Adler J3

This is the original dealer tag, from Boulder, Colorado.

There's a second tag on the left side from a California-based office supply store in Universal City.


The styling of this machine is wonderful! The three levers visible here are, from left to right, paper release, carriage release and all tabs clear. The carriage lock lever is visible on the bottom.


Another beauty shot!
I think the feel of the keys is great, similar to either an Olympia SM3/4 or Optima Super, but slightly different, enough such that each of those machines has their own personality, and whether a person prefers one to the others is up to how their personality gels with the machine's. Yes, the SM3/4 has a metal body shell, as does the Optima, but the styling of the Adler is superb.

To remove the body shell, you remove the four screws on the bottom, then unscrew the left platen knob and three screws securing the left carriage cover, then remove the cover. Then loosen the screws on the right carriage cover and remove the rear panel with the paper support. This then gives you enough room to move the carriage fully to the left and lift the right side of the body shell up and over the carriage tracks.


I've noticed that many portables have carriage bearing races made of formed sheet metal. But the Adler's are machined, a manufacturing method more involved, but possibly producing a more accurate part.



Above is a side view of the one remaining intact locking lever bushing. The righthand mechanism was entirely missing the rubber bushing, so I installed some grommets that work well enough to lock the machine into its case bottom.

Here's a blog article from Mary of My Old Typewriter where she shows how she fixed the case lock bushings, and also mentions Ted's blog article on how to finnagle the machine from its case bottom when the locking mechanism is broken. There's also a link to the Adler J3 manual in Mary's article so be sure to check it out!