I get sooo many smelly, moldy, funky odorous machines in the shop so that’s the first thing I think about when opening a typewriter case.
In this case (ha, ha), I’ve been working to make rubber feet that others do not sell. Today, I finished a silicone mold of Smith-Corona feet for the 6 series machines. Normally those feet are in fantastic shape. Lately I’ve come across a few where the feet are disintegrated. Since no one else is selling them, I thought I’d give it a go.
The feet have an imbedded metal part that acts as alignment tool and washer. These I dig out of the old rubber and put it in the mold before pouring.
Can you tell in the photo which are the original and the molded pair? Yep, the two on the bottom are the ones I made complete with the metal embedded in the rubber. I’m not trying for perfection, just items serviceable that work.
My thinking is that when any of my suppliers are not making a particular item that is pretty low volume, I’ll give it a try. If a supplier starts making them, I’ll buy from them.