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Improvising new feet for the Comptometer and a window-sheet
Comptometers have feet - although today many are sat flat on the table like a shoebox, they'd originally have had rubber feet. These feet were press-fits into holes in the bottom of the case, found in...
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Refurbished Comptometer model H
This Comptometer model H got refurbished, again, in 2023 :)The old, drab paint from a late 1930ies or 1940ies re-build was stripped from the panels.The top-panels were re-painted in a matching brown...
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American Typewriters catalogue, but who is it from?
A 'prospectus' or catalogue of 'Amerikaansche Schrijfmachines', i.e. American Typewriters.And that's what it is, showing standard office typewriters from the major American makers. The booklet opens...
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Replacing a pin with an M2 screw on the Mignon index typewriter
To take apart the actuator arm of a Mignon index typewriter, a soft-steel pin has to be removed from the hollow main actuator rod. This 2mm pin holds the 'plug' with the ball-on-a-needle that is the...
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More Zamac-trouble on a Mignon (and how to remedy)
Yet another Mignon, but this one with a serious Zamac-problem. (A small flock of Mignon Modell 4's have been passing by - giving good opportunity to learn how these can look fine and still be...
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Во избежание ошибок... (To avoid mistakes...)
Written on a brass label, right next to the crank-handle:Во избежание ошибок, начан оборот, добыл ручку до kонца.With the wonders of the information age and the internet, this label can be read...
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Time-travel to Japan and an aluminum Perfecscope
The late-model Perfecscope is mostly made out of aluminum. By 1900 aluminum had become relatively cheap, and a viable alternative for the wood and leather these things would previously have been made...
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Made in the U.S.A and in London; Remington Portable 3 typewriter
On Wednesday, December 16th of 1931 this typewriter was purchased in England, most likely bought in London. It was purchased by a Dutch secretary working at the head-office of the Unilever company,...
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Uncommon variant of a common portable typewriter
Different, yet the lock is very familiar. The case is metal and the carrying handle is a metal casting.The inside of the lid has all the fittings for securing the typewriter in place. This is unlikely...
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Music and a no-label disk
Picked up for 50 cents in a local thrift-store. Sleeveless, but still playable :)From the label, this is music from the 1929 "Fox Movietone Follies". The film itself is lost, no copies survive, but the...
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Avanti - these are fun contraptions
Several hundred-thousands were made of these, but they are somehow rather thin on the ground. Did manage to snag one last week though - with 'patina', but complete and with intact decal.There -of...
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Typewriter cleaning-project approach - lots of little bags with little projects
Just started, the cleaning of a Corona 3 folding typewriter.With a very simple machine, such as e.g. that little pencil-sharpener, all is taken apart and laid out for cleaning. A typewriter however is...
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Not made by Felt & Tarrant, then not a Comptometer
In 1920 the company behind the Comptometer published an updated edition of their 1914 book "Applied Mechanical Arithmetic as practiced on the Comptometer". This ~600 page book was intended to help...
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With the register showing 37,639,572,042
The 1920 printing of "Applied Mechanical Arithmetic as practiced on the Comptometer" of course also shows the new controlled-key models with improved clearing mechanism. For example, this 10-column...
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There'll have been someone before
When working on a decades or century old typewriter, chances are that this is not the first time the machine has been worked on. Quite often the tell-tale signs are marked (mawled) screws or scratches...
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Progress on the Corona 3, emptying of the little bags
Most of the parts in the plastic bags have been cleaned, so re-assembly can start. The Corona 3 folding typewriter is a reasonably straightforward machine with relatively few parts. Its construction is...
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Underwood - James Plant, Amsterdam
(And even after then being left somewhere in an attic for at least 50 years, this typewriter still just works - original ribbon and without any cleaning or tweaking. Amazingly durable machines :-)The...
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Typical Corona 3 folding typewriter - very clean
The little Corona is fully re-assembled and -importantly- also working again.All the little plastic bags are emptied and a missing part replaced with a part from another (wreck) machine. The adjusting...
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Restoration of a Standard Folding Typewriter - stripping lacquer off aluminum
The full re-build of the little Corona 3 was actually done as a trial-run for the possible full re-build and restoration of my Standard Folding Typewriter. This relatively rare machine carried much...
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Starting re-building the Standard Folding Typewriter
Using the proven project-approach of putting all parts in little bags, the Standard Folding Typewriter was completely taken apart. This reduces the machine to a simple aluminum frame. The holders for...
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