coverting to cursive


Above you might be able to notice that those key legends are not original to a 1927 Royal Model P, and you would be right.  So here's the catch, I received a broken down corona electra in script, and decided to resolder all the type slugs on my model P for the first ever one and only cursive royal portable.

So what's the quick and snappy rundown on how the hell I did this?  Prepare to burn yourself...many times.

First things first, measure.  Standard pica stands 2/16ths inches tall.  Standard script, at its tallest, is nearly 2/8ths. One eighth larger than most royal slugs. As it turns out, the diameter of the royal platen is slightly larger than the 5 series corona, so the switch was geared to work out fine.

 



the Corona

Using a handheld blowtorch (made by Jobon and powered by butane) I was able to very quickly remove the script slugs from the electric machine. After that, I stripped the royal type bars and used a propane torch to remove all the standard pica slugs. The type needs to be soldered high enough on the bar to clear the type guide slot, so I used the bottom solder mark from the old slugs as a guide to resolder the new ones. This is where I burned the heck out of my fingertips, so I donned an old pair of welding gloves. Couldn't find my MIG pliers, those would've been handy.


Once the slugs were all soldered, it was time to place them one by one back into the machine, and perform the type adjustments. I don't make normal practice of dragging myself through hell, but once in a while I feel fired (hehehe see what I did?) Up to see something to completion.

In order to adjust each slug, it was back to the butane torch. I fashioned a heat shield and used vice pliers to lock the bar in place. It was trial and error to make sire all the letters lined up as best as I could make them.


Once the machine was together again, it was time to redo the keyboard. The corona script layout is vastly different from the 30 year older royal layout, and as such, I needed to remove two keys from the layout and redo the paper inserts. The fraction key was dropped, as was the plus and equal this machine was originally designed with. Some careful rerouting and I was able to get a nice layout.


That's that, I am very happy with how the project turned out, and will certainly not be doing it ever ever again.

Comments

  1. Richard PMarch 15, 2020 at 5:42 PM

    Holy moly! This is way beyond my own abilities. All the work paid off in very nicely aligned type on a unique machine. Congratulations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Greg LMarch 15, 2020 at 9:01 PM

    Yowza! That's some ninja skill there. Cool as hell.

    ReplyDelete
  3. McTaggartMarch 16, 2020 at 4:21 AM

    Next time, if there is ever a next time, use copper shim to hold the type on to their new bar, it makes the whole process a lot quicker.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Buford SidesMarch 16, 2020 at 8:17 AM

    You not only "Dreamed The Impossible Dream", you actually accomplished it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. TedMarch 16, 2020 at 11:05 PM

    Very impressive work! :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. GerardOctober 6, 2020 at 7:28 PM

    Sir! You are such a genius! My hat off!

    ReplyDelete

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