Weapon of Choice: “Easy” 1964 Hermes 3000 #3246817 Admittedly, I am still not as organized as Joe Van Cleave is. :D
Olympia SG’s a year younger than we think? Sheridan suggests so…
Weapon of Choice: “Thunderbird 4” 1968 Montgomery Ward Signature 440T #C8899610
Hard Drive Data Recovery: Swapping the Controller Card
Ahh, the joys of a dead hard drive full of stuff you need. Well, that happened to me a few weeks ago as I was copying stuff to my “working files” hard drive in preparation to make a backup. As I copied files, a spark arced out of the drive dock that I was copying […]
The Incognito Life
Weapon Of Choice: “Thunderbird 2” 1968 Montgomery Ward Signature 440T #B8860433 I found this nice leather satchel during a thrift run the other day, $5. Finally something to replace the nasty plastic case these awesome 440T’s come in. :D.
New Age List for Aztec Typewriters!
Weapon of Choice: “Indy”, 1959 Tower Chieftain III #3YT167056 1960 Aztec (Groma) 800 = Groma Combina 1962 Aztec (Erika) 800 = Metal Shell Erika 20 1960-62 Aztec (Erika) 700 = Metal Shell Erika 10 1960-61 Aztec (Rheinmetall) 600 = Rheinmetall KsT 1963-65 Aztec (Erika) 15 = Plastic Shell Erika 15 1963-65 Aztec (Erika) 14 = […]
Automatical Justified Typin’ from an NTS WP-10c
Weapon of Choice: 1990 NTS WP-10c SlabTop Word Processor Weapon of Choice: 198x Royal (Nakajima) Alpha 2015 #42320862 ProTip: Peel off that WP-10 sticker and it uncovers the Citizen 10WP that’s actually silkscreened onto the shell. Weapon of Choice: 198x Olivetti 900X #85330822198x Surprise! Looks like the WP-2 also has the option 32k SRAM installed, […]
A Lil’ Rain, a Lil’ Typin’ and Plants Playing Music…
Weapon of Choice: “Eugene”, 1970 Webster XL-747 #L0944386 Hit the “Play” button below for a nice evening typing session mix. I’ve been listening to a lot of Biogenerative Ambient lately, and decided that music played on modular by a Mint plant via a biofeedback sensor would be just the thing for today’s background. Enjoy the […]
Thoughts on Typewriter Parts Supplies and Trading
Weapon of Choice: 1946 Royal Quiet De Luxe #A-1218244 Goodies from The Type Space! :D A Quiet De Luxe differs from an Aristocrat mainly by the amount of sound padding panels it has. For some reason, this QDL had lost all of it’s panels, so I’ll replace them with fun red felt. Weapon of Choice: […]
The Story of Vertical Script (AKA: “Script 46 Ra”, “Oxford Script”)
While working on the “Typewriter Typefaces Bible” project, I’ve collected over 50 typeface references together spanning from 1915 through 1993. This is probably still just a thin sample of what was produced over those years, but it is still extremely useful in figuring out what typefaces were available during what years and on what machines. […]
Rest In Peace, Number Six
Number Six, not yet sure she wants us to touch her, but still very curious about the turtle. The very first time she let me pet her, and we became fast friends. She spent lots of time snuggled in my lap while I was at my desk. She also popped up from time to time […]
June, 1981 – Portable Typewriter Distribution in the United States (and the end that was soon coming)
“Portable Typewriter Distribution in the United States.” June 1981 Report prepared for Ing. C. Olivetti SpA by market research firm “INPUT” Part 1: https://archive.org/download/portabletypewritunse/portabletypewritunse.pdf Part 2: https://archive.org/download/addendumportable0000unse/addendumportable0000unse.pdf I dug this report up on the Internet Archive awhile ago because it is a market report compiled for Olivetti in early 1981 detailing the current state of […]
First Catch of the 2022 Typewriter Hunting Season: 1960 Aztec 700
Weapon of Choice: 1960 Aztec (Erika) 700 #1930178Unboxed at Typewriter Club LIVE: 2022-01-30 Erika 10, Optima Super & Aztec 700 User Manual Joe Van Cleave’s Optima Super, which is actually an Optima, rather than a relabeled Erika 10, like my Aztec 700. There are quite distinctly different machines, mechanically. In 1960 Optima began re-labeling Erika […]
Adjusting Ring & Cylinder on a Brother JP-1
Weapon of Choice: 1978 Brother Charger 11 #K83712885 Typewriter Club LIVE: 2022-01-23 Time to make some notes in your JP-1 Repair Bible. You make notes in your Bible, right? The following pages are from the Silver-Seiko 700 Series Repair Bible, and they have a clearer explanation of the process of Ring & Cylinder/Platen Parallel and […]
On Typecaster’s Margins…
Weapon of Choice: “Cadwallader” 1963 Olympia SM7 #2335640 Weapon of Choice: “Adwoa” 1961 Swissa Junior #6102535 Weapon of Choice: 1971 Royal (Silver-Seiko) Sprite #NM 1113791 Weapon of Choice: “Thunderbird 4” 1968 Montgomery Ward Signature 440T #C8899610 Weapon of Choice: 1925 Underwood Portable 3 Bank #147487
Typewriterdatabase Temporarily down thanks to Enom :P
NEWEST: Whoop! looks like the main “typewriterdatabase.com” domain is resolving again – due to a “short-term fix” implemented by Enom. When they verify that they have a “permanent fix” in place, I’ll switch the site’s config back to use the root domain again. (: ############# UPDATE: Site’s been down for 36 hours now, and I’ve […]
1971 Sears T.L.S – My Favorite All-Manual, All-Metal Brick Camera
Weapon of Choice: 1971 Sears T.L.S (Ricoh Singlex TLS) (M42 mount) #265613 The Sears T.L.S was a camera I had read about before finding one at the local Deseret thrift store for the standard $10 that they were charging for SLRs back a few years ago. Very well spoken of for the rock-solid metal Copal […]
Happy New Year, Typosphere Friends!
Weapon of Choice: 1978 Brother Charger 11 #K83712885
Smith-Corona Electric 5TE Typewriter Serial Numbers Updated!
Weapon of Choice: 1957 Tower Commander #5AT635929 The Previous 5TE Serial List: See: News timeline (mostly by: John Coleman, Peter Weil) https://www.facebook.com/groups/TypewriterCollectors/permalink/10158187046324678/ New York Times, Atlanta Constitution – October 10, 1956 (announcement) October 21-28, 1956 (stores begin offering limited inventory) January 27, 1957 Brazeal Typewriter Co in Springfield, MO (has one at least for display) […]
UJTU: Postcards and bustin’ out the timelapse setup
Weapon of Choice: “Joanie”: 1964 Hermes 3000 #3246554. Currently working on postcards I already owe peeps…. Finally sourced a gallon of Econ 80, so time to make more typewriter feet! This stuff has been tough to get ahold of lately thanks to supply chain issues. Typin’ up my TRS-80 T-200 Timelapse program by hand again, […]
30% Off Typewriter Repair Bibles!
I found a 30% coupon code on orders of print products at Lulu, including Typewriter Repair Bibles! Use Coupon Code: “SAVE30“. Coupon codes are case-sensitive. Ends November 29th 30th at Midnight. Stock up now! :D
The Path of Least Resistance…
Weapon of Choice: “Thunderbird 3” 1966 Montgomery Ward Signature 440T #D6216161 Dishonorable Discharge: “Bubbles” 1960 Smith Corona Galaxie #6T 292996X Dusted off the old Tiki Lava Lamp and the 2009 Levenger David McCullough Royal KMM, liven up my Zoom backdrop :D
Fresh Feets for My 1940’s Royal Portables!
Weapon of Choice: “Moneypenny” 1948 Royal Quiet De Luxe #A-1551567 The old ones were so squished that it was hard to get the machine out of its case – the feet would get stuck in the lid detatchment mechanism. Weapon of Choice: 1940 Royal Aristocrat #B-957437 Gettin’ good use out of the tool we made […]
An OCR-A Typeface Adler and Let’s Make Our Own Royal Portable Foot Screwdriver!
Weapon of Choice: “Moroni” 1975 Adler Universal 200 #9668314 Another identical LDS-owned OCR-A Adler U200 is in the TWDB, 18,818 serials off from mine – apparently the Mormons bought a bunch of these data entry typers in 1975. 1975 Adler Universal 200 #9649496 My original purpose for going to MTE was to borrow Bill’s Royal […]
Thank you, most sincerely…
Weapon of Choice: “Thunderbird 3” 1966 Montgomery Ward Signature 440T #D6216161 Background Typer (with newly started letter in it): “Thunderbird 4” 1968 Montgomery Ward Signature 440T #C8899610 Yes, I’m still in love with my 440Ts :D New feet for Hermes HP2-58 and HP2-66, part of an order destined for a typewriter shop in Colorado. Doin’ […]
Adjusting Ribbon Lift on Hermes Rocket & Baby & Empire Aristocrat
Weapon of Choice: “Monster Scouts Field Typewriter Mark 1” 1956 Empire Aristocrat #S2/268670 Typewriter Club LIVE – Sep 26, 2021 The Hermes Baby and Rocket Typewriter Repair Bible [Printed, Coil-Bound Book] [PDF] The Service Manual covers the Left-Hand lift Bichrome mechanism, but my Aristocrat is a Right-hand single-color lift mechanism. Arrows point to the relevant […]
Asked Joe Van Cleave!
Weapon of Choice: 1962 Groma Kolibri N #N43143 Ask Joe Van Cleave 2021-09-19:
Electra Bearcat III Scanner user manual
Weapon of Choice: “Eugene”, 1970 Webster XL-747 #L0944386 I was typing a letter to Gregory during TCL this week, but he’s not getting it, at least not the physical manifestation thereof, ’till I see his next volley. Instead it does double-duty as an OTP submission… TCL – Sep 12, 2021: My 1979 Ace Scout (2b) […]
The Prism of the Mind
Weapon of Choice: “Mothra”, 1972 IBM Selectric Composer #5016537 Remember, it’s “PRISM” not “PRISON”! :D
How to Remove the Left Platen Knob on a Smith-Corona 5-Series Floating Shift
How to Remove the Left Platen Knob on a Smith-Corona 5-Series Floating Shift A TCL friend asked if I had a left platen knob for an SCM 5-Series in my spare parts, and it happened I did, but it was not especially clear to me how to remove it from my parts machine – even […]
The Mojibake Waltz…
Weapon of Choice: “Thunderbird 3” 1966 Montgomery Ward Signature 440T #D6216161
An Unboxing That Became A Frankenstein Fix-It (Canon InnovaBook CD360 Hinge Repair)
Weapon of Choice: “Thunderbird 3”, 1966 Montgomery Ward Signature 440T #D6216161 Using the P-Touch that Joe sent me to Label my Laptop Collection, and also the power bricks belonging to each. When you have a dozen or so, they can get mixed up. *CRACK!* *SHATTER!* *SNAP!* Yuh, a stiff hinge + 25-Year-Old PVC = CRUMBLE. […]
Answers! :D
So we did the first of TCL’s “Ask” series, and it went pretty well, I think. Next week, it’s Joe Van Cleave, so git yer questions ready! Here’s my answers:
Ask Theodore Munk
Ask Theodore Munk
Monster Scouts Field Typewriter Mark 1 With Tripod
Weapon of Choice: “Nick Charles” 1956 Empire Aristocrat #S2/268670 Redubbed: “Monster Scouts Field Typewriter Mark 1 With Tripod” Previously known as the Empire Aristocrat Tripod Field Typewriter. Tripod Mount project Part 1 – Part 2 Be sure to tape off the buttons! (: Cleaning the machine with white gas (Coleman Fuel), then blow it out, […]
Let’s make an Alphasmart 3000 better and review it!
Weapon of Choice: 2007 Alphasmart 3000. She throbs with the anticipation of your touch! Sometimes you’ll find fun silk screening easter eggs on the internal circuit boards in a device – the Alphasmart 3000 has this one! There are few things as satisfying as being surprised by a machine that you’d previously dismissed, and I […]