It’s Labor Day holiday in the US, the day we celebrate the American worker and give Summer a long, wet, beery goodbye kiss and think back over all the fun we’ve had during the past three months. Tomorrow we’ll put away the white slacks and flip flops and get back to school and business.
It was in a nostalgic end-of-the-summer mood that I re-read some of my past typewriter blog posts, and I had to laugh at the tone. My typewriter repair posts can seem like self-congratulatory, unstoppable marches to victory. It’s never that way.
It is time to spread out the dirty laundry of my to-do list. Now that summer is over, I need to get serious. I really don’t know how this happened. I have somehow accumulated a collection of partially dismantled typewriters that desperately need help. Here they are, begging for my attention.
Neglected while I was off gallivanting with the Boys of Summer
Paul the 1959 Royal FP
The good-natured, hard-working 1959 Royal FP is in terrific typing condition – it may skip for some people, but that’s their problem. I have removed some of the panels for sandblasting and powder coating. I ordered pink powder coat paint for the top cover, paper table and front panel – and then I lost my nerve. Did I truly want to pinkify a dignified old FP?
Ringo the 1913 Oliver 5
Everyone’s favorite – the sweet and unassuming 1913 Oliver 5 came as a matched set. Good Neighbor Brian has Ringo’s twin, but I kept Ringo because he’s in pretty bad condition with lots of rust. I took off his carriage and haven’t gone any further.
John the 1970 Hermes 3000
A complex bundle of ego with smartypants tendencies, the 1970 cursive Hermes 3000 suffered a catastrophic fall at Moe’s shop. The carriage was mashed into the body and now won’t move.
George the 1922 L. C. Smith & Bros. No. 8
The 1922 LC Smith & Bros 8 has been living in my garage for the past eight months. He seeks to rise above and to achieve a higher level of rust-free consciousness.
The Fifth Beatle: Underwood Portable
There’s also Pete from Idaho, a three-bank Underwood portable with a few pieces that need to find their proper place.
And then there’s the typewriters that need minor fixes:
You may ask why is there a Rheinmetall KsT in my fridge with a blob of Silly Putty on the shift lock key (this sentence sounds like typewriter-related Mad Libs). It’s a long story, but it doesn’t have a happy ending yet.
I think that I’ll start with the Hermes 3000. Come here, Sweetie:
Blender impassively watches the countertop dissection of the Hermes 3000.
Farewell, Summer!
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