I had a customer come in and ask for me to keep an eye out for a nice Corona 3 portable typewriter. “Of course”, I said. Well, all I really needed to do was walk into the back of the shop. I had been meaning to go through the Corona’s for a while so I could cull the parts machines and get them labeled with the dreaded RED tag (parts only). I pulled them out and started going through them. There is ALWAYS something that needs fixing which is why I reserve working on my own machines for when times are slow. Has it been slow? Not for the last two years!
On these little wonders there was everything from the mundane; disconnected or broken draw cord, needs a platen, yippee – flattened rollers, missing bell clappers, nowhere to be seen shift spring, to a tip broken off the escapement dog. All are filthy, dirty little beasts just waiting for their chance to shine.
Low and behold, there were several that could become nice typers again! I love going through a bunch of typewriters that are a specific model, browsing the years, both for finding the minor changes manufacturers created over the model life cycle and for the common defects each has. I like how the key tops changed, and I love the loosey goosey clack – clack feel of the model 3’s!