Stapler of the Week: 1936 Bostitch B5

Ahh, the venerable, tank-like Bostitch B5 stapler. I remember using these in school back in the 1970’s, but the version that my school used was the battleship grey wrinkle painted ones from the 50’s. Interestingly, Bostitch seems to have followed the painting scheme used by Royal typewriters, where they used black wrinkle paint in the […]

Bibles in the Wild

Heh, just realized my folder full of screenshots of happy mechanics using their Typewriter Repair Bibles is getting full again, so here’s the latest shots of people’s worktables: Are you interested in becoming a front-line mechanic in the Typewriter Revolution? Is there anything even remotely as satisfying as knowing what you’re doing when you’re in […]

The RedCam

Ahh, memories.. This process of pulling out old band videotapes to put up on my YouTube account is hella risky in this chaos-soaked environment, and I shoulda known it. It kicks up the ghosts that call on you to remember so many things that were safely buried in time. Hell, they even coalesce into reality […]

Hermes 3000 Serial Numbers Updated!

The whole saga of translating the Hermes 3000 Service Manual started actually with a request to update the serial numbers from new info. The service manuals were that info: There it was, Jacques Perrier had uploaded his French H3K service manuals to his museum’s website, and in the front of each was some factory age […]

7 Years, 777 Posts and the Hanx Effect

Ok, here’s something interesting that I’ll call “The HANX EFFECT“, and it happens when there’s a big interview with Tom Hanks talking about his typewriter collection in some nationally aired segment in the news. Sunday there were *two* big interviews with Hanx talking about his new book, but with a heavy emphasis on his typewriter […]

California Typewriter comes to Scottsdale for a week!

I’m excited to announce that California Typewriter, the documentary film capturing the passion and nostalgia from writers & artists (including renown typewriter enthusiasts Tom Hanks, Jeremey Mayer, Sam Shepard, and more!) about their favorite machine-muse will be coming to Scottsdale, after a successful run in New York and Los Angeles! Showtimes below: California Typewriter (Not Rated, 103 min) […]

What’s In The Box???

The Smith-Corona Floating Shift Typewriter Repair Bible is now available! 334 Pages, Professionally printed and coil bound to lay flat on your work table. Includes: Smith-Corona “Floating Shift” User Manuals Complete 1947 and 1951 Service, Troubleshooting and Adjustment Manuals Covering Portable Manual Typewriters: Smith-Corona Squareline (Flat-top), Speedline and Super-5 Series – Standard, Clipper, Sterling, Silent […]

My try at lumen prints

Heh, it’s tough for me to follow Joe’s blog without being inspired to do stuff, and of course, the idea of Lumen Prints, basically using normal photo print paper as film and sensitizing it with tapwater, certainly appealed to me as a quick evening lark. I happen to have all the basic materials handy: One […]