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  1. May 2025
    1. I repaired it using 2-part epoxy, and fiberglass dry wall tape. First routed out the path of the crack, and created a little reservoir for the glue just past the end of the crack, then applied the tape and worked the epoxy into the voids. I've been using it for a week now, and it looks like it's going to hold just fine.

      https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1kvufqw/repair_on_olympia_socialite_plastic_case/#lightbox

    1. https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1kunlxr/the_rules_of_typewriter_club/

      Just like most areas of life relating to expertise, it's nice to have a broad set of rules when you start out. Then as your knowledge of the arts and sciences grow, you can begin to "paint outside the lines."

      Once you've used, tinkered on, collected, repaired, or restored more machines than there are rules, then you can consider them more like guidelines and feel free to experiment more freely. By that point you'll have enough experience to be a true typewriter artist. ⛵🧑‍🎨🎨🏴‍☠️

    1. https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1ktb7ty/what_are_the_rules_of_typewriter_club/?sort=new

      The Rules of Typewriter Club

      The first rule of Typewriter club is Do not oil the segment.

      The second rule of Typewriter club is DO NOT oil the segment.

      Do not ask the value of your typewriter: they are invaluable.

      Always talk about typewriter club. Every chance you get: to family, friends, complete strangers...

      If you only have one typewriter, you must refer to it as "my FIRST typewriter".

      If you're new to typewriter club, you have to type.

      A typewriter is not broken unless it is clean and broken.

      Parts of a typewriter should only be removed in order to repair another typewriter.

      Keychoppers shall have the extremities they used to chop keys chopped off.

      More than one machine is allowed to be your "favorite".

      The last typewriter you bought is the greatest one. Until the next one.

      Never leave a typewriter outside, in a barn, or in a damp basement to rust.

      Typewriters are to type with. They should not be "flipped".

      Any reason is a good reason to buy and use a typewriter.

      The hardest part of typewriter repair is believing you can do it. Everything else is just instructions plus a careful, thoughtful hand. —Rt. Rev. Theodore Munk

      If you see a typewriter, you should take photos and upload the details to the TypewriterDatabase.com.

      Typewriters are not mood setting decor, they are meant to be used.

      Always leave a typewriter in better condition than you found it.

      We form things; we do not "bend" them.

      The only acceptable way to dispose of a typewriter is to find it a new home. The only exception is in dire circumstances in time of war when one should follow the guidance of the Underwood manual and "Smash typewriters and components with a sledge or other heavy instrument; burn with kerosene, gasoline, fuel oil, flame thrower, or incendiary bomb; detonate with firearms, grenades, TNT, or other explosives."

      If anyone asks you about your typewriter, you must spend at least five minutes talking to them about it.

      Legitimate typewriter sellers never use the phrases "it works" or "it just needs a new ribbon."

      Remember that typewriters are dangerous and can be used for samizdat. As Woody Guthrie wrote: "This machine kills fascists."

      Blessed are those who give typewriters to children for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

      "In death, they have a name." Lenore Fenton. Lenore Fenton. Lenore Fenton!

      The Typewriter Database does not list every single serial number, just ranges of numbers and years in which they were made. You are responsible for figuring out which year your number fits into.

      "Working but needs new ribbon" is seller's code for "I have no idea if it really works, but I'm going to try to sell you this machine for the price of a fully functioning machine that was just serviced by a professional shop despite the fact that I just took it out of grandpa's barn and I'm not sure if the mouse inside is dead or not. Also, I can't afford $10 to replace an old ribbon to truly participate in the charade of the price I'm going to try to fleece you with."

    1. It's oil cloth, but not the kind made today, sadly. Contact cement is fine. For a refurb, take lots of pictures. Undo any screwed in components (usually the handle and a couple springs). Using a dremel or similar rotary tool, gently grind down the inside cap of each rivet. It's easiest to use a pin and hammer to knock them out and avoid damaging the wood rather than prying the hardware up. Set aside the hardware for cleaning. Sometimes they're split rivets (which I loathe) and you have to be VERY careful to not wreck the wood pulling those. LOATHE. Get the case WET. It'll soften the glue, make it far easier to remove and keep the glue dust out of your lungs. Pay attention to the order in which it comes off and where the various cuts are made. Scrub the case clean. Let it FULLY dry. Sand any uneven areas and patch what needs patching. Make placement templates in case you have trouble locating the original holes for the hardware. Ensure your rivets or attachment parts will work with the existing holes, modify if needed. Install the internal top and bottom lining. Install the hardware with a pop rivet gun. Put the outside upholstery on. Install the handles/feet/rest. Put the sidewall lining in. Seal any surfaces as desired. Done. If the wooden case is beyond repair but hardware is good, you can build a new case and use the same hardware provided the internal dimensions and hardware placements match the original. I'm mid process on two portable wooden cases or I'd show pics.

      https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1ksx0qy/adhesive_to_fix_peeling_covering_on_cases/

    1. i used a saw to just make the 6:46 one edge of that phillips head a little 6:48 bit deeper so that i could then use a 6:51 flat top screwdriver in there to remove 6:52 that screw the next time that way when i 6:55 put that screw back in there i could 6:56 remove it later just using a flat head 6:58 screwdriver instead of a phillips 7:00 now this was a little bit of a ratchet 7:02 job but it did the trick and with that i 7:04 had a working electric typewriter

      Sarah Everett suggests using a saw to turn Phillips head screws into a flat head screw if they've been stripped.

    2. i couldn't 4:50 get into the typewriter the screws were 4:52 in there so tight that there was no way 4:54 i could get that bottom off of the 4:55 machine so i did the only logical thing 4:58 i could think of i set it upside down 4:59 and then forgot about it for a really 5:01 long time i then went back in once i got 5:03 the confidence to go into this machine

      Confidence is a (the?) key ingredient of typewriter repair.

    1. reply to u/highspeed_steel at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1krspvh/im_totally_blind_and_new_to_typewriters_wax/

      Your question is a great one, but I'll go another direction since I'd dug into some of the history and details of Helen Keller's mid-century typewriters a while back. You can find some details and descriptions here (and in the associated links which includes an accessible video of Ms. Keller using a solid and sexy black Remington Noiseless standard typewriter): https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1ihot96/helen_kellers_typewriters/

      She managed on both her Remington as well as her brailler as well as any sighted person, though obviously had someone to check her printed work.

      I recently saw another heavily modified midcentury typewriter for someone who, if I recall correctly was not only blind, but had no arms. It was set up so that they could move a selector and type using a custom chin rest. Sadly, I didn't index it at the time, but it's interesting to know that such things existed for accessibility reasons.

      As for Braillers, you might appreciate this recent article about a repairman in Britain who was retiring: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/02/wed-be-stuck-alarm-as-uks-last-braille-typewriter-repairer-ponders-retirement

      I've got my own brailler, which is a sleek-looking art-deco industrial piece of art with the loveliest shade of dark shiny gray paint I've ever seen on a typewriter. (I'm both a mathematician and information theorist into the areas of coding and cryptography, so Morse code, Braille, etc. are professionally fascinating to me.) I still need to take it apart and repair a few portions to get it back to perfection, but it generally works well.

      As for the aesthetics, I personally enjoy the solid industrial look and feel of the machines from the 1930s-1960s. The early 30s and some 40s have glossy black enamel and machines like the Corona Standard/Silent from the 30s are low slung with flat tops that sort of resemble small pianos and just scream out "I'm a writer" with a flair for dark academia and just a hint of classical Roman design. Many of these machines come with gold tinged water-slide decals which really set themselves off against the black enamel, though on the majority of machines the gold is beginning to dim from time, wear, and uncareful application of cleaning solutions.

      I love the Royal KMM, KMG, and the Remington 17, Standard, and Super-Riter for their industrial chonkiness and (usually) their glass keytops. One of my favorites is the Henry Dreyfuss designed Royal Quiet De Luxe from 1948 which always gives me the feel of what it would look like if a typewriter wore a tuxedo or the 1948 gray and chrome model which is similar but has the feel of a sleek gray flannel suit on a 1950s advertising executive prone to wearing dapper hats, smoking cigarettes, and always with a cocktail in his hand. Into the 50s and 60s almost everyone had moved to plastic keytops which I don't think are as pretty as the older glass keytops with the polished metal rings around them.

      At the opposite end of that spectrum are the late 50s Royal FP and Futura 800s which have some colorful roundness which evokes the aesthetic of the coming space age. They remind me of the modern curves and star shapes of the television show The Jetsons. Similarly space-aged are the sexy curves of the silver metalic spray paint on wooden cases for the Olympia SM3 from the same period. These to me are quintessential typewriter industrial design. In gray, green, maroon, brown, and sometimes yellow crinkle paint with just a hint of sparkle in their keytops I really love the combination of roundedness and slight angularity these German designed machines provide. They have a definite understated sort of elegance most other typewriters just miss. I suspect that late-in-life Steve Jobs would have had an Olympia SM3.

      There's something comforting about the 40s and 50s sports-car vibe of the smaller Smith-Corona portables of the 5 series machines in the 1950s with their racing stripes on the hood. They feel like the sort of typewriter James Dean would have used as a student—just hip enough to be cool while still be solid and functional.

      Sadly into the 70s, while machines typically got a broader range of colors outside of the typical black, gray, and browns things became more plastic and angular. They also begin to loose some of the industrial mid-century aesthetic that earlier machines had. They often feel very 70s in an uncomplimentary way without the fun color combinations or whimsy that art and general design of of that period may have had in the music or fashion spaces. They make me think of politics and war rather than the burgeoning sexual revolution of the time period.

      Interestingly, for me, I feel like most typewriter design was often 10-20 years behind the general design aesthetic/zeitgeist for the particular decades in which they were made.

      Good luck in your search for the right typewriter(s) for your own collection.

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    1. reply to u/Omega48boar at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1knsgn8/pressure/

      I was wondering what the upper limit psi would be for blowing out the gunk using an air compressor.

      The highest air compressor pressures may be determined by your particular compressor's (or air canister's) maximum output as well as the maximum suggested output for any accessories you're attaching to it. Many basic air gun attachments have a max PSI of around 100 PSI even when the compressor will produce much higher outputs.

      Generally I find that for most benchwork on typewriters anywhere from 50-100 PSI is generally more than sufficient.

      Depending on the condition of your surroundings, I recommend putting a towel (or similar material) underneath your typewriter with a solid backstop so that if any springs, screws, or other valuable parts are blown loose, they're caught pretty quickly by the towel rather than flying across the room or down onto the floor out of sight.

      Higher pressure settings may be useful in some cases. One should always take care to be wearing protective garments and eyewear to prevent being spattered with caustic chemicals. Similarly protecting plastics, paint, and decals on your typewriter with appropriate cover is advised with some solvents.

      Operating the compressor, which can cause sparks as well as heat, at a reasonable distance from potential flammable vapors is also a mandatory safety precaution. Using volatile solvents frequently seen in typewriter cleaning procedures should only be done in the open in a well-ventilated area using appropriate masks to prevent inhalation of vapors. Long term exposure to vapors of substances like lacquer thinner can cause lung damage, COPD, and other adverse health effects.

      For extended usage pending the sorts of air gun tips which might be used for typewriter cleaning, one is also well advised to use ear protection to prevent long term hearing damage/loss.

    1. Scott-Heron’s poetry collections include Small Talk at 125th and Lenox: A Collection of Black Poems (1970) and So Far, So Good (1990). An overview of his poetry can be found in Now and Then: The Poems of Gil Scott-Heron (2000). He also wrote the novels The Vulture (1970) and The Nigger Factory (1972) and the memoir The Last Holiday (2012) and is the subject of the biography Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man (2014), by Marcus Baram.
    1. Everyone mentioned most of the usual tricks, but one.

      To get your sticky typewriter keys working again, while you're flushing out the segment with your solvent of choice (lacquer thinner, paint thinner, mineral spirits, alcohol, etc.), actually move the typebars using the keys or by other means. This will help to get them moving and allow the solvent and subsequently compressed air to help flush the oil, dust, hair, etc. out of your machine. You've already got a mechanical cleaning device of sorts (the typebar itself) inside the segment, so move it while you're flushing it out!

      It may take a few repeated treatments/attempts to get it all clear for all the keys, but it's far easier than taking everything apart.

      reply to u/nogaesallowed at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1cp75ln/how_do_you_clean_a_1mm_gap/


      People were recommending all sorts of ideas and solvents here, including folded card stock, tooth brushes, floss, toothpicks, interdental brushes, wood cuticle sticks, Swiss Army knife tweezers, microbrushes, and even an ultrasonic cleaner.

    1. SCM Electric Typewriters by [[Joe Van Cleave]]

      Tips for cleaning the Smith-Corona 6 series electric typewriters and details about how they work.

      S-C also made this series of typewriter for both Sears and Singer under their branding. (including the Singer Electric in this video.)

      The belts on the electric motor and cams was originally a rubber 'V' belt which is no longer manufactured. Using 1/8" round cross-section o-rings of appropriate sizes (for water cannister applications) is the recommended replacement, however one may need to slightly move the drive motor down a bit so that the belt doesn't hit the frame of the typewriter and thereby destroying it over time.

      Cleaning and lubricating the drive motors and moving pieces before using may help before trying out a typewriter which has been sitting for long periods of time.

      Some later models had an electric return, which can tend to be violent. Electro 220 and Coronet Automatic 12 have an additional clutch and draw band (and lack of return lever on the carriage) for their electric returns.

    1. reply to u/letsjustwrite and u/CowCommercial1992 at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1iilo0f/re_inking_ribbons/

      None of these are really prohibitively expensive, especially when purchased in bulk. Both Baco Ribbon and Fine Line offer black/red bichrome ribbon in most of these materials for a very reasonable price:

      • nylon ribbon $0.10 - $0.15/yard
      • silk ribobn $0.33 to $0.40/yard
      • cotton ribbon $0.25/yard

      If you're going to buy even 3-6 spools of ribbon at individual prices of $9-20 per spool, you may as well make the investment in a half or full reel of inked typewriter ribbon and save yourself a lot of hassle. My guess is that if you're buying your own ribbon in small quantities, you're going to pay even more than these prices to have uninked ribbon. Unless you have some serious equipment and technique, you're highly unlikely to be able to ink your own bichrome ribbon, so you're stuck with monochrome.

      While using ink stamp pads is "doable", it's a lot of work for a very poor result.

      I've yet to hear of more than a very tiny handful of people who are interested in the art or process of this to bother with attempting to re-ink typewriter ribbon, silk or otherwise. Generally, if they do it for any reason (other than the one time "fun of it"), it's for environmental reasons rather than pricing ones.

      As an inveterate tinkerer, I've tried some of my own re-inking experiments to very mixed results. I've given up bespoke ribbon for bulk purchases.

    1. There are generally only a few configurations for ribbon vibrators with respect to ribbon threading, look at a few manuals here and surely yours will be covered by one: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-manuals.html

      Typically the rule is that the ribbon sits closer to the paper at the typing point than any piece of the vibrator and is then threaded through the arms of the vibrator. From there it often goes through holders at the ribbon cup and then into the spool.

    1. Mike Rossi on antiques for the collector

      For the inveterate collectors out there, I remember Mike Rossi's old TV show and recently saw he was dispensing advice about antiques, buying/selling, and collecting on his relatively new Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/antiquesalley/

      Others might appreciate his perspective on buying and selling of the secondary market of vintage pieces and antiques. While he doesn't specifically touch on typewriters (that I'm aware of) a lot of his pragmatic advice is broadly applicable.

      Here's an interesting one to start with: https://www.instagram.com/antiquesalley/reel/DJSXLwPhMjH/

      posted to https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1khupsb/mike_rossi_on_antiques_for_the_collector/

    1. 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.

    2. reply:

      I've been looking at the typewriter database and have been able to discern the fact that the designator YY=88 seems to indicate that an FP had a Royal HH-like palm tabulator, 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.

      I can't help but wonder what the YY = 92 indicates on Martyn's machine.

    1. 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/

    1. 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.

    1. https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1kg820b/just_bought_this_typewriter_for_10_at_a_charity/

      For a second, I thought perhaps the "88" in the serial number was a designator for the palm tabulator, but one of the other two in the database doesn't have that option (visually), though the single picture (of 5853) looks like it may have broken off or been removed on that example: - https://typewriterdatabase.com/1960-royal-fp.1241.typewriter - https://typewriterdatabase.com/1961-royal-fp.5853.typewriter

      If you upload some additional photos of yours to the database, perhaps we can puzzle out what the "88" designator means if it's not the palm tabulator functionality?

      The E on FPE means "elite" or 12 characters per inch. The "13" indicates a 13 inch wide platen. The raw serial number seems to indicate it was made in 1960: https://typewriterdatabase.com/royal.72.typewriter-serial-number-database

    1. Forrester: No thinking - that comes later. You must write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is... to write, not to think!

      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181536/quotes

      In this quote from Finding Forrester (Columbia Pictures, 2000) Forrester (portrayed by Sean Connery) turns the idea that writing is thinking on its head.

    1. And is it true that you enjoy taking typewriters apart and putting them back together? Doherty : Of course. It’s just that I’m so attracted to these objects that I want to look inside them, to understand how they work. It’s a form of learning, for me it would be a dream to have a shop specializing in repairing typewriters. Maybe one day… Among the many, I love the Valentine model by Olivetti, sooner or later I absolutely want to visit Ivrea.

      The Olivetti Valentine is one of Pete Doherty's favorites.

  2. Apr 2025
    1. A Companion to Geoffrey of Monmouth introduces Geoffrey’s oeuvre to first-time readers and provides a synthesis of current scholarship, all while offer-ing new readings of his work. This volume also seeks to bring Celtic studiesand Galfridian studies into closer dialogue, especially given the importanceof Wales to Geoffrey and his work. To that end, many of the essays are writtenby specialists in Welsh history and literature, whose voices have at times beenhard to discern in the general din of Galfridian scholarship. We have also askedcontributors to focus on all of Geoffrey’s work, and not merely the Arthuriansections. Geoffrey has been well-served by Arthurian scholarship, and we haveno desire to replicate many of the excellent recent studies in that field.7 Instead,we hope a holistic approach to his work will reveal subtleties often overlookedin scholarship that concentrates primarily on the Arthurian portions.

      A fairly concise statement of the aims of this book

    2. though he claimed to be nothing more than a translator – therebyconforming to medieval literature’s aversion to originality, at least outwardly –he remains one of the most strikingly original writers of the Middle Ages.

      And isn't this just what we would broadly expect of a culture moving from primary orality into literacy? The old wisdom passed down through memory would be prized over the invention of the new.

      Until the written tradition can be fully relied upon, originality wouldn't be prized the way it is in current Western culture.

      We should expect writers to say (even if lying) that their material is based on prior sources and not created by them.

      Of course perhaps the primary oral bards may have exhibited this pattern themselves and used their own creativity to embellish prior "close truths". Just how far did originality go in the bardic tradition?

      Compare this with using written statements to actively tell lies in the opening centuries of literacy.

    3. Geoffrey included the PM in his next work, the De gestis Britonum(“On the Deeds of the Britons”, hereafter abbreviated DGB). He had finishedthis work by January 1139 at the latest, when Henry of Huntingdon reports hisastonishment at finding a copy at the abbey of Le Bec.3 The count of survivingmedieval manuscripts of the DGB is now 225, making Geoffrey one of the mostwidely-read secular authors from medieval Britain.4
    4. third and final extant work is the Vita Merlini (“The Life of Merlin”, hereafterabbreviated VM), completed around 1150 and extant in only four independentmanuscripts.6 Written in dactylic hexameter, this poem recounts how MerlinSilvester goes mad after battle and retires to the woods to live; this enigmaticand difficult work seems to be deeply in touch with Welsh literature, thoughits ultimate sources are unknown.
    5. Until recently, Geoffrey’s history was called the Historia regum Britanniae(“The History of the Kings of Britain”), but Michael D. Reeve’s textual studyhas confirmed that the title used in the earliest manuscripts, and by Geoffreyhimself, was the De gestis Britonum.5 After much debate among contributors,this volume begins the lugubrious process of using the original title in place ofthe received one.
    1. Such a fine edition and translation deserves (perhaps in a secondedition) a better packaging.

      The majority of Scheil's critiques of desired material seems to have been filled in broadly by:

      Henley, Georgia, and Joshua Byron Smith, eds. A Companion to Geoffrey of Monmouth. Brill’s Companions to European History 22. Brill, 2020. http://archive.org/details/oapen-20.500.12657-42537.

      Obviously this isn't an inconsequential amount of scholarship (575+ pp) to have included in Reeve's volume.

      While it's nice to identify what is not in the reviewed volume, it's probably better to frame it that way rather than to seemingly blame the authors/editors for not having included such a massive amount of work. This sort of poor framing is too often seen in the academic literature. Reporting on results and work and putting it out is much more valuable in the short and long term than worrying so much about what is not there. Authors should certainly self-identify open questions for their readers and create avenues to follow them up, but they don't need to be all things to all people.

    2. Scheil, Andrew. Review of Michael D. Reeve, ed., Neil Wright, trans. Geoffrey of Monmouth. The History of the Kings of Britain: An Edition and Translation of De gestis Britonum (Historia Regum Britanniae), by Michael D. Reeve. The Journal of Medieval Latin 19 (January 2009): 318–21. https://doi.org/10.1484/J.JML.3.39.

    1. He recommends provid-ing machines that are sturdy enough towithstand heavy use, supervising chil-dren and others who might be too roughon delicate machines, and staying at-tentive to all of the machines.

      The majority of working typewriters are really no more delicate than any other machine out there. The growing myth that they're delicate kills me (and their future).

    1. I actually have pretty good feedback to share on this... I bought the remaining inventory from the guy that does these about 3 years back. We initially had a verbal agreement about me taking over the turboplaten business and we discussed the process in detail while loading a truck full of typewriters, but as the day wore on he seemed a little reluctant and when we started getting into inner/outer diameter measurements and specific PVC tubing he kinda clammed up. *For the record, I wasn't put out by it really as I had virtually zero intention of starting a platen business and told him as such- that any I made would likely only be for machines I sold. But it definitely felt weird as he literally gave me his custom built lathe and much of his tubing stock. 🤷🏻‍♂️ That said, I know how to make these from start to finish. The quality is decent enough, and the ones I got from him and the ones I made myself perform pretty well for the most part. However, I found some machines react poorly to the different material - causing escapement skip. The PVC material is bouncier than natural rubber, and doesn't play well with ALL typewriters without being specifically messed with during construction. His method of heat treatment of the tubing is what's supposed to combat this, but it's almost impossible to gauge the amount of heat needed for various machines specific escapements. All that to say; They're an interesting concept in theory, and given the right equipment could be a compelling alternative for natural rubber. But given what I saw and experienced in the process, I'd have a difficult time justifying paying essentially twice what JJ Short charges for one. Not saying you shouldn't, just sharing my experience.

      Nashville Typewriter tells the story of almost taking over the concept of Turboplaten.

      https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1k0p2ha/turboplaten/ on 2025-04-16.

    1. reply to u/No-Entertainer-7217 at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1k45o89/typewriters_needing_new_ribbons/

      "Working but needs new ribbon" is almost always seller's code for I have no idea if it really works, but I'm going to try to sell you this machine for the price of a fully functioning machine that was just serviced by a professional shop despite the fact that I just took it out of grandpa's barn and I'm not sure if the mouse inside is dead or not. Also, I can't afford $10 to replace an old ribbon to truly participate in the charade of the price I'm going to try to fleece you with.

      Educate yourself a bit: <br /> - https://boffosocko.com/2025/03/29/first-time-typewriter-purchases-with-specific-recommendations-for-writers/ - buying typewriter ribbon: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-faq.html#q1 and https://boffosocko.com/research/typewriter-collection/#Typewriter%20Ribbon - typewriter 101: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJtHauPh529XYHI5QNj5w9PUdi89pOXsS

      If you want to tell people Tom Hanks taught you to change a typewriter ribbon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBbsNKaVAB0. There are lots of other YouTube videos out there for specific machines as well as reviews of them.

      You can definitely test out a machine without ribbon, but if they're trying to charge you over $100 for a machine, it really should have fresh ribbon.

    1. “The China Syndrome,” a 2011 paper on the impact of trade withChina by a powerful troika of economists—David Autor, David Dorn,and Gordon Hanson—underscored what is going on. The empiricalstudy is particularly significant because it marks a shift in consensusthinking in the academy. In the debate about the causes of growingincome inequality, American economists have tended to opt fortechnology as the driving force. But, drawing on detailed data fromlocal labor markets in the United States, the authors of “The ChinaSyndrome” argue that globalization, and in particular trade with themighty Middle Kingdom, are today also having a huge impact onAmerican blue-collar workers: “Conservatively, it explains one-quarterof the contemporaneous aggregate decline in U.S. manufacturingemployment.”

      Autor, David H., David Dorn, and Gordon H. Hanson. “The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States.” American Economic Review 103, no. 6 (October 2013): 2121–68. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.6.2121.

    1. In the US, you can get one hundred 4" mascara brushes for around $5. Eye Tees (cottton swabs with a firm point on one end and a flat tip on the other) cost roughly the same. You'll find them at most beauty supply stores or online. These get into tight spaces. Dipped in mineral spirits (or whichever solvent you've come to like), the brush gets the stuff loose and the Tee wipes it away. Blasting air helps as well. Works for me. Others will have other ideas.

      via u/scmowner

      https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1jyr2hc/the_best_way_to_get_rid_of_all_this_gunk/

      Colloquial advice to use 4" mascara brushes as a replacement for a segment pick for cleaning out typewriters.