Opening A Curta — With Great Care

Republished By Plato

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We’ve always admired Curta mechanical calculators, and would be very hesitant to dismantle one. But [Janus Cycle] did just that — and succeeded. A friend sent him a Curta Model 2 calculator that was frozen up. Just opening the case involved percussive force to remove a retaining pin, and once inside he discovered the main shaft had been slightly bent. No doubt this calculator had suffered a drop at some point in the past.

I’m sticking to the rule of doing no harm — I’d rather not be able to fix this than do something that causes more problems.

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screen capture from the project’s YouTube video

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Inside the Curta

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Inside the Curta

But surprisingly, he was able to get it substantially back in working order without completely taking apart all 600+ parts. Most of the issues were shafts whose lubrication had become gummy, and one carry lever was slightly bent. There is still a little more work, but soon this calculator will once again be cranking out results.

Has anyone dismantled a mechanical contraption this complicated before, for example a teletype machine? Let us know in the comments. If you want to brush up on your Curta knowledge, check out the Curta Calculator Page. We also wrote a Retrotechtacular about the Curta before. Thanks to [mister35mm] for sending in this tip.

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Source: https://hackaday.com/2023/08/12/opening-a-curta-with-great-care/