Week-end projects!
I have been spending a lot of time on some of the machines that I own. A Smith Corona Flattop typewriter, a Olympia SG3 that spend over 7 years in a backyard, and which is now a good-looking operable desktop, and my grandfathers Olympia Elite which suffered oxidation and for which I have bought wax. It turned out absolutely beautiful.
Before
After
The results were absolutely awesome. I did it with Turtle Wax which the "Basic Typewriter Restoration" webpage advised, and the results were superb. I am really happy with the fact that I don't have to get the whole thing repainted. It saved me lots of money.
Here is a link to what the actual SG3 looked like before cleanup.
http://venneburg.weebly.com/the-sg3-job.html
Interesting that the shift keys have "WT" on them. I wonder what language variant that is. Mine has "SK" and I've seen others with "U" on the shift keys. Is that the original case for the Elite?
ReplyDeleteThis is my grandfathers typewriter. Therefor dutch, as I am dutch-born. WT is standing for "Wagen Tiller" which means "Carriage Shift" in dutch.
DeleteMy Elite has several kind of cases. The earlier models, from before the war, and the during WW2 had clip-ons, and those typewriters stood on bases. My typewriter is build for the mechanism in this and was the first machine to introduce this case, along with it's brother Optima. Yes, it is the original case.
The keyboard also has a few Dutch Characters like one key putting the I and the J together in the form of "ij" which is a combination used frequently in the Dutch language.
DeleteInteresting, Thank you very much, :)
DeleteGrand job with the wax, congrats. The Elite looks superb. Austere, yet elegant design. (Maybe next time one shows up on Marktplaats won't pass on it...)
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't. The Elite's are beautiful machines. I inherited this one from my grandfather and is special to me, but I use it frequently and always find it very comfortable to type on as it is as tight as a drum.
DeleteHmm, last month there actually was one on MP, almost exactly the same, with the 'ij' key etc. Looked stunning, got no bids. Looked at it seriously, but still sticking to my limit of 4 machines :)
Delete(Btway; WT cal also be short for Wissel Toets (literaly Shift Key), some machines have it written out in full on the keys.)
Maybe a next time an Elite pops up...
Wissel Toets doesn't mean shift key.
DeleteWissel Toets mean change key. Wissel is dutch for change.
Wagen Tiller means CARRIAGE SHIFT.
Oh...wat does "MP" stand for?
Ah - MP als afkorting voor Marktplaats. Meer kleine advertenties en geen veiling, maar veel groter dan Ebay in Nederland.
DeleteOh, marktplaats. Ja, ik heb een keertje een Underwood Universal daar op gekocht, toen ik hier in Canada al woonde. Ik heb die op laten sturen. Hier zijn Nederlandse schrijfmachines veel specialer.
Delete