It comes with a carrying case, but it’s kind of nasty.
How nice of a find is this, it writes well. Does anybody know what model this is, any cool features it has, and if/how I should paint over the case?
It’s the title I’m stumped I don’t know what screwdriver to use
I recently picked up this IBM Selectric, but the carrier is stuck. The keys strike, but the head doesn't move to the right. Whenever I hit the Return key, the whole machine jams and the keyboard locks. I can clear the jam by hitting the Tab key, but the carrier still stays in the same spot. It won't advance during typing and it's completely froze. I can't even move it by hand.
I also would have a hard time removing the case since the lever is right behind the stuck carrier 😅 any ideas? Just to be honest, it’s my first electric typewriter and I have no idea about the machine yet 🙏
Hello all! I know these 44 levers tended to scrape over time as they wore down because of the folding mechanism, and you can see evidence of that on the cover in photo 2.
But in photo one and three, you can see that the actual return pivot area (not the arm itself) is very, very close. If that’s unclear, imagine unscrewing the arm and what remains/where the arm screws in would still nearly scape the cover when actuated. What is going on here? Most photos of these machines show much more clearance. Any help is appreciated
Pretty much as the title says. I was originally able to type on this but now the carriage won’t stay once it’s retuned to start a new line. It just slides back to the right side. Otherwise it works great. I’ve already given it a good cleaning w mineral spirits but otherwise am at a loss. Any advice is appreciated.
This is going to be my first repair, got it for almost nothing on FB Marketplace but I can't find the model or serial number. I checked all the standard locations, behind the paper roller and the undercarriage but there was nothing. I also scrolled the typewriter database for a while, there a lot similar but no exact matches, was hoping to find a manual before I started taking it apart. Any assistance or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
EDIT: Found it, 1958 Royal Companion. Any tips will still be appreciated as I start my first repair.
RS-3816093
Is it worth it to try and fix this? I love the light touch of this one. Should I just trash it?
The platen is hard, but no marks really, just dirty. Theres some fishing line for the carriage return, the main issue is the keys dont rest on that backrest. The d key is also sunken.
Got it for R100 / $10. I'm in South Africa, so no repair shops here. Help me out?
Hi everyone,
I recently picked up this beautiful black Royal-family portable typewriter and would love help identifying it more accurately.
The seller listed it as a 1939 Royal Aristocrat, but after looking more closely, I noticed a Regal Precision Rebuilt label/plate and the marking:
HY-39 100566
The machine types beautifully and appears to have been kept in one family for decades. I’m trying to understand whether this would properly be described as:
- a Royal Aristocrat,
- a Regal Royal,
- a Royal Model HY,
- a Regal Precision rebuilt Royal,
- or something else entirely.
I’m especially curious about what HY-39 signifies, whether Regal rebuilt machines from earlier Royal models, and whether this could have originally been an Aristocrat before being rebuilt/rebadged.
I’m not looking to resell it — I just want to document its history accurately and preserve the story of the machine. Any insight from Royal or Regal collectors would be greatly appreciated.
Photos attached. Thank you!
Don’t you hate it when you’re innocently typing along on a newly restored vintage machine, and a screw just falls off? (Newly restored Royal KHM).
I have a question - typebar electrics made by IBM are to me interesting. Especially the Executive with proportional spacing. So here are my questions:
1: is a model D significantly better than model C
2: model C uses a rubber roller that activates plastic parts to accelerate the individual type bars - I always question "plastic" - polymer or what ever composition - as in understanding the workings of the model C it highly relies on plastic parts to type - how good/bad are these parts?
3: the C relies on a power roller with rubber softer than your normal platen - have anyone come up with substitutions or is it a rubber replacement every few years (J J Short services in the US - I'm in Europe)
4: Are there any other well known failure points on the model C?
5: We are not talking price here. (Which is not a question - just context)
So I hope someone using this beast or having worked on these will chime in with honest opinions. My question is based on my interest in finding a couple electric machines - but the IBM Executive models are indeedh intriguing - maybe even more than a Selectric (and I have experience with correcting Selectrics) Shoot your honest thoughts. Thanks!
Gotta clean some slugs and hit the keys a bit better but this was a quick message so don't really care that much. Photo explains the update 😂
Hi all! First time typewriter owner here. I'm reinstalling the carriage ball bearings on my Smith Corona Galaxie, serial number 6T-468631-29, manufactured between 1959 and 1962. (I think this is indeed a Smith Corona Galaxie 6T. The sticker is not only wrong but badly cut and pasted over the plastic. Idk what the previous owner(s) were thinking.)
Background: The carriage was jamming at almost consistent parts of the rack, so I sprayed compressed air and applied isopropyl alcohol along the racks while sliding the carriage back and forth. This apparently dissolved the old grease and dislodged all eight bearings — four per rack, arranged as two pairs per rack, one pair near each end with the middle of the rack empty (see diagram). Lesson learned.
I have all bearings and starwheels. There are two racks which these came from, four on each rack installed as pairs (left and right of the rack). See my hand drawn illustration. I'm using the straw trick from a Royal portable reinstallation video from Typewriter Chicago, adapted for this machine.
My questions:
1.) Looking at my diagram, this was how I saw the bearings before they went rogue. But now that Im reinstalling them, roughly how far from the ends of the rack should each pair of bearings be positioned? Flush against the end, or with a small gap? If anyone familiar with this machine could sketch the approximate position on a similar diagram, that would be incredibly helpful.
2.) Should the ball be lightly greased before assembling it together with the starwheel for insertion? And should the rack channel itself also get a light coat of grease?
3.) What type of grease is recommended? white lithium grease, or something else?
Thanks in advance!
I cleaned the new Remington typewriter with some mineral spirits. Just repaired the ribbon vibrator return spring (it had come unhooked).
Vibrator is returning correctly now, but letters are printing with partial fill. It looks like the ribbon isn't lifting high enough to cover the full slug on each strike. It's not every key. y,t,f,h and a couple others are the offenders.
When I manually lift the vibrator and hit a key, the letters are filled correctly.
Platen feels soft, brand new ribbon.
Do I need to give it another cleaning? or is there a vibrator adjustment on this typewriter?
Also, when I got it, 2 plastic cover tabs were broken, I epoxied the tabs back on, but also wondering if there's a better way to repair the tabs? (I assume they will just break again and the answer is to just leave it be.)
Thank you for the help.