A Question about Typewriter Ribbons

[kiwilrdg]

The rollers need to be very smooth. A grain of sand can mess up a letter while you are typing. The seam would give a line that cannot by typed over and possibly mar the paper as well.

 

[Shangas]

So that's why you suggested inner-tube or rubber hosing...I see now. Yes I suspected that was the reason. Thanks for the advice, chaps and chapettes!

Heading off to the flea-market tomorrow to go typewriter hunting!

On another website I've been reading, it also suggests the following options regarding platens...

- Sanding the platen to remove the exterior hard layer of rubber, and improve the grip.

- Using various substances (one I noticed, was WD-40), such as rubber-restorer, to soften and rejuvinate the rubber.

Getting any platen professionally restored seems out of the question for me. Yes, services do exist, but I couldn't justify paying an arm, a leg, and my right nut for them. So that's why I'm seeking more um...economical...solutions.

 

[kiwilrdg]

I do not know of any rubber restorer that will really work. Products like Armor All will speed up the degradation of rubber (once the oily solvents are wiped off the rubber). You should not have too much trouble finding a good typewriter. They were well made and the rubber would have been kept dry and usually in a moderate temperature.

 

[Shangas]

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Forum...

I have the opportunity to buy a nice, working, portable Remington typewriter. Ca. 1928-1938. I've tested it and I believe it to be in good condition and worth purchasing. I will of course go back and double-check. After a bit of research, I believe it to be a Remington Model 3 or Model 4 Portable. It looks identical to this:

It comes complete with a carrying case. What's a fair price to be paid for a machine of this vintage and in working condition?

The price it's going for is more than I want to pay, but I'm quickly beginning to realise that...in Australia at least...this is the going-price for a vintage typewriter that I won't get one for anything less than what it is. I can see that my former budget isn't going to cut it out here, in the Antipodes of the South Pacific. I'd appreciate some insight from former purchasers of typewriters, as to what the most I should pay for this, should be.

 

[Shangas]

Just curious, with portable typewriters without ribbons hidden underneath the typewriter body (as with the Remington Portable or the Imperial, or the Royal), but which instead had them on top of the machine (if that makes any sense), did they come with spool-covers? Or were spools left exposed? It seems to me that this is a common trait among portable machines. Either it was designed that way, or portable-typewriter spool-covers are vanishing faster than the rainforests...

 

[tomfrankjon]

I am not familiar with the type writer but i really want to learn typing. Please do help me in the same.
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typewritter ribbons

 

[Shangas]

Touch-typing is easy. There's plenty of programs online that would be able to teach you. When I learnt touch typing back in the dark ages of personal computers, I used the programs: "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing", and "Type to Learn"; both probably well outdated by now, but they did the trick.

 

[kiwilrdg]

Find a book on typing from before electric typewriters became common. Hand position is also an important thing to learn because it is necessary to keep the pressure on the keys even and to reduce the stress on your fingers. Your hands will get tired if you type a lot.

 

[Shangas]

If you can find a facsimile or a scan of old typewriter manuals, that's one way to start.

My typewriter model (1920s/30s Underwood Portable) has a freely-available PDF copy of its original 1920s user-manual available online. It comes complete with typing-exercises. I suppose that's one way to start. I don't need to do them; I've been touch typing since I was six, but for someone who's new to it, it may be helpful.

 

[Shangas]

Hi Everyone,

I'd appreciate your advice/input on something I might want to purchase.

Long Story Short:

I have the opportunity to buy a Remington #2 Portable. One of these things:

Not that *exact* one, of course, but one of almost identical style. That's just there for illustrative purposes.

It's currently for sale online, for a reasonable price. The auction ends in a little under two days. It's described as being in full working order, and the photographs are fairly comprehensive and seem to back up this claim. I double-checked them against existing photographs on the 'net, and on various typewriter-sites, to be fully sure of what I was looking at.

I tried to ask the seller, but he hasn't responded my emails, so I hope you don't mind my asking here, if only to get your opinion.

This is a closeup view of the type-bars. I meticulously scrutinised EVERY photograph, and I noticed an anomaly in this one. said anomaly has been circled in yellow by Yours Truly:

Is it just me, or does that second-last type-slug look like it has a crack in it? Or is it just a trick of the light?/poor photography? Do you think I should aim for this machine, or save my money and not waste it?

Let me know what you think.

I only question because, I'm sure these slugs were made to be EXTREMELY strong and that a crack would be extraordinarily unlikely, and because I'm really tempted to buy it. Also, the seller is just a few miles from where I live. So picking it up and paying for it in cash would be really easy. Also...it's cheap!

Thanks for any input you can give,

Shangas.

P.S: LizzieMaine, please empty your Private Messages inbox.

 

[stevew443]

My first tech job out of electronic school was to repair electric typewriters. We would run through ribbons like crazy testing repaired machines. One thing we used to do to extend the life of a ribbon was to hook one end of the spool to an electric screw driver and spray WD-40 on the ribbon. It would reflow the ink from the portion of the ribbon that was not struck by the keys and we could double or even triple the life of a ribbon that way. We would recondition the rollers with certain solvents which have now proven to be carcinogenic. Most solvents used for reconditioning printers could be used to recondition platens though.