This combination of an adding machine and a cash drawer was quite popular up until electronic cash registers took over the industry. This Clary is a well-preserved example of a nice hand cranked cash register. The machine came from a sewing machine shop in Seattle, and with a fresh ribbon and oiling and adjustment is fun to use! … [Read more...]

This lovely example of a Quiet-Riter came to us with an exceedingly annoying habit of type, type, type… STUCK… and I mean really stuck as the carriage would not budge. The owner is on a budget so we were all hopeful it would be an easy and fast fix. This one was a little complicated. We dismantled the machine to diagnose the problem and it was pretty apparent there were several things coming into play. The tab set mechanism was stuck, and … [Read more...]

We get only a few cash registers and adding machines in the shop these days, and it is too bad as I love working on these mechanical wonders. This adding machine is a 7 row and capable of $10,000 increments. The keys were sticking and the basic add, subtract and multiply functions were intermittent. It had not been used for a number of years. Mr. Montgomery had the first go at it as he has decades of troubleshooting experience. Once opened up … [Read more...]

The Wheelwriter from IBM is a great machine and took off from the Selectric. Then.... word processors took over. We were asked to take two dead Wheelwriter 2's and make one a working typewriter. I love these jobs, as a customer has given me complete control over what to use from each machine. The one machine was clearly dead for a long time as it was clean, platen and feed rollers in great shape. The other typewriter was dirty as a Clint Eastwood … [Read more...]

This Underwood Universal Portable typewriter is a dream to use. I love the Underwood truncated 9’s and 6’s. This typewriter came in for general service and since it has been kept in a case it really just needed light cleaning, oiling and a few adjustments. One of the front rubber feet had broken off so was replaced. We are fortunate that we have Tony Casillo in New York who makes reproduction rubber feet for Remingtons and Underwoods. I … [Read more...]

This bold Olivetti Praxis 48 is one electric you don’t see often. I love the Kelly green key tops. This came in for servicing as the space bar was not working and a few keys were sluggish. It is pretty hard to type with no space bar! It turns out most of the problem was old oil and grease had solidified over time making the cam that activates the spacing mechanism hang up. The same was happening with the return and tab mechanism. Once cleaned … [Read more...]

This lovely green IBM Selectric is an un-correcting model. Once the correcting feature was introduced, not too many of these were sold! The machine came in for general service and a paper holder replacement. Once opened up, we discovered it was WAY over oiled so we spent a bit blowing out the dust that had attached to all the over-oiled parts and degreasing the items that are not supposed to be greasy. The tab transport pulley needed … [Read more...]

We get a lot of older Royals in the shop, and this one took us a bit by surprise. This pristine Royal KH came to us after a rough landing coming back home on an airline (typewriter volley ball anyone?). The actual complaint from our costumer was it would type fine, then the carriage would race and make a racket, totally un-type-able. The obvious damage was easy, scratches and an amazing bent tab rack that looked like someone strung a bow. Mr. … [Read more...]

This Royal KM desktop came to us after decades in a garage. Once opened, it looked like someone had dumped an entire bag of dryer lint in the thing! This is the first machine I've taken the shop vac and sucked out all the debris. It then got a good degreasing and general cleaning. There is quite a bit of surface rust, and unfortunately there is not a lot we can do for that. We got lucky and the rust did not effect the carriage operation. The tab … [Read more...]

Made in Wuppertal, West Germany the Voss typewriter was very popular. It had limited distribution in the USA and is a great machine for daily use. This Business-Riter has a tabulator that is set by a small knob on the right side of the carriage and activated by the bar above the keys. This machine has a distinctive type, very bold…very readable. It came into the shop for general maintenance and adjustment. It mostly had very sticky type bars, … [Read more...]