Olympia Traveler
Olympia SF
MORE PHOTOS HERE:
The SF segment – note the deep indents made by the nubs prior to grinding. These nubs prevented the heads from striking the paper hard enough to make a strong impression.
The “nubs” on the SF after grinding down
SM3 with tape and foam added to cushion the typebars at impact
detail of SM3 with tape and foam to absorb some of the excessive head speed.
nathanguitars 
Nice work. I wonder if the SF has a carriage adjustment to push the carriage forward enough for the slugs to contact the paper. My Hermes machines have that and the Olivetti I am working on has some cams for carriage alignment. Seems like a drastic move to grind things. However — it worked.
I’m not aware of that adjustment, but I’ll have look for it.
Nothing succeeds like success!
Clever solutions!
Echoing Bill — some typewriters allow you to adjust the location of the carriage forward or backward.
The piece that is so banged up on your SF is called the anvil, and most typewriters have one so that the typeheads won’t thrash the rubber of the platen but will instead go just as far as they need to.
A hard platen can certainly create an awful noise, and it’s not good for the type either. Your solution seems like a good idea.
Well that was one “Anvil Chorus” I’m glad not to hear any more!