Long time no type...

My apologies for not writing a entry for so long. I've been very busy with school and typewriters the past month, so I haven't been able to attend to Typosphere. However, here we are again...


I went thrift store hunting this week-end, to one thrift store. And it was very nice. This little store was up to its ceiling in little knick-knacks, clothes, camera's and even a Underwood typewriter. Nothing special and for the condition that it was in the price was a little steep. But I can make some money off of it for sure, and that is just what I am going to do.

 Here it is, all cleaned up.

Robust Remington!

Ah, another restoration process in restoring a old typewriter. In this case, that will be my 1926 Remington 12, which i bought in March of 2010, for $33. The paint on it isn't the greatest, and yes i did some touchups, with the help from the "basic typewriter restoration page" on the internet. The decals on this machine however, are wonderfull. And the paint that is still in good shape is in GREAT shape.
I started with stripping the machine apart, taking all the panels off and then the bell, margin release, and bar. Then the ENTIRE tab construction. The carriage belt i loosened so i could work on the escapement and ended up cleaning the whole thing up. I'll tell a bit with each picture.
----------------------------------------------

 The place where i was working. This image was taken just after the process of taking the parts off.

 Turtle Wax saved my life. My grandfathers '45 Olympia Elite was suffering from oxidation, but with this stuff, i got the whole thing polished again. It looks awesome and really have to thank Richard Polt with his basic typewriter restoration page. Thank you Richard!!!

 The guts, that's all there is to say.

 The front, back and side panels and the keyrest, all layed out. One side panel, as you can see, already has some wax on it.

Cleaning the keys with a toothbrush. I really recommend a toothbrush for the keys, as the hairs are quite firm and really get into the small parts of the keys.

A polished margin release, (i still have to wax the paint in this picture)

The typebasket was already rather clean. Just polish the chrome.

The escapement of the typewriter, in the picture below, you can't see it because of the metal painted part. Tilt your head sideways to the left, and you get the picture, horizontal.

See, only the backspace mechanism is visible. Goodlooking inside, right?

The escapement. This is usually covered up by a metal cover.

Those two parts on top of the typebasket were really rusted. Did you know vinegar is one of the best removers for rust i've ever seen?

Dirty...

...clean.

The most rusted part on the machine. The tab bar. I removed the whole thing, and let it soak overnight in vinegar, and the next morning...the rust wiped right off. A picture further below to see what it looks like after.

Bad picture. It was supposed to show the glossyness.

After this i started making a bit of a photoshoot when it was finished. The gloss on this typewriter had survived the abuse the paint has received over the years. The panels all were in good shape, and it was mostly the body that had some chipping of the paint. Again, thanks to RICHARD POLT, i managed to touch it up a bit with a black marker. The marks were really petite.

Enjoy.

______________________________________________
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
----------------------------------------------

MY 1926 REMINGTON #12

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

Frankenstein in Machinery

I discovered that my "64" Olympia SG3 which spend 7 years in a backyard, isn't a "64", or not the carriage at least.
The machine carries two different serial numbers.
The other one is from 1967 (the carriage) It is a mystery.

My newest find (As of date shown)

This is a quick spoiler for a find that I did. These two machines were located with about 15 other typewriters and cashregisters and way more stuff in a barn. I got these two machines for $95 TOGETHER as a barn find. And boy, were they.

A 1897 Remington 8 (of which I have the feeling is quite rare unlike the 6 and 7) and a Empire from 1892. Two brilliant looking machines. The Empire has experienced life, has some scratches and definitely more rust then the Remington, but was salvageable. Somebody scratched the top somewhat, after they slipped with a screwdriver, after taking the ribbon reverse system off. Slightly unfortunate but if you ask me, just as old as the dust you see in the picture. And actually, it makes it look robust. It shows that It has gone through life and came out with just some bruises and scratches.

I bought the Empire for $40 and the Remington for $55. The Empire works, the Remington works but the carriage is loose. It is missing a wheel. It was advertised with a removable carriage though.
The decals are in GREAT shape in both cases. Everything in that barn was in GREAT shape decal wise.

They are currently 150 KM away, so a full article will be written later.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***UPDATE (December 31st 2013 11:04 PM)***

The Remington 8 is very difficult to actually date. The information of production of this particular model is very scarce including the machine itself apparently, as Martin Howard and Jett Morton will confirm. Most information indicates that the machine was made some time between 1897-1899, therefor, I'll put it down as 1897, as the model was introduced that year, and we'll probably never know for sure anymore. It is a 25000 S#. Some people confirm that it was made in the actual 1897 year, and others tell different. From the information that I could find, the machine was indeed made in 1897, maybe '98.