This Underwood portable typewriter was a customers eBay purchase shipped directly to the shop. I really like the older Underwood Universals, a quality machine that types real nice.  This particular portable was described as from an estate sale, and was well used. The list of to - do's on this one were: new platen (and rollers if needed), general cleaning and adjustments, replace the worn felt type bar rest, new black/red ribbon and a nice … [Read more...]

I have a nice Corona 4 that has this same Maroon and Gold crinkle finish that I've wanted to repair (Obi-wan. . . too many machines I have). This machine is a customers with the same finish and boy is she a beaut. It was recently given as a gift and you ALL know a typewriter is the perfect bobble for that one you love (hint, hint). In good general repair this Corona needed mostly a good cleaning of the pencil eraser debris and a re-oiling … [Read more...]

It is funny how manufacturers rebrand products and form partnerships that help expand product lines. Smith-Corona was the master at rebranding its products to sell, sell sell! This is a good example; look at the two typewriters featured here as both are Smith-Corona machines. The nice yellow Tower "President" was sold by Sears, yet is really just a spiffy Smith-Corona Silent like its cousin in gray. Both machines came into the shop … [Read more...]

Nobody likes to see the damage a dropped typewriter endures, yet we get many. This one succumbed to a young exuberant child. The damage? One of the bearings and follower gears popped out of the carriage track on to the floor, the carriage was misaligned, screws sheared off, the spring drum was frozen, no back spacing, and the tab rack tower was interfering with tab action as it was rubbing against the carriage. The rear of the frame was (and … [Read more...]

One of my customers just brought in a sweeeeet Hermes Baby (also known as a Rocket) that was made in 1944. He received it as a gift! He was pretty stoked about it. This cute little typewriter came with a few problems; type bars sticking, slow space bar response and the cork type bar rest had dropped into the bottom of the machine. It is also missing a foot and the platen really needs to be replaced. We agreed to get this back quickly so … [Read more...]

It is not often that Mr. Montgomery will fill out a customer's service ticket with "NEEDS EVERYTHING". When I pulled the typewriter from the repair queue, I immediately understood what he meant as this family's typewriter had so many issues he could not fit it all on the ticket. I'm pretty sure I've intimated that storing precision machines, such as typewriters, in dusty cold and moist places is a death nell. You know; NO garage storage! To … [Read more...]

This Royal portable was greased and came with a generous coating of white out particles. You know, the kind from those oh so convenient white and black ribbons (the bane of every repairman). That stuff gets stuck everywhere! A good cleaning, some minor adjustments and away we go! What it really needed was new shoes, and by that I mean rubber feet. The feet fell apart in my hands! Since there are none available I made them from various hardware … [Read more...]

We do not get many Remington model 16 typewriters in the shop, and this example is from the year 1937. This heavy guy is built like a TANK! When it came to the shop every single paper roller was deteriorated and flattened. No wonder paper would not feed. The platen is hard as a rock, so that didn't help. Along with that, there were multiple keys sticking. After a good cleaning, the keys moved nicely along with the carriage. Then it was the … [Read more...]

This nice black typewriter had been in the family for some time and had made its recent journey mostly being stored in a garage. Fortunately, there was only surface rust and most components were functioning just fine. The tab rack was bent, most likely from someone picking up the typewriter from the back of the carriage. This is pretty common as these suckers are HEAVY. The margin release also needed adjusting. There were quite a few type bars … [Read more...]