In Mechanica Antiqua

I was given a job of repairing this 1957 Remington Quiet-Riter that one of my friends had picked up from a resale shop.  The second half of the front badge had snapped off, leaving the machine with a curious title, granting it the nickname “ Remi ” on behalf of the owner.  It gave it character.  The machine had defiantly seen better days, the surface rust was all encompassing, the paint was worn thin, the segment shift was not shifting, and the entire machine was filed with dust, spider webs, and hair. Other than that, the entire thing was functional, it was just the amount of dirt and grime that made it appear broken.  It had an American QWERTY keyboard, and typed in an Elite typeface.  The original ribbon was intact and still nice and dark.  As for the case, I’m not a dry cleaner.  I’m a typewriter-fixer.  I tried cleaning it as best I could, but it wasn’t perfect.  The handle squeaked and the latch didn’t latch, but it did have a l...

Around the turn of the century, two men named Hess and Meyers came up with the idea for a frictionless ball bearing track.  This invention caught the eyes of investors who helped the up and coming inventors into starting Royal Typewriter in 1904.  Their first model, the flatbed, was wildly successful, and was one of the predecessors to the Model 10. The Royal Model 10 was a desktop model, and it weighed between 30 and 40 pounds.  Production on these machines began in late 1913 and ran until around 1931.  The first variation of the machine had open side panels to display the intricate mechanics.  This later changed into two beveled glass panels on either side in late 1915.  The final change to the overall design was single glass bevels on either side replacing the double ones in 1923.  By 1931, the company had produced over a million machines, though on October 9th of 1926, the company announced their millionth mach ine in total: not just the ...

Going on a typewriter hunt A couple of days ago, I stopped by an antique store near my house.  They always have a wide variety of things, and occasionally one or two typewriters.  I’m always a little weary of how many typewriters I’d allow myself to own, but every so often I’ll see one I just don’t want to pass up.  The place I went to had four typewriters being sold as-is, and they were in various stages of destruction.  The first machine I came across was a grey Smith-Corona Silent 5 in Pica.  I’ve been looking for one in Elite, specifically the mid-30s version with the floating shift, but have been unsuccessful.  Perhaps I might turn to eBay for that one.  This machine had minor corrosion and most of the functions were operational, but it was filled with a crumbly white powder.  I moved on and came across a 1950s Underwood SX.  This machine was barely operational, though the outside seemed to look alright.  The carriage assem...