#typewriter

It's Alive! Alive! #typewriter #selection #IBM

Cover of the beast removed. Kinda dirty, but not that dirty. Biggest issue is every bit of foam on here has decayed to heck. #selectric #typewriter

Lol, this typewriter is older than I am. #typewriter #selectric

Ooh, here's what else I could use a typewriter than only does 5 letters per line Send messages.... #typewriter

Wow, this is more like an automobile than a computer. It's got a clutch. #typewriter

This thing has GEARS... and a cam shaft. #typewriter

Aha! I have found the mechanism that is having issues... there's a mainspring and some kind of thing called an "escapement mechanism" which pulls the head along while you type. Since this clearly is just not working due to AGE, the fix most certainly for this is to lubricate EVERYTHING, something is just not moving that is supposed to be moving. I probably need to vacuum out little bits of foam, as a piece of foam also could have gotten stuck in a bad spot. So, the next steps on this project are:

1. Vacuum every last bit of foam I can get out of there
2. Lubricate any moving surface -- will just use TriFlow, since it's pretty magic on any moving equipment like this.
3. Buy a new ribbon (and possibly)
4. Remove and regrease gears (in case any gears are jammed). Not sure what kind of grease, will have to see what people are using as substitutes for official IBM part numbers, lol.

#typewriter #repair #selectric

Ordered a new ribbon for this (off eBay). Fascinating, because this is apparently uses carbon tape ribbons, I think I will figure out what was typed on this last 🤪 Will despool this ribbon bit by bit and see what was typed there. #typewriter

Secret spy message received! Decoding now! #typewriter

Decoding.... decoding... #secretmessage #typewriter

Backwards, alternating rows on top left: Dear Mom, I think... #secretmessage #typewriter

Continued... "I think your IBM s" #secretemessage #typewriter

Continued... "ucks because" #secretemessage #typewriter

Full message received through time: "Dear Mom, I think your IBM sucks because its old and worn out. You should be using my typewriter because it makes no mistakes and has automatic liftoff" #secretemessage #typewriter

Last time this typewriter was used was January 7, 1987. #typewriter #repair

So, that is 14,487 days since this typewriter was last used. (39 years, 7 months, 30 days). So, probably 40 years overdue for lubrication. #typewriter #repair

(I wonder if Mom upgraded the typewriter after that, or stopped typing altogether?) Doxxing the owner, "Mom" is still alive, lol, so I am guessing she got a computer! (IBM PCs shipped in 1981, Apple Mac 1984, Microsoft Windows in 1983. So by 1987 you'll be seeing a lot of people getting their first PCs and printers... my theory is they got a PC and a printer about then) #typewriter #repair

Current typewriter repair status has devolved to paperclips. 🤔#typewriterrepair #typewriter

Some spiffy features on this for Spanish! The accent key does not advance a space! #typewriter

And, there you have it, a custom dust cover tailored for an IBM Selectric typewriter! #sewing #typewriter