This nice Underwood example, serial number S11-688989, came into the shop in October, and with the work backlog we finally got some quality time with it. This beauty had been sitting in a garage for decades and it showed. Mold on the platen, saw dust everywhere; as I was cleaning it popcorn kernels fell out! I’m becoming quite enamored with the patina tobacco stains engrain into the typewriter. The golden brown just flows off.
The machine had been dropped so there were some basic things to do. Off comes the platen and carriage so we can get to the rollers, escapement and the backside of the segment, which really needed attention. Did I mention sawdust? I can’t remember how many times something was jammed with the stuff. The easiest part was the few Zen moments I have cleaning typefaces.
Once back together it was apparent the tab stops would not clear, and that is where the drop really came to play. It took quite a bit to get the crooked tab stop bar to align and the brake to finally engage. Once that was done, type testing was a breeze. I’m so happy to return this fine piece of art back to decades more of typing pleasure.
