19 Matching Annotations
  1. Last 7 days
    1. Two "5" keys (?!?) (SC Poweriter)

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

      SMC Typewriter from late 60s/early 70s with a pound/5 key in the !/1 position whose 5 is duplicated in the usual %/5 position

      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.

  2. Jul 2024
    1. 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.

  3. May 2024
    1. These were sometimes used to assist in the learning of touch typing. Clients would have their local repair person install these little black paper circles to cover the letters so they wouldn't be tempted to stare at the keyboard. Fairly rare, I've not seen them used on any of the 500+ machines I've serviced in the past 7 or so years. There were also dedicated blank caps designed to go over the keytops that were used, those are much more common than the blackout paper method.
  4. Apr 2024
  5. Mar 2024
    1. [[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)

    2. More frequent were machines built with the double-lightning-bolt SS Siegrune, usually above the No. 3 or 5 key. With sieg meaning “victory,” the runes became ubiquitous in Nazi Germany as a shorthand rallying cry for “victory, victory!” In their more sinister application, the SS runes became the logo for the Schutzstaffel—the notorious paramilitary units most responsible for the wanton slaughter of 6 million Jews across Europe.
    3. In very rare circumstances, a German typewriter would be made with a dedicated swastika key, like this one at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  6. Dec 2023
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  9. May 2023
    1. 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/#)

  10. Mar 2023
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  13. Sep 2021