I do a lot of rubber replacement on the older machines. Show me a machine from the 1930's and earlier, and I'll almost always need to replace rubber feet, washers, paper rollers and platens. Lately I've been thinking (as I'm scraping off the rubber from yet another roller core).  Most days in the shop is tinkering with the machines and lot of replacing rollers. I noticed that many of the manufacturers, over time, began to re-think paper … [Read more...]

Making copies! That's what I think every time I need to make a part for a typewriter. Today, I machined a piece that hangs from the right margin stop of a Royal HHE. This little thing hangs like a pendulum and activates the bell clapper. Yep, that's all it does. To make matters worse, it is an oblong shape that needs to balance freely. To compensate for the weight difference between the original steel part (being duplicated in brass) the … [Read more...]

With Mr. Montgomery only visiting the shop a couple times a week, it was time to make more of the shop my own. Mostly it is quite difficult to find parts and the right service manual without searching, searching, searching. Also, we are in a building shared with other tenants and the smell from oil and dirt soaked carpet wafts into the corridor. Even though our neighbors never complain, each time I get off the elevator onto our floor I can smell … [Read more...]

Occasionally, I publish some of Mr. Montgomery's musings edited only for grammatical errors. I really appreciate all that our Veterans have done for our Country, so this article is for today’s Veterans Day. Thank you, Mr. Montgomery. Battle of the Bulge - 1944 I wasn’t there - I was back at Headquarters in Versailles doing typewriters as usual. The following stories are second hand from acquaintances that seemed to know something about … [Read more...]

Occasionally, I publish some of Mr. Montgomery's musings edited only for grammatical errors. This is one. POP’s Store - The Typewriter Shop at 821 Third Ave, Seattle   (Years 1920-30-40) My father was part owner of an office equipment store on Third Avenue in Seattle, Wales Sales & Service Company. They started out with 3 or 4 partners. Mr. Lacey, U.G. Moore, and…..) They incorporated, but by the time I started hanging around the place … [Read more...]

We get many typewriters that have surface rust. This is OK as long as rust or other corrosion has not invaded inner workings. This is an Underwood typewriter that came to us with a lot of rust. When I put it in the queue, I immediately doused it with penetrating oil to give my customer a half chance I could save it. The rusted screw tops and other minor corrosion didn't worry me as an Underwood can stand one heck of a litany of abuse and still … [Read more...]

I see a lot of typewriters and most are vintage. My job is to get them back to you in useful condition. It is tradition in the repair world to affix a symbol of the repair shop to the machine as reminder to use the repair folks again. On the older machines this was a small decorative decal and today is a common adhesive backed label. I love the old decals! Here are a few for your enjoyment. … [Read more...]

This is another interesting article on our most favorite topic... Typewriters! https://medium.com/backchannel/the-last-of-the-typewriter-men-729f150c5083 Also check out “Jay Schweitzer of Gramercy Typewriter Co., New York City” by Jason Duaine Hahn on Vimeo. The video is available for your viewing pleasure at https://vimeo.com/48513101 … [Read more...]

The typewriter repairman, Bob Montgomery, in business for almost 70 years in Bremerton — had some well wishers today, including Don Feldman. Feldman, a collector of old typewriters, dropped him off a present: a German-made Continental Silenta. Everybody wishes Bob the best! … [Read more...]

When Montgomery returned from the war, he went back to the family business, which eventually moved to Bremerton. Besides the machines, Montgomery’s other big love has been the Bremerton Community Theatre. He has acted in or been part of the production of more than 145 shows. “It looks like the end of an era. We’re trying to figure out what he needs to retire,” says past president Paul Holiday. Montgomery tries to explain his 85 years of … [Read more...]