A Gift from My Students

Better Not to Know

The Olympia SF: Schreibmaschine "Fixable"

The description of this Olympia on the auction site was honest. It said that the keys would not depress and the carriage kept moving all the way to the left. What I didn't know is that it had taken a very hard knock to the rear and the sheet metal was quite bent. Here is what it looked like when I first took a look at it.

I was pleasantly surprised that the sheet metal comes off a SF very easily, exposing its well built aluminum frame.  As I said in my typecast, simply moving a spring on the lever that engaged the escapement ratchet did the trick for the carriage and keys.  I heated up the sheet metal a bit and was able to form it enough to make the typewriter function and look presentable.  

I really like the way this littlest Olympia types and I'm quite pleased that my under $50 gamble on a "broken" machine turned out so well.

Guest Typewriter: Imperial Good Companion

The young typewriter collector at my school brought one of his latest acquisitions to my office today.  It was a machine I had not seen in person before, an Imperial Good Companion. With a serial number starting with a B, this model is from 1932.  I didn't get to type with it, but it is quite a looker.

In fact, it looks a lot like my Remington model 1 (or 2) but clearly the lineage is different as this article on the Portable Typewriters blog points out.  

The one thing this typewriter needs is a carriage return lever.  Please let me know if anyone in the typosphere has one to spare and I will let this young man's family know.

A Brother from the Same Mother

I can definitely see the appeal of these early Brother typewriters. They are full featured and type really well. Growing up in the 70's myself, this little typewriter and its cardboard/vinyl case reminded me of the toys and transistor radios that also came from Japan at that time.  Though this typer is far from a toy, I'm still holding out for a Valiant or Deluxe!

I See Dead Keys

I didn't really think I was in the movie Sixth Sense, but I did see some strange dead keys the other day.  Someone from town had been given this nice L.C. Smith Super Speed as a gift. It had come straight from the antique store with its crispy ribbon and coating of dust. I cleaned it up and installed a new ribbon after replacing the incorrect ribbon spools with two from a donor machine. Things were going along well except the period and comma keys were sort of dead. They would come about 3/4 of the way toward the platen and then stop. I was thinking the mechanism for these keys was jammed or their strikers were bent.  Looking at the underside of the machine again I saw that two brass stops were attached to the comb (or guide) underneath. This dampened the period and comma keys.  They key action returned to normal once I removed these stops. What I wonder is why anyone would put stops on the period or comma keys in the first place.  Come to think of it, why put stops on any of the keys?  

I put a call out to the typosphere for any enlightenment on what I found on this Super Speed.  Thanks!

Typewriter Required for Graduate Course!

I hope that the typosphere can spread the word on this course.  If you can visit Vermont in the spring it would be great.  I am flexible though and ANYONE who can gain access to a vintage typewriter can take the online portion of the course.  I can work something out for those of you who cannot make it to Vermont.  You will notice by reading the syllabus that one of the required texts for the course is Richard Polt's The Typewriter Revolution.  This course will be a blast!

Register and get more information at the Castleton Center for Schools.