I just bought a 1958 Hermes Rocket. The seller didn't disclose that it was broken. In my case, the carriage release lever was very bent, the pin on the rack gear was dislodged from its hole on the lever side of the carriage (right side). Also, the nylon spring loaded return cable was completely unwound due to the carriage being disengaged from the escapement mechanism (rack gear is not seated). Through this video, you showed me how the gearing worked. I was able to reseat the rack gear, bend the lever back into place and get the carriage return cable re-wound and hooked up. Now the old girl types...next up is a thorough cleaning. A most sincere thank you!
Thank you for this video! I recently acquired two Hermes Rockets which both have the same damage: that lever for the escapement rack is bent down. My guess is both of them fell on that side, a hard smack. Got one bent back into shape, kind of a pain to dismantle the carriage but much better now.
Nice video thanks. I just inheritated from an Hermes Baby (1942, SN 277166) thats looks very similar to your Rocket - what are the differences between two models ?
Hey Joe did you ever take the carriage out to work on the escapement? It's very straight forward. You just need to scribe it, unhook the carriage cable and remove four screws. Removing the carriage makes it ten times easier to work on the escapement.
Not that much force; it appears to be rather soft metal. Since doing this repair I noticed if the machine is used extensively by other people, for instance during a Type-In, it can exhibit this problem intermittently. However, since Bill Wahl has subsequently serviced this machine, I've had no issues.
Very much appreciate your videos, they are very informing! Just wanted to ask if this fully resolved the issue with the escapement? I just acquired a hermes baby and it is skipping quite a bit…
@@Joe_VanCleave Nice! Unfortunately no such luck over here. It seems to be skipping mostly while typing fast and a bit sloppy and seems to be connected with space bar most of the time. My Skyriter on the other hand, i cant get to skip for the life of me.
For the exterior panels a mild soap/water solution, sometimes I use Windex, depending on how dirty. Be careful with the older textured paint finishes, they can come off easily. The newer glossy smooth finishes are more rugged. But usually the internals need serious degreasing and cleaning. Have the bottom panel of the machine removed, or the chassis taken out of the body, depending how old the Rocket is. Place the chassis over a thick towel to catch all the gunk. I start by a gently blow-out with compressed air, being careful not to dislodge any small springs. Then I look at how the type bars move, are they free or are they gummed up and hanging up, not returning to their rest position? They may need serious degreasing between the slots of the segment where the type bars move. I use lacquer thinner and 90+% alcohol, work it in by typing on the keys, then blow the gunk out the bottom with compressed air. Don't let the lacquer thinner and alcohol get on the body panels, it'll dissolve the paint. Next, you'll need to degrease the ribbon drive system, escapement, and carriage area. There's a lot to do to get the insides properly degreased and cleaned. If you feel you're over your head, watch some videos by Phoenix Typewriter, or bring it to a shop for professional service. There's also the Facebook Antique Typewriter Maintenance group as a resource. Good luck.
@@Joe_VanCleave oh okay! Good on you for that. I just picked up a 60 rocket to go with my baby and h3k. Was just wondering if there was a specific reason. Cant wait for the upcoming review!
Check to see if the type slug for the “P” is hitting the type guide when it gets close to the printing position: press the key slightly, then carefully raise the typebar by moving it down near the pivot point. You don’t want to influence its side-to-side position, let it come up on its own. As the type slug enters the gap in the type guide, check to see if one side or other is rubbing on the guide. If so, carefully bend the type bar left or right slightly until the slug moves into the gap with no contact on the sides.
@@Joe_VanCleave many thanks for being so kind and answering me. I applied a bit of tension on one of the P Arms and since then the problem completly desapeared. Now I have another little Issum, not dramatisch but a bit annoying. I fountain a little jewel, a brother with Papers from 1971, Brand New. The only thing is when I type with it, some of the Charcters get kind of doubled from pressure, the machine is new from new so it is not disfunction, could it be that the rubber is too hard since never used and stored for long time, do you think will improve while typing over time?
@@famillekarabach4508 If it’s due to hardened rubber, it probably won’t improve. One way to tell is to use several backing sheets of paper and see if the situation improves; if it does, either keep using a backing sheet or consider having the platen removed and sent off to JJ Short to be covered in fresh rubber.
I just bought a 1958 Hermes Rocket. The seller didn't disclose that it was broken. In my case, the carriage release lever was very bent, the pin on the rack gear was dislodged from its hole on the lever side of the carriage (right side). Also, the nylon spring loaded return cable was completely unwound due to the carriage being disengaged from the escapement mechanism (rack gear is not seated). Through this video, you showed me how the gearing worked. I was able to reseat the rack gear, bend the lever back into place and get the carriage return cable re-wound and hooked up. Now the old girl types...next up is a thorough cleaning. A most sincere thank you!
Thank you for this video! I recently acquired two Hermes Rockets which both have the same damage: that lever for the escapement rack is bent down. My guess is both of them fell on that side, a hard smack. Got one bent back into shape, kind of a pain to dismantle the carriage but much better now.
Right on, thanks for posting this. Super helpful!
Very fine detective work! And a fine video showing the process; clear explanations. Thanks!
I'm glad you found the root cause. If only I could do the same on some of my problem machines. Cheers.
Thank you for your valuable contributions to the typedom! You are inspiring.
A great video Joe. Very insightful. Keep up the good work.
Still love that hair color dispensing bottle idea, absolutely brilliant Joe!
It's always fun to find and fix a problem on these machines. Thanks for sharing--Colin
Awesome work Joe!
Really enjoyed this one, Joe! Kind regards,
You were smart figure out the issue, looks complicated inside Joe.
Excellent! Just what I was looking for.
Also, Great Video! I wish more people would post videos on repair problems.
WSell done Joe
Nice video thanks. I just inheritated from an Hermes Baby (1942, SN 277166) thats looks very similar to your Rocket - what are the differences between two models ?
Not much difference, really. The Baby and Rocket continued to be the same machine with different names throughout their production run.
Hey Joe did you ever take the carriage out to work on the escapement? It's very straight forward. You just need to scribe it, unhook the carriage cable and remove four screws. Removing the carriage makes it ten times easier to work on the escapement.
I just bought a Hermes Baby and it has the exact same problem, Joe. How much force Did you use on the carriage release lever?
Not that much force; it appears to be rather soft metal. Since doing this repair I noticed if the machine is used extensively by other people, for instance during a Type-In, it can exhibit this problem intermittently. However, since Bill Wahl has subsequently serviced this machine, I've had no issues.
Thank you for the interesting and well made video! :)
Very much appreciate your videos, they are very informing!
Just wanted to ask if this fully resolved the issue with the escapement? I just acquired a hermes baby and it is skipping quite a bit…
Yes it did!
@@Joe_VanCleave Nice! Unfortunately no such luck over here. It seems to be skipping mostly while typing fast and a bit sloppy and seems to be connected with space bar most of the time. My Skyriter on the other hand, i cant get to skip for the life of me.
How can I open my Hermes Baby like that? I need to clean it, it's very dirty
On my Rocket there are small slot-head screws along the sides, back and front that need to be removed, then the body shell can come off.
@@Joe_VanCleave My typewriter is different and doesn't have this slot-heads. Can I send you a picture?
I just bought a beautiful hermes baby but its really dirty. How do you suggest I clean it Joe?
For the exterior panels a mild soap/water solution, sometimes I use Windex, depending on how dirty. Be careful with the older textured paint finishes, they can come off easily. The newer glossy smooth finishes are more rugged. But usually the internals need serious degreasing and cleaning. Have the bottom panel of the machine removed, or the chassis taken out of the body, depending how old the Rocket is. Place the chassis over a thick towel to catch all the gunk. I start by a gently blow-out with compressed air, being careful not to dislodge any small springs. Then I look at how the type bars move, are they free or are they gummed up and hanging up, not returning to their rest position? They may need serious degreasing between the slots of the segment where the type bars move. I use lacquer thinner and 90+% alcohol, work it in by typing on the keys, then blow the gunk out the bottom with compressed air. Don't let the lacquer thinner and alcohol get on the body panels, it'll dissolve the paint. Next, you'll need to degrease the ribbon drive system, escapement, and carriage area. There's a lot to do to get the insides properly degreased and cleaned. If you feel you're over your head, watch some videos by Phoenix Typewriter, or bring it to a shop for professional service. There's also the Facebook Antique Typewriter Maintenance group as a resource. Good luck.
@@Joe_VanCleave Thanks so much. You have no idea how clean it is now👍😁
At the 10:30 markpoint, I heard "the f-ing five..." Oh my! LOL
What made you sell this machine? Just going by another video where you said you only have 3 ultras n this wasnt one of them
I gave it to a young man who wanted a typewriter. But I now have another Rocket that I need to review!
@@Joe_VanCleave oh okay! Good on you for that. I just picked up a 60 rocket to go with my baby and h3k. Was just wondering if there was a specific reason. Cant wait for the upcoming review!
Hi, I use a Brother. Only when I type P letter it adds a 1 space. How can I fix it?
Check to see if the type slug for the “P” is hitting the type guide when it gets close to the printing position: press the key slightly, then carefully raise the typebar by moving it down near the pivot point. You don’t want to influence its side-to-side position, let it come up on its own. As the type slug enters the gap in the type guide, check to see if one side or other is rubbing on the guide. If so, carefully bend the type bar left or right slightly until the slug moves into the gap with no contact on the sides.
@@Joe_VanCleave many thanks for being so kind and answering me. I applied a bit of tension on one of the P Arms and since then the problem completly desapeared. Now I have another little Issum, not dramatisch but a bit annoying. I fountain a little jewel, a brother with Papers from 1971, Brand New. The only thing is when I type with it, some of the Charcters get kind of doubled from pressure, the machine is new from new so it is not disfunction, could it be that the rubber is too hard since never used and stored for long time, do you think will improve while typing over time?
If you give me an email address will send you some scans and photos
@@famillekarabach4508 If it’s due to hardened rubber, it probably won’t improve. One way to tell is to use several backing sheets of paper and see if the situation improves; if it does, either keep using a backing sheet or consider having the platen removed and sent off to JJ Short to be covered in fresh rubber.
@@Joe_VanCleave OK will experiment it, until now only typing light gives a slightly better result without eliminating completely the issue