The Blog


In-Mechanica-Antiqua-Typewriters-Lucas-Dul
A blog by a typewriter repair tech, for typewriter people.
Embracing Analog.


Is it time to update the introduction to this blog?  I think so.  I want you to close your eyes and imagine a massive library, vast and expansive in the knowledge it covers.  Please note that I don't actually want you to close your eyes, because then you wouldn't be able to read this.  Just close your mind's eye...your...pineal gland?  Anyway, imagine that big beautiful library has a catch.  Not a single dot of information in all those volumes has any practical use.  Now I also want you to imagine that most of the shelves are dry-rotted and the books appear in huge heaps all over the place without the slightest, faintest illusion of order.  As if it were ground zero of the "nuke of knowledge," the hazy aftermath of a several literary-megaton violent enlightenment that created this monumental catastrophe.  

That library is me.  Well, no, I am not a physical library, I am in fact human (or so I've been lead to believe).  I have a bad habit of introducing myself in a manner that leads to blank stares and wonton confusion.   TL;DR I'm an ADHD Jack of All Trades.

If I were to explain to you my role in this blog, I'd tell you that I am a Typewriter Service Technician.  I fix, service, or otherwise make new old typewriters and place them in the hands of various creatively minded people (for a price of course, and that price is the cost).  Disclaimer: if it was melted down in the fires of Mount Doom in Middle Earth, it might be in need of a little more than basic maintenance and parts replacement.

I am also an artist.  I am an avid photographer, I love analog mediums.  I also used to teach various art classes like stained glass.  It was through those years that I honed my skills in the crystalline arts (glass, not meth).  I also draw, so thank you in advance for liking my logo(s).

I have always been deeply rooted in the physical world, the very same world that has been torn asunder in recent years.  We now have acquainted ourselves with the term "virtual reality," as if the reality we left behind was too terrifyingly disrupted to consider.  There is a merit in physicality, in what you can touch, and what you can create.  We are creatures of intense creative promise, yearning to use that power to solidify our impermanent position in eternity.  We live, breathe, and create in the real world, and that is why the so called digital revolution is sooner or later destined to fail.

I've been told a lot of things about myself, that I sound like Paul Simon, or that I allegedly made a deal with the devil.  I am not here to discount any of those.  I'm here to give you a tour of a vast library section by section.  I can't at all promise it'll be interesting, but interest is relative. 




Comments

  1. Lucas DulDecember 28, 2017 at 6:22 PM

    Hi Lucas, it's Lucas...and your blog sucks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Richard PJanuary 15, 2018 at 12:14 PM

    Hi Lucas, it's Richard...and your blog doesn't suck!!! (But you mean Sholes & Glidden.) I've added you to the blogrolls on Welcome to the Typosphere and The Typewriter Revolution.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lucas DulJanuary 15, 2018 at 1:06 PM

      Thank you very much for stopping by, and for correcting my mistake! It has been corrected :)

      Delete
  3. Lucas DulApril 23, 2018 at 12:23 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Robert LawsonFebruary 18, 2021 at 10:06 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jeff NeuhauserFebruary 26, 2021 at 11:26 AM

    Hi, Lucas: I left a comment on your TikTok account the other day about having an IBM Selectric II Typewriter for sale...it's in excellent shape and comes with lots of accessories. Would you be interested in buying it? If not, can you point me in the direction of some potential buyers? I'd be much obliged for any help you can provide.
    Best,
    Jeff Neuhauser
    jeffneuhauser30@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. JackOctober 19, 2023 at 3:59 AM

    nice blog ,thanks , Techbullion - Tech For Human

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

the Cyberdeck

Image
I can't be the only one to find myself lost in the internet rabbit holes in an age such as ours.  Sometimes it's an uninspiring frustration, and other times you find yourself on the path to discovering something truly cool.  A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a group of unique creators making what they called "cyberdecks."  The concept was a dystopian-esque or retro-futuristic portable computer, in part inspired by the cyberpunk movement, Blade Runner, and Fallout, though there are plenty of other sci-fi extravaganzas that employ similar devices.  The cool thing about cyberdecks is that they work, and there is no right way to create one.  There come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some in the traditional clamshell style, and others that their own entirely new concept. I had toyed around with the idea of creating a small portable computer, and decided I would give it a shot.  I've always been a fan of the aesthetic of old computers, so I decided to try and b...
Read more

The “Charming?” Yet awful Typecast Typewriter (updated)

Image
A couple of years ago, the Michaels craft store began to sell a machine made by “We Are Memory Keepers.”  It is the Typecast Typewriter, and it costs about $170. Let me cut to the chase: this machine is awful.  The construction is flimsy and cheap, the action is stiff, and the alignment is the worst ever.  So if you wanna buy it, click below!!! https://www.michaels.com/we-r-memory-keepers-typecast-typewriter-mint/10507749.html I am not alone in my views, as many other enthusiasts share my stance.  This machine gives the typewriter a bad reputation among many people, especially craft people, who enjoy bearing the name “key chopper” for cutting the keys off of machines a hundred years old just to make a piece of jewelry.  When they are done, the rest of the machine is thrown away.  I really truly despise the lack of respect given to these historical artifacts, and the Typecast only seems to mock them, by perpetuating the inaccurate stere...
Read more

A Comprehensive History of the Royal Model P

Image
nothing like medium format film and typewriters  A number of years ago, I was perusing the Internet and looking at old typewriters.  I had been writing fiction for a while and was enjoying it a lot, and wanted to look into typewriters as I had seen one a couple days ago at a local antique shop.  I stumbled across a blog titled "Machines of Loving Grace," and saw two Royal Model Ps.  One in duotone red, and the other in duotone green.  I remembered from that moment on I knew I had to get my hands on one of them.  I'll skip all the lame details, because that isn't what I want to spend time talking about.  I want to discuss the history of the machine, and it's impact on the typewriter industry as a whole.  There are too few articles on the Internet, too few resources on typewriters, and I among many others wish to expand the available amount of knowledge.  So I'll present to you, a project a long time in the making, to the best of...
Read more