Just Visiting: 1946 Royal KMM

1946 Royal KMM, in for repairs. Belongs to a local Rockabilly/Vintage shop called The Green Gurl.

1946 Royal KMM, in for repairs. Belongs to a local Rockabilly/Vintage shop called The Green Gurl.

NOMDA Dealer Peterson Brooke & Steiner in Prescott - Nice sticker probably applied in 1963 when the machine had it's last major overhaul.

NOMDA Dealer Peterson Brooke & Steiner in Prescott – Nice sticker probably applied in 1946 when the machine was sold. Phone number is “41” – Prescott was a very tiny town in 1946.

Ribbon Reverse mechanism was malfuntional for 2 reasons: the spools on the machine were Olivetti spools lacking the drop-down reversing tab and the drive gear for the leftside ribbon drive had fallen off. Luckily I found the gear stuck to a blob of grease inside the machine. Lucky break, that.

Ribbon Reverse mechanism was malfuntional for 2 reasons: the spools on the machine were Olivetti spools lacking the drop-down reversing tab and the drive gear for the leftside ribbon drive had fallen off. Luckily I found the gear stuck to a blob of grease inside the machine. Very lucky break, that.

Luckily, I recently picked up a couple pairs of NOS Royal Standard ribbon spools, so I had shiny new spools to replace the Olivetti ones with.

Sometimes you pick up rare stuff you don’t have any real use for because you *may someday* have a use for it, and when you do need it, you’ll be glad you have it I recently picked up a couple pairs of NOS Royal Standard ribbon spools, so I had shiny new spools to replace the Olivetti ones with.

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Dymo sticker showing date of platen replacement. That might have been some 50+ years ago, but the platen is still soft and in great condition.

Dymo sticker showing date of platen replacement. That might have been some 50+ years ago, but the platen is still soft and in great condition.

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Ribbon cover detached. I'll have to dig up 4 of the proper-sized machine screws, as all the screws were missing.

Ribbon cover detached. I’ll have to dig up 4 of the proper-sized machine screws, as all the screws were missing.

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Updated: October 25, 2018 — 10:21 pm

16 Comments

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  1. I think the sticker was from it’s original sale date. I moved to Arizona in 1958 and phone numbers were similar to BR5-1212. Also, I remember PBSW, but not PBS. I can’t remember who “W” was, but he later opened his own stationery store on 19th Ave north of Roosevelt.

    1. ahh, OK. that does make sense. The machine seems to have been well cared for (until the botched repair try that resulted in missing parts)., so I suspect it was regularly serviced by the same dealer. (:

    2. Just remembered. I think the “W” of PBSW was “Wist” and I think the office supply at 19th Ave No of Roosevelt was Wist Office Supply.

      1. Wist? Our district has a contract with Wist for office supplies.

  2. So you’re doing repair work for others now?

    I’ve seen lots of KMMs and they are great typewriters. Not as precise as an Olympia, but super snappy.

    It’s true that a 50-year-old platen can sometimes be in beautiful condition.

    1. oh, I fix machines for other people all the time. This one got dragged in by the wife from the new job she started recently. You know how it goes; she starts a conversation, finds out the store typer is busted, and of course it shows up on my desk for a look-see. I generally don’t mind. One less machine I have to actually buy in order to play with. :D

      1. That’s how I’d look at it, were I any good at fixing them…

  3. The joy of a recovered platen. Even if it is 50 years old. Maybe a better rubber comnpound than the original.

  4. I know what you mean about repairing other people’s mistakes. I recently repaired a 1927 Royal #10 . Sometimes it’s like peeling an onion. Not only did I have to fix the most current problem, but then as that problem was resolved, other previous repairs began to surface.

    It is a joy to get a really old machine working again though.

    -Clark

  5. That’s a nice typer, or it will be when you finished with it. Do you think the dealer put the sticker on it when servicing, or did they offer it as a resale? Whatever the situation, you are doing the good works, Rev.

    1. Based on what Phil recalls, I’d agree that the sticker was probably applied in 1946 at the date of sale. The fact that it wasn’t covered by a subsequent dealer badge suggests it was likely always serviced at PB&S (or PBS&W) at least professionally, until at least 1963. I would guess this machine has spent most of it’s life being regularly used by someone in Prescott until fairly recently. It was pretty clean and loose already when it came to me.

  6. I got an old Royal KMM typewriter in Casa Grande Arizona. It is old, rusty, and the keys don’t type, I have high hopes of repairing it but I cannot take it apart to fix it, so if any of you know a website or shop that can help fix it write it down.

    1. All known remaining typewriter repair shops:
      http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html

      the two in Phoenix, both of which I’ve worked with, and they’re excellent.

      If you feel like taking it on yourself, here’s a repair manual or two:
      http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-manuals.html

  7. Do you have any advice on a KMM with about half the keys and the space bar binding somewhere? The entire machine was working fine a year ago, and then something must have happened because some keys still work perfectly, but some move about halfway and stop, and the spacebar won’t depress either. I feel it has to be a single thing, so i don’t want to tear the whole machine apart only to realize it was something obvious. Thanks for any help or clues.

  8. I’m not sure where I could ask this question? Sorry if in appropriate. I have a 1941 Royal KMM12. It does not have the original ribbon spools. just some basic ribbon installed. What part number do I look for on ebay/amazon to buy a set of correct spools and black/red ribbon replacment for it. I can’t seem to find a part number to look for. Thanks for you help.
    P.S. what does the 12 standfor after KMM ?Thanks, Tony

    1. There’s no part number. Your Royal standard takes *any* common two-spool cloth ribbon you can buy on amazon or other providers. What’s important is the spools. If you have the original metal spools, keep them and just re-spool your new ribbon onto them. They have a little spring-loaded tab built into them that is needed for the ribbon reverse to work, and no other spools have that.

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