On the first anniversary of launching my serialized book, I reflect on what I've learned — including the pros and cons of my pivot from Substack newsletter to indie website.
Month: November 2024
Typewriter 101 on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
If you’re working at getting the little ones started into typewriters (or just starting out yourself), Mr. Rogers covers some of the basics in episode 1083 of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood from February 25, 1970.
You can see Mister Rogers demonstrate the use of what appears to be a Royal Futura 800 in the full episode here: https://misterrogers.org/episodes/typewriters/
“I was very much interested in letters.”
—Fred Rogers
While he used a Futura in the show, his personal typewriters included a 1930’s Royal portable (possibly a Model O?) and a Royal KMG, which can be visited at the Fred Rogers Institute by joining the 143 Club.
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And if you’re a serious fan, you’ll potentially have a Royal KMG and Futura of your own.
Typewriter ribbon unboxing! I bought a full reel of 660 yards of blue/green bichrome 1/2″ nylon typewriter ribbon from Fine Line Ribbon in Ennis, TX. It arrived yesterday, just in time for some use over the weekend. I’ve now got enough for more than 41 universal 2″ diameter (16 yard) spools, so I should be able to ribbon up my entire collection and have some left over.
Fine Line Ribbon for your Typewriter Ribbon Needs
I’ve yet to find a bulk dealer in typewriter ribbon that has a significant website with listings of their offerings and options. (Let’s hear it for analog!) Baco Ribbon certainly didn’t, so I called a few times and made some orders and pieced together most of what Baco Ribbon & Supply Co. offers.
Fine Line Ribbon also has some excellent bulk offerings and an almost non-existent website. I thought I’d make a similar post with their current offerings so that those who have typewriter collections that go past 5 machines or who are scaffolding their way to opening typewriter repair shops might have an easier time of selecting and ordering the appropriate ribbon. 12-15 cents per yard of ribbon in bulk is so much better than paying almost a dollar per yard otherwise. It pays for itself pretty quickly.
They offer ribbon in both nylon and silk in partial and full reels. (Sorry, no cotton ribbon offerings at the moment.)
Silk Typewriter Ribbon
For silk, Fine Line Ribbon only offers black/red or black ribbon color options at $0.33 per yard. A full reel of silk is 545 yards.
Nylon Typewriter Ribbon
For nylon, whose full reels are 660 yards, Fine Line Ribbon can ink in any of the following single color options or your choice of any two colors as a bichrome option:
- Black
- Blue
- Brown
- Green
- Orange
- Pink†
- Purple
- Red
They often have partial reels of most colors available. Black or Black/Red nylon is $0.12 per yard and other colors or color combinations are $0.15 per yard.
Contact information
Fine Line Ribbon, Inc.
Theresa Strunc
2405 N. Preston Street
Ennis, TX 75119 United States
theresa@finelineribbon.net
+1 (972) 875-8681
+1 (800) 527-0354
† At present, Fine Line Ribbon only offers pink as a standalone color and not as a bichrome option with other colors.
MOHOM 17" x 13.5" Wool Pressing Mat 100% New Zealand Felted Wool Ironing Mat Pad Blanket for Quilter, Sewing, Quilting Supplies and Notions
I’ve been looking for a reasonable and inexpensive typewriter mat for a while. There are lots of wool options out there and even some with thin rubber layers to prevent your typewriter from walking across your desk.
I had appreciated the ones I’ve seen in Gerren Balch’s YouTube repair videos for The HotRod Typewriter Co. which he also uses on his workbench, so I asked him his preference. His reply was these 100% wool ironing pads in 17 x 13.5 x 1/2″ form factor for about $15 on Amazon. He said “it’s soaked up 5 years of everything I do and it still looks like the day I bought it.”
The company has some square 13.5 x 13.5 options, which might be better for smaller portables, but I figured that the slightly larger version for both my workbench as well as for my larger standards would be more flexible. Since the price was half of what I’d seen from other vendors, I jumped on it and bought two: one for my workbench and another for my typing desk.
They’re definitely thick and high-quality. On my noisiest table, they definitely make a difference. They prevent some of the typewriter walking my worst rubber-footed typewriters have, but I’ve also got thin sheets of rug pad gripper that I’ve used before if things get out of hand.
In honor of S. D. Goitein, I have a drawer in my Macey Co. filing cabinet labeled “Genizah” where I put all of my “worn out” notes. They get transferred weekly into the circular file.
My collection of Royal Typewriters thus far. (There’s a missing Futura 800 which is on the bench in pieces for repair and restoration.)
@flancian@social.coop I don’t think I’ve tried directly mentioning someone on [[Mastodon]] from my personal site before. Let’s see if it works?! Also a quick test to see if my follow of @agora@botsin.space worked. #FotL #IndieWeb
I’ve had this bottle floating in the back of the liquor cabinet for more than a decade. I acquired it from a grandparent who got it as a gift sometime in the 1980s. I think it’s finally time to break the seal…
Jim Halpert of The Office and a 1950s Royal Quiet De Luxe Typewriter
In an homage to The Da Vinci Code (2006), in season nine of The Office in episode twelve “Customer Loyalty”, Jim Halpert uses a mid-1950s Royal Quiet De Luxe typewriter to forge a letter from Robert Dunder which sends Dwight Schrute on a faux quest for the holy grail in what Jim calls “The Dunder Code”.
Recipe: Whiskey Sour
Ingredients: 1½ oz bourbon, 3/4 oz lemon juice, 1 oz sugar syrup, 1 barspoon powdered sugar;
Method: Shake well over ice cubes in a shaker, strain into a sour glass, add cherry.
Serial Number J2714469
It’s going to need some minor mechanical work and some serious cleaning, but this one has some great potential.