two Hermes's, I did a repair job on the Olivetti Praxis 48, also acquired from Bill. Besides needing a good clean, the main problem was the clutch mechanism for the powered carriage return was slipping and making a horrendous noise. It turned out the ring-shaped cork surface on the inside face of the plastic pulley was slipping. I made a corresponding ring of fine sandpaper and double-sided-taped it to the corresponding face of the metal clutch disc, rendering it functional once again.

I really like the Praxis 48, not only for its style but functionality. The owners manual states it's capable of 160 words per minute. I can't type that fast but I appreciate that it can keep up with whatever I throw at it. The machine sports some interlocks that prevents two type bars from overtyping the same space. It has a nifty paper centering scale that many machines from this era lacked, and the margins are set electrically. Here's a glamour shot of the Praxis 48:



Here's a video about the Praxis 48: