I recently attended a type-in at a local public library. Two members of the Mid-Atlantic Typewriter Collectors Group, Monica and her husband Stephen, organized the event. They’ve done this a couple times in the past, and they always get a good crowd of local enthusiasts, library walk-ins, and kids.
Soft-Soft: Underwood No. 4
Since my son and daughter-in-law have moved closer to me, I have been busy in Grandma Land chasing a newly-walking terror intent on finding the most fragile, most dangerous items to crush or mouth.
New Punch List: Olympia SG1
I finished up the Olympia SG1 project and patted myself on the back. Nailed it! Job well done! I fed some paper through it and started some long-form typing—a letter to RRTM—and that’s when the SG1’s residual issues became apparent. There would be no kicking back and cracking a celebratory brewski (ein bier) yet. I saw more work to be done.
Classy Dames: Olympia SG1 and Husqvarna 6430
Last week, I was again drawn helplessly to the McDonald’s in Germantown, MD. The powerful gravitational force of a large, dysfunctional Olympia SG1 pulled me into its orbit and brought me to a parking lot in suburban Maryland during a heat wave.
‘Tis a Gift
I’m back from California and a month-long visit with my new baby grandson. My report: he’s very perfect, and like many babies, he resembles Charles Laughton. Also, relative to his tiny body, he has enormous hands, and I foresee a career as a piano player or a typewriter mechanic.
The Weird: Hammond No. 2
I’m a very normal person. Like other very normal people, the Weird makes me queasy, and I generally don’t seek it out. However, sometimes the tentacles of the numinous reach for me, and I am pulled into another layer of reality outside my current one.
Lucky Breaks: SM4 and SM2
Despite my best intentions and proud declarations of restraint, my garage became congested with typewriters last week and every surface was covered with machines and tools and manuals.
Bad Dog!
A local collector named Michael has become my go-to source for broken typewriters. He collects the good, the bad, and the indifferent—he loves them all and welcomes them with open arms and no judgement. When he told me he had an Olympia SM4 with a flying carriage, I began to salivate reflexively. Nice machine. Interesting problem.
Olympia SM9: An Unexpected Journey
Some typewriter repairs appear to be fast and easy projects at the outset, but quickly turn challenging as the ailing typewriters reveal their more complicated selves. It’s just one thing after another, and soon the typewriter is taking you on a journey to an unknown destination.
Royal Rumspringa: the Carriage Goes WHEEE!
There was a very suspicious situation going down in a McDonald’s parking lot in Germantown, MD a couple weekends ago. It looked like a drug deal. But no, it was a typewriter hand-off.
Friendly Machines
If you ever go to a typewriter meet-up, you’ll likely never run out of conversation with attendees because there is such an overlap in niche enthusiasms. Sure, you’ll talk about typewriters, but soon you’ll be onto cameras or guitars or 3D printers or fountain pens or bicycles or printing presses or vacuum cleaners—or sewing machines.
Recovered Memories: Underwood 5 Platen and Carriage Removal
Over the holidays, I sent DePiglio the Underwood 5 away to a nice farm in the country—er, I mean, to my brother-in-law’s office in Rhode Island.
Catch and Release
Some time ago, I was on the phone with one of my sisters, chatting about death—as one does—and the huge piles of accumulated STUFF people usually leave behind.
Old Dog, New Tricks
Typewriter repair keeps this Old Dog sharp and on her toes. Two recent repairs on two different SCM Electra 120s broadened my skill set and gave me a lot of old-dog-new-trick satisfaction.
The first repair was on one of my “catch and release” typewriters that came back to me recently. It’s a beautiful Smith-Corona Electra 120 that I found at a local thrift store for $10. It was gummed up from disuse. After a careful cleaning, it went back into action when Jean, a lovely local typewriter enthusiast, adopted it.
Indiscipline: 1916 Royal 10
I hosted a typewriter open house in my garage a few weeks ago, and one attendee brought me a beautiful 1916 Royal 10 Box-O-Typewriter as a gift. It’s one of those super cool oldies with four glass windows. What joy this reassembly project has given me.
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