When your left pinkie is the weakest finger and the 1 key is the longest reach, who cares on a mechanical typewriter? Even my later Smith-Coronas with a dedicated 1, I still use a lower case "l". It's probably more of a distraction for those who hunt and peck and expect the 1 to be up there with the rest of the numbers.

I'm irked that the lower case "l" on my computer doesn't give me the number 1. I'm even more irked on my Royal FP with Clarion Double Gothic that I have to remember to do a capital "I" to get the 1 and end up with either a lower case "l" or sometimes even an upper case "L".

I also have a macro for searching my computer drafts for asterisks so that I can change them to the appropriate apostrophes because my laptop keyboard is just wrong. I've got half a dozen different language keyboards installed on my computer, I just wish one of them was 1950's Royal Standard!

reply to u/Obvious-Bug-5214 at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1or7eb6/no_1_keydoes_anybidy_miss_it/

The day Return became Enter<br /> by [[Marcin Wichary]] in Aresluna<br /> accessed on 2025-09-12T09:33:12

Royal standards have the shift lock further away from the letter "a" which can prevent the accidental shifting of the letter "a" while typing. This distraction can be annoying when writing at speed.

https://new.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1gdo6lw/the_ergonomic_keyboard_goes_back_a_lot_further/

https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1kiqk82/optima_typewriter_with_cyrillic_and_german/

follow up reply:

After some additional research on the typewriter database, the YY = 92 (where the serial number is of the form: FP[P,E,S]-XX-YY-#######, where XX is the platen length and YY is for other special features) indicates that the machine has 46 character keys (and thus 46*2=96 glyphs on the slugs). There are also examples of YY=88 with 44 keys versus the standard 42 or 43 keys.

This means that your machine has a few extra keys not found on their standard keyboards at the time.

After some continued research on the TWdB, I've come to realize that the "88" in the serial number has likely nothing to do with the palm tabulator.

The 88 is for an extra character count due to more keys (44) versus the more standard 42 or 43 keys and similarly some examples with a 92 in the serial number corresponds to 46 characters. So there isn't a designator in the serial number for a palm tabulator.

See: <br /> - https://typewriterdatabase.com/1961-royal-fp.22586.typewriter<br /> - https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1kg820b/just_bought_this_typewriter_for_10_at_a_charity/<br /> - https://amsterdamassassin.wordpress.com/2018/12/16/typecast-my-royal-fp-steampunk/

Royal Futura 800 Typewriter Plastic Key Top White Crud Removal Cleaning Servicing by [[Phoenix Typewriter]]

For the white, crusty out gassing (or off gassing) on plastic typewriter keys, Duane recommends a round or two of Simple Green with a stiff bristle brush. Follow this up with a scrub down using WD-40 to displace the water from the Simple Green and then follow up with denatured alcohol, which is safe on plastics, and a wipe down with a rag to dry.

quote via the reliable u/ahelper

https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1jvgm5z/feed_pawl_not_engaging_ratchet/

via https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1jgg4kh/royal_kmm_extra_column_of_keys/miyumvn/

Typewriter Algebra by [[Joe Van Cleave]]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenore_Fenton_MacClain

Distinguishing Ukranian vs. Russian typewriter keyboards

via u/lexkiri at https://new.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1eloo76/russian_american/

Distinguishing some European keyboards on typewriters.

via u/Cevkica at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1eih25t/finally_got_a_letera_32/lg70tm0/

https://new.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/8t6ym5/dvorak_typewriters/

Converting A Typewriter To Colemak by [[Jan Söndermann]]

https://finedayglobal.com/collections/keyboard

The 7Keys Retro Typewriter Keyboard by [[Just My Typewriter]]

Sarah thought it was fairly solid for a mid level price. Replaceable blue keys, so a nice mechanical keyboard experience. Better than some of the cheap white label drop ship keyboards in the space.

reply to u/Deep-Seaworthiness48 at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1e5gh4p/two_5_keys_sc_poweriter/

Things like that happened on alternate language/region typewriters. I've got a Dutch keyboard layout that repeats a % symbol twice.

It's likely that the pound symbol was needed/required so they pulled one from a pre-existing typeslug and key cap on a keyboard where the £/5 key was common and replaced the 1/! which in the era was widely known could be done by alternate means (aka lower case 'l' and '.' backspace '''.

The value of the £ was more important to the typist and because of typeface manufacture was probably easier to do in the £/5 existing combination from something like the English No. 1028, International No. 1060 keyboard, the Brazilian No. 1065, or the Danish No. 1047 all of which paired the £/5. See also: https://munk.org/typecast/2023/02/03/1954-smith-corona-scm-typewriter-type-styles-and-keyboards-catalog/

Off hand, I don't see another S-C keyboard combination from that time period that had a £ paired with any other glyph/character. In the "change-a-type" time period they likely wouldn't have done a custom black key for the £/5 when they were already manufacturing one in a matching white. If they didn't also swap out the key at the far right end of that bank, I would expect it to be a standard black '+/=' key cap and slug.

Adjustment screw for the Olympia SM3 on feet shift set up is just to the side of the ribbon spool/cup. Gerren indicates that he's never been able to do this adjustment properly with the typewriter body on, so it's much easier to do with it off.

The bottom adjustment point (through the side of the frame) allows one to set the base line for the on foot for the lower case letters while the top one sets the upper case.

Gerren credits Phoenix Typewriter for most of the material he's learned in terms of fixing typewriters.

Bill at Philly Typewriter has an apprentice program, but there aren't many shops that do this. (Gerren makes a joke that it's free (child) labor.)

Trip point adjustments

The trip point is the point at which the typebar trips the movement of the escapement.

The adjustment point for it is reachable by removing the small protecting plate on the bottom at the back of the machine. The escapement trigger is just underneath it.

The lower one (top if the machine is upside down) is for the lower case; the top one is for the upper case.

Screwing the screw in will cause the trip to occur sooner.

Spacebar adjustment mechanisms [13:00]

There are two, one set in the front of the bottom of the typewriter and two screws in the back, right near the escapement.

If the spacebar is hit too many times while cleaning and repairing, the spacebar won't work properly and will need some minor adjustment when the body is put back on.

He shows at the end how to remove the keytops of the individual keys.

The final check is the shift lock mechanism to make sure its aligned properly.

1960 Union Foundry Typewriter Type Slug Specifications – To Type, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth… by [[Theodore Munk]]

1968 – Smith-Corona SCM Typewriter Typestyles and Keyboards by [[Theodore Munk]]

https://www.inquirer.com/news/nation-world/philly-typewriter-taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-lyrics-easter-eggs-20240422.html

Swifties thought that the lack of a "1" key on her typewriter was an Easter egg hiding in the video... ha!

[[Mark Lawrence Schrad]] in Why the World of Typewriter Collectors Splits Down the Middle When These Machines Come Up for Sale<br /> at 2024-03-16 12:00 PM <br /> (accessed:: 2024-03-19 10:23:08)

https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/SFNT

ᔥ[[Martin Kaste]] in An Ode To Clicky Keys

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/albums/72177720310422752

https://shifthappens.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Ordered 2023-09-02 for delivery in 2023-10.

$150 + $25 for shipping

Marcin Wichary Typewriting, Type, and Keyboard Collection<br /> https://archive.org/details/wicharytypewriter

https://archive.org/details/wicharytypewriter?&sort=-week&page=2

I don't have any affiliation with the book (other than ordering a copy for myself), but thought I'd share the pre-order details for the forthcoming book Shift Happens: A book about keyboards by Marcin Wichary: https://shifthappens.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders The book, shipping in October 2023, was originally funded on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwichary/shift-happens. Even more details available at https://shifthappens.site/. The author Marcin Wichary compiled a huge list of typewriter/keyboard resources, books, and manuals at https://archive.org/details/wicharytypewriter which the hard core historians and type enthusiasts many may also appreciate. (h/t u/amidfallenleaves @ r/typewriters/#)

https://www.reddit.com/r/shorthand/comments/122gsma/is_there_a_qwerty_keyboard_shorthand_system/

Typing the to bach and other accented characters in Windows 7, Vista and XP by Meurig Williams

I know I had it in there somewhere, but can't find it this morning.

To bach or circumflex on Welsh keyboard is:<br /> ctrl-alt ^ + letter

https://shifthappens.site/