The Fingers Fly

A new school year has started. Actually, it's already three weeks old. The honeymoon has worn off and the kids are deep in the study of Beowulf, Hrothgar, and the terrible events at Herot.

This last Tuesday I started the kids on the typewriters. Here are a few pictures.

In order to get the typewriters ready for classroom use I had to dust them all off and do something about the ribbons. I didn't have time to place an order from Baco so I used Ted's WD-40 ribbon rejuvenation method. I used several light coats and didn't bother with dabbing the ribbon. They weren't wet enough to warrant it. In the end the ribbons were noticeably darker and made it easier for the kids to type.

The best part, however, was giving the lecture on how to use them. I had a whole presentation and it was very odd telling a whole generation of phone freaks how to turn a knob to feed a sheet paper into a platen. Very odd.

Three Red Keys

Before I get into the meat, let's start with the bread. I didn't make it to the Ink and Bean. We had planned to take the little diversion, but circumstances always make for new plans. As we returned from our last evening at Disneyland, Mrs. Magic Margin stepped off the shuttle and wrenched her ankle. She was in pain and I hadn't the heart to make her go to a coffee house, grab a cup of joe, talk typewriters, and relax while her ankle was throbbing. As it was, we had to alter our plan to go to the beach ultimately deciding to head back to the valley. She is getting better by degrees.

The disappointment at missing a chance to go to such a happening hot-spot was tempered by a gift from a colleague. Early Tuesday our bookstore manager came by with this typewriter in tow.

If you are a fan of Will Davis' blog, this will seem very familiar. It is, in fact the same model Webster that was featured in a nuts-and-bolts analysis of all its peccadilloes. As soon as it showed up you could see eyes looking over in the direction of this blue beauty. Three red keys. THREE RED KEYS! One red key is fantastic. You multiply that by three and you have three times the red key pressing fun.

As for this little typewriter, it's the same quality that you see in all metal-bodied Brother typewriters. These are quality machines and if you are looking to set up a CTP cell in your neighborhood you might want to arm the faithful with these little machines. 

So, that's about it. Not much else to share. Things are going slowly here at CTP HQ. Students are tapping away. The typewriters are humming along nicely. The only rumble is the unfortunate press that Arizona has received as a result of some very silly thinking down at the state legislature. Live and let type is what I always say. 

Without Reservation: Typewriter Recommendations

This post come by way of an email exchange between Richard and myself. The question was what typewriter do I think is best for a classroom environment. I was flattered to be asked, but then I thought about it. My students have typed over 12 million words on the classroom typewriters. These typewriters have been my co-teachers for many years. In that time I have had a chance to stress-test several brands ant there is one that stands out above all the rest due to its low cost, ease of repair, and durability.

At some point we all come to the conclusion that some brands of typewriters fit our needs better than others. That is when we develop personal preferences. I, as you can sense, have an affinity for Royal desktops because here are no finer typewriters to be had. Others bow down at the alter of Olympia. Still others are true-blue Olivetti fans.

Of course, so much depends on the state of the machines when they come to you. I have had some fantastic top-shelf typewriters that have been real dogs, but other ugly everyday machines have proven to be very reliable. There is no one answer, but if I were setting up a CTP cell in a local writing studio or teen space I would probably fill the place with Brothers.

Hold on. Let me explain. The whole point of the CTP is to get kids interacting with typewriters and the written word. Given the robust insane nature of the typewriter resale market, finding a bargain can be hard. Luckily, these little all-metal typewriters are just ugly and charmless enough to be priced  in that all-important $20 area. Sometimes they can be had for far less, but their true value is so much greater.

These are transparent typewriters. By that I mean they give up their secrets easily. Fixing a Hermes requires (a) a ritual induction in to the esoteric brotherhood of Hermes aficionados and (b) a wiliness to accept that the escapement of that "rare" and "unique" sea foam-green 3000 you bought for $90 is irreparably broken and you will find no repair parts anywhere. Sobering thought. Let the Brother be a balm for your troubled heart. What a Brother lacks in seafoamy goodness it more than makes up for in interchangeable parts. I have swapped bits of escapement mechanisms to and fro Brothers and I have found them to play very nicely with each other.

True, these are easily repaired, but their durability means that I rarely have problems to begin with. No plastic. The bodies are metal. I am sure the plastic ones are pretty good, but the metal ones are very good. With the bumps and scraps that a typewriter like these will encounter having a metal body makes sense. Speaking of very good keep an eye out for the Webster.

This Webster is sporting a custom-made replacement right shift key. The previous one was lost.
The new one is made from InstaMorph.

Richard once offered me a Webster and I snubbed it. That little bit of typewriter snobbery still haunts me. After I got one for the classroom I realized that they are good typewriters; small, lithe, and easy to use. The two tone blue is also very nice. Many of my students like the red tab button.

So, am I saying that you should snub donations? Not at all. Take whatever is given to you. Appreciate it. Love it. Share that love. Just keep one eye out for all-metal Brothers. They are real gems and can add some durability to a heavy use typewriter collection.

Robert has all you ever wanted to know about Brother at this link. 

Brother Valiant

I put in a low bid thinking that if I did win this typewriter and it turned out to be trash, at least I would have some parts for other Brothers and I would be helping out a good cause.

I was shocked when I won with my $9 bid. I was even more shocked when it was delivered.

The paper support arm is fantastic!

There is nothing to dislike about this Brother.

It's in fantastic shape.

And it even has an instruction booklet with a very interesting cover.

So easy to use that there is only one instruction!

The previous owner must have gone to Hobart because...well...

It types beautifully. So, for a lark it turned out very well. I needn;t go into great length about Brother, because our faithful typewriter reporter, Robert Messenger, has gone in-depth just for you. Click on the Brother.

A Brother-ly Post

After reading a post by Will Davis about a very mysterious Webster, I decided to look at the CTP collection. When I really started looking there were actually quite a few. Many are rebrands, but two are the real-deal.

The Typewriters Are A Hit and Oh, Brother!

Due to some scheduling difficulties, we were finally able to use the typewriters on Friday. Our Journal topics for Fridays are "freewrites" so it was perfect opportunity to have them used. They could take all the time they needed to get comfortable with the typewriter. I front-loaded instruction on Thursday with a small presentation all bout the CTP and some of the data behind using the typewriters. The Thursday presentation primed them for the excitement on Friday.

The sound of 20 typewriters tapping away is really very familiar. For three years my work day has been filled with the whack of type bars against papers and platens. I have grown so accustomed to the sound that the absence is more deafening than the presence.

Of all the classes who have used typewriters, this group was the most enthusiastic. They really loved giving it a chance. This group of kids really paid attention to the into diagram and had very little trouble getting started. You know something is a success when it's time to switch activities and their is an audible groan of disapproval. I think that over the course of the school year the typewriter love will increase.

I mention 20 typewriters because I have decided to keep 20 in constant rotation; moving out typewriters that become damaged or a little worn out. I have enough of a back stock that I can be a few months behind on repairs and still have 20 completely working typewriters. As always Royals make up a large portion of what students use, but there seem to be more and more Brothers moving through the ranks.

Brother typewriters have proven to be incredibly rugged and dependable. The harsh view I held of the Performer has been worn smooth by nearly three years of dependable service. I am nearly amazed at how student-proof they are. While the pile of Olivettis gets larger and larger, the brothers keep on working. In the course of repairing the few minor problems that so many of Brother's parts are completely interchangeable. Screws tend to be a uniform size. They are easy to work on because components (like the escapement) are easily accessible. The bottom line is that they can survive in my classroom and that is no easy feat.

I am slowly becoming a convert. They tend to grow on you. That brings me to one of the newest typewriters to make an appearance in the classroom. Ton S. spoke about this Brother in his blog. I got an email saying that he would like to send it on to my classroom rather than keep it. I was more than happy to take it off his hands. I had a couple of Smith-Coronae that needed to be retired for repairs. That funny little clasp they use for linking the segments tends to fail under heavy use. It's one of the perennial problems with 1950s Silents and their Galaxy siblings. Ton was a gentlemen of the first order and paid to have this shipped over to me. It arrived packed incredibly well, but the carriage was freewheeling just as Ton had described in his post. The fix did not hold.

Photo by I Dream Lo-Tech

The carriage would just spring all the way over to the marginal stop. It was freewheeling in the worst way. I cracked the case open to get a closer look. Just as Ton had described, there was a hairline fracture on one end of the escapement paddle (is that what they are called?). You know, its the thing that swings into place to stop the carriage from advancing more than one space.

I could see that the crack had caused the little prong of metal to be bent back so it was not engaging with the escapement wheel teeth. I looked at it closer and as soon as I touched it the whole enchilada fell apart. It was being held on by a thread. Clearly the trip over hill and dale proved to be too much for Ton's repair. The paddle was held in place by a pivoting screw and it was very easy to remove the part and have a closer look. I was able to save the little piece that fell off.

I looked at the piece and (initially) I thought that I would try to make a new piece out of some scraps I had around here, but I noticed that there was a vertical post attached to the underside. This little bit is part of the carriage release linkage. Pressing the carriage release button presses on this post and swings the paddle out of the way of the escapement wheel. Obviously, I wouldn't be able to manufacture a piece easily so I looked to fixing the piece I had.

Glue wouldn't be strong enough unless I had a very strong and powerful glue. Something like…J.B. Weld might do the trick. I looked at the piece and saw that the break was clean. There were no gaps when the two parts were put together. I would need to make sure that the J.B. Weld bridged the break to add to the strength. Also, the piece was fairly smooth. Sanding it well to create a key would be very important.

I took out my rotary tool and used an emery bit to roughen up all the sides that would touch the epoxy. I mixed up a small amount and glued the pieces together. I was totally prepared to have this not work at all, so with apprehension I let it sit until the epoxy cured. This was what emerged 24 hours later.

I reinstalled the piece in the typewriter and it works like a charm. Time will tell how well the epoxy will hold, but the package says it is rated strong at 3,000 PSI (That is tensile strength.) with shear strength of 1000 PSI. The proof is in the pudding. It works.

The joint is the weakest part and I assume that it will only be a matter of time before it fails. This, however, will buy me time until I find a suitable replacement.

P.S. Ton, you are awesome!