Back from the typewriter repair shop today ...
It is a 1916 Underwood Number 5 typewriter. I have had this for 30 years now - it has been in the family for at least 80 years. After years of storing it I finally had it professionally cleaned and repaired. It still has a few minor glitches, but it works pretty well for a 94 year old mechanical device.
Typing on various computer keyboards for the last 25 years has spoiled me. This unit takes some serious finger muscles to operate, and the results are far from consistent keystroke to keystroke. But wow, what a racket it makes. This one makes a Model M look quiet.
And no, don't anybody even think of suggesting that I should make a steampunk Model M keyboard out of it. That is sinful. ;-0
The typewriter shop was a 3 hour round trip drive for me, so I also had them service my IBM Selectric II too to make the most of the trip. The Selectric is the pinnacle of electro-mechanical engineering - it has a single motor, and the rest is just clutches, levers, cams, springs, ball bearings, etc. There is not a single resistor or capacitor in the entire unit.
Wait until the kids have to write a paper and I make them use one of these!
It is a 1916 Underwood Number 5 typewriter. I have had this for 30 years now - it has been in the family for at least 80 years. After years of storing it I finally had it professionally cleaned and repaired. It still has a few minor glitches, but it works pretty well for a 94 year old mechanical device.
Typing on various computer keyboards for the last 25 years has spoiled me. This unit takes some serious finger muscles to operate, and the results are far from consistent keystroke to keystroke. But wow, what a racket it makes. This one makes a Model M look quiet.
And no, don't anybody even think of suggesting that I should make a steampunk Model M keyboard out of it. That is sinful. ;-0
The typewriter shop was a 3 hour round trip drive for me, so I also had them service my IBM Selectric II too to make the most of the trip. The Selectric is the pinnacle of electro-mechanical engineering - it has a single motor, and the rest is just clutches, levers, cams, springs, ball bearings, etc. There is not a single resistor or capacitor in the entire unit.
Wait until the kids have to write a paper and I make them use one of these!