Does Anyone Else Also Use Manual Typewriters? What For?

[BaronWulfraed]

You can also refresh old ribbons so long as they aren't tattered.

 

Bit difficult if the ribbon is a two color black/red.

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

That's harder, but there are ways. The ink is oil based, so there was something that you can add to the ribbon to lubricate the dried out pigment... or something. I wasn't really paying attention as it's less than $10 for a new ribbon from amazon. But like I said, I have to re-spool it as the modern spools don't fit my machines.

[Frozenoak]

Brilliant! Thanks for the info. If the keys function I think I'm going to pick it up. Odds are it'll get light use.

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

Go for it!

 

Do you know what type it is?

 

Never use a typewriter without paper in it. The platen (black rolly thing behind the paper) damage is the most common issue these days and hardest to fix.

 

keys getting stuck is usually solved through cleaning. Takes a lot of time and effort, but worth it!

 

The carriage not moving is another big issue in old typewriters. Could be the carriage lock is on or something inside needs fixing. Easy to fix if you don't mind painstakingly small tasks and minuscule adjustments (I love it!)

 

The book goes into more detail. Typewriters were built to be repaired with the older machines repaired by the user. Most of the problems with typewriters I've seen so far are user misuse.

Edited May 21, 2019 by the-smell-of-dust-after-rain

[Frozenoak]

I'm going to walk over there this Saturday. The only thing I can think to do with it, as of right now, is to return address my outgoing envelopes. Once I have it, I'm sure more uses will come to mind.

 

And now that you mention restoration, I might buy it despite it's flaws, if I find any. I'm sure my wife won't mind if I bring another project home ;-) Is the Platen hard to repair because there aren't that many replacement parts? or do you mean actually repairing it. I might need some negotiating points.

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

I don't know if anyone makes the platen anymore. It's usually a kind of dense rubber and the usual bad bit is that it goes hard and slippery over time so the paper won't grip properly. Or it sometimes gets exposed to oils which degrades it. It can get a flat spot on it. Another thing that can happen if the typebars are sharp, is the keys can cut into the rubber, which destroys it. Typing without paper or if things are misaligned, can cause this.

 

My platen is a bit stiff these days, so I generally use two sheets of paper to extend its life.

 

I've heard there are ways of restoring it. Typewriter Talk would have some suggestions http://typewriter.boardhost.com/index.php

[Vivien]

I actually still have a typewriter. It's an electric type with a daisy wheel and cartridge based ink ribbon. The typewriter has a memory which allows for letters to be written even if you write quickly like me and manage to outpace the mechanism. The memory also allows for deleting written text from the paper with the push of a button.

The last time I used it must have been about ten years ago. Towards the end I mostly used it to fill out government forms because I wanted to make sure the content was correctly conveyed. Then everything became digital and it has been gathering dust in the basement ever since.

[fountainpagan]

Here you have several sellers who offer typewritter ribbons, even two-colors' ones. They have also costum made ones:

 

TYPEWRITTER RIBBONS

[Honeybadgers]

I remember hammering away on my great grandma's as a small child.

 

It was (bleep) satisfying.

 

But that's why we invented mechanical keyboards. I do carry a small tenkeyless one of those with me to work so I don't have to use the nasty mushy rubber dome ones at hospitals filled with all kinds of ghonnosyphiherpelaids.

 

Mechanical keyboards give a lot of the same satisfaction.

[colrehogan]

I am a collector and user of typewriters. I use mine for correspondence with type-pals, writing my fanfiction, and type blogging. I also am trying to learn as much as I can about repairing them. You can get platen and feed roller rubber replaced. Many of mine are pre-1900/pre-WWI and I enjoy using those that work; the majority of them do.

[BaronWulfraed]

If anyone is really enamored of obtaining an old portable typewriter... May I suggest

 

https://deutscheoptik.com/Typewriters/

[OregonJim]

I took 4 years of Latin in school (this was back in the 1970's), and my teacher was always complaining that he couldn't read my handwriting (funny, nobody else ever complained). Our homework assignments were required to be in a spiral-bound notebook. So, the way I shut him up was to unwind the spiral binding at home, take out a page and put it in my typewriter, type out my assignment, and finally re-thread the spiral binding back onto my notebook, including the typewritten pages. Both my teacher and fellow students were awe struck - they couldn't figure out how I was able to stuff my whole notebook into a typewriter! And, this was a college prep school with supposedly "bright" students. Anyway, that teacher's harassment was turned into respect from that point forward.

[1nkulus]

I have two from my grandfather, which I use twice a month to keep them in working order.

[sandy101]

I use mine to get a Project started.

 

They are drafting tools - you can't (easily) go back - so you only have a forward motion.

 

Great for 1st or 2nd drafts to get stuff down.

 

Then I move onto a computer - with a stack of paper to work from.

[Marlow]

I have an old Oliver 11 that my policeman grandad used to use to submit his reports. I don't use it other than to admire it as

I pass it in the hallway.

 

[BaronWulfraed]

The horror!

 

That one is downright scary... Separate CAP and FIG shifts... and no obvious carriage return lever.

[Marlow]

The horror!

 

That one is downright scary... Separate CAP and FIG shifts... and no obvious carriage return lever.

 

Gorgeous though, isn't it?! I love its obviously old look and the history behind it makes it special to me.

[Marlow]

I took 4 years of Latin in school (this was back in the 1970's), and my teacher was always complaining that he couldn't read my handwriting (funny, nobody else ever complained). Our homework assignments were required to be in a spiral-bound notebook. So, the way I shut him up was to unwind the spiral binding at home, take out a page and put it in my typewriter, type out my assignment, and finally re-thread the spiral binding back onto my notebook, including the typewritten pages. Both my teacher and fellow students were awe struck - they couldn't figure out how I was able to stuff my whole notebook into a typewriter! And, this was a college prep school with supposedly "bright" students. Anyway, that teacher's harassment was turned into respect from that point forward.

 

Dayumm! Got my respect retro-actively, too! A+ for effort! My old latin teacher had a very shiny bald head and we called him chromedome !

Edited June 30, 2019 by Marlow

[kealani]

I have several.

 

I mainly use my Hermés 500 because it is the one with softer touches.

I copy poems, sometimes I write letters with, I do some journaling, too. I enjoy beeing able to travel to past times without a time machine

 

Well said.

That is a beautiful way to describe it.

Thanks,

jim

[kealani]

I am a collector and user of typewriters. I use mine for correspondence with type-pals, writing my fanfiction, and type blogging. I also am trying to learn as much as I can about repairing them. You can get platen and feed roller rubber replaced. Many of mine are pre-1900/pre-WWI and I enjoy using those that work; the majority of them do.

 

I have been searching for "type-pals". PM me any links to sites that feature this if you can.

 

There are 2 vintage typewriters in my collection. A Royal and a student Hermes which is sort of like the precursor to a laptop it seems. Both work great.

 

On the days when the arthritis in my hands acts up, I've been thinking of using the typewriter to correspond to fountain pen folks that I write to. But, it seems rude and not inline with the forum and protocol. So, I've been printing a bit more here and there.

 

Besides, the joy of improving ones cursive with a great fountain pen with the perfect ink and the perfect paper is unmatched.

 

Aloha

jim