Can I fix this?

[oldfat1]

I found a Superspeed at a fleamarket, bought it for three dollars. When I got it cleaned up I noticed one of the "doors" won't close all the way. If I push down on it with my finger it will go down but not with just the TTO. Is there any way to adjust this?

Thanks,

 

[BroJohn]

I found a Superspeed at a fleamarket, bought it for three dollars. When I got it cleaned up I noticed one of the "doors" won't close all the way. If I push down on it with my finger it will go down but not with just the TTO. Is there any way to adjust this?

Thanks,

Ken --

Here's part of an old post I made regarding an Aristocrat with the same condition you describe about your Superspeed.

I've acquired a number of old Gillettes via eBay and most were just fine. A few had been obviously dropped or struck on the razor head or at the lift-bar covers, and as a result one or more of the parts making up the assembly were slightly bent. The damage is very slight but it does affect how the TTO mechanism works, and how it secures the blade.

The good news: It doesn't take any special gear to examine your razor. Visual inspection is sufficient, and any bent pieces (or their effect) can be readily seen, though you may not see the damage in lousy eBay photographs. Sometimes the damage/bend/warpage is not readily evident by itself, but the razor won't close uniformly. Gillette TTO's should open and close symmetrically and the silo doors in the closed position should be symmetrical at the center bar without any gaps. Viewed from the top, or from the end of the head, some damaged razors may show a different center gap at one end than the other, or the elevation of the closed doors may be visably 'off', or the gap at the center bar may be different for each silo door. The silo doors should snug down firmly when closed without any 'play'. If the razor has safety bars in good shape and closes symetrically and firmly closes, then I consider the head geometry to be 'good' and the razor should be a good shaver. The really good news is that most of these old Gillettes are in pretty good mechanical shape.

The bad news: Unfortunately, it is very difficult and rarely possible to 'un-bend' the visably damaged piece to fix the razor --because almost certainly, more than one piece is affected. It's like having minor collision damage to your car; the impact damages the piece that is struck, but warps/damages adjacent parts, too. To fix a dropped razor properly would require that the pieces of the *assembly* be adjusted/un-bent to restore the relationship of the parts. Some guys have the talent, but it isn't easy as you'd think. I've tried to 'fix' several, and I've never been successful.

-- John Gehman

 

[oldfat1]

I was afraid of that.

Thanks for the reply, John.

 

[BroJohn]

I was afraid of that.

Thanks for the reply, John.

Ken, I will also say that if you push the doors closed with your finger and the blade is secured, symmetrical, and appears to have uniform exposure end-to-end, it'll probably be just fine to shave with it. You just won't be able to 'adjust' it.

-- John Gehman

 

[thirdeye]

I was afraid of that.

Thanks for the reply, John.

Unfortunetly John is right. But for three dollars it does'nt hurt to try a like repair. It's metal so some well placed mild blows with a small rubber or plastic mallet may bring it around. Just be patient and carful.
Good luck...

 

[MotoMike]

I have not used a plastic mallet but I have used smooth jawed pliers with electricians tape. But before I bring out the bending and aligning equipment, I would also consider that if the only visible problem is that the doors don't close all the way, and you can push them down and secure them, then perhaps there is something like hardened "gunk" or corrosion on the threads that keeps the TTO from turning that last 1/4 turn. The end bars pulling down on the doors while being forced against the inside of the safety bar is what closes the doors. So if the end caps are straight and the hinges are making contact with the inside of the safety bars when fully tightened, it might be that some soaking and manipulating would free them up for fully functional use. It has happened for me.

 

[oldfat1]

Thanks guys. I will try some more intense cleaning, then break out the toolbox.

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[brz90]

I would avoid using any tools if I could. I wouldn't hit it with anything unless I was really desperate. I managed to restore a dropped razor by carefully prising and levering it against the back of an old drawer. It was soft enough wood not to damage the razor and because it was the back of the drawer no one knows!
I tried to identify the point of impact when the razor was dropped and then apply force in reverse to gently but firmly lever it back into shape.
There were two major forms of damage, the plate to handle angle was around 80 degrees instead of 90 - so I levered/ pulled this back into alignment - with the TTO closed. Then the bar at the top still remained out of alignment and so I levered from underneath on the point of the bar that comes through the plate and got this straightened up too.
I did it really carefully and slowly but firmly and bit by bit it came back into virtually perfect shape - there's no visible sign of damage at all - I kept the TTO closed when I did this too so that the joint between the handle and plate was under less stress. Anyway it worked - and it's now a fine shaver.
I've de-dinged a few old cars in my time and I think there are some similar principles in reversing the damage.
Of course YMMV as they say.