Today’s typewriter pairing
Notes
Short content: a microblog of status updates or short notes
I was cleaning and doing some restoration work on a new card index and realized that this Fred Macey Company cabinet body was the perfect size to hold up to 8 typewriters inside for a mix of both storage and display!
Today I used a Crayola Crayon as part of a typewriter restoration project. Anyone have guesses as to how I used it in a typewriter restoration capacity?
I started the process of cleaning my green 1958 Olympia SM3 to bring it back up to speed. Things are generally moving apace although the mixture of eraser shavings and old oil has tarnished the carriage rails. Spent some time with some metal polish trying to bring them back to their old glory. Should be able to finish flushing out tomorrow and getting it back together and properly adjusted.
Here’s a bit of a time lapse of the work:
A revelation from the Remington 666.
Since April 3rd I’ve been acquiring a new typewriter on average every six days. 🙈 I think after the last three I just picked up, including a Remington 666 and Ten Forty I’ve been hunting for, I’m taking a hiatus unless I see a local Olympia SG1. 🤞🏼
More progress on the
: he types! I found some compatible spools and ribbon. Given the , I thought this Willy Wonka quote was apropos both as the first type sample and as encouragement for the remainder of the restoration mountain ahead.
I realized tonight that I’ve got some reasonably thick waxed cord for use in leatherwork hiding in the craft drawer. (I chose purple in honor of Willy Wonka.) I’ve strung it up on the new
and gotten the carriage moving again as it types! Hopefully it’ll last.I got impatient since it’ll be a while before the
will be operational again, so in a highly manual exercise, I threaded, advanced, and pulled out a type sample from the machine to see what we’re looking forward to:
I’m now a full two years into using my variation of the Memindex/Bullet Journal on index cards and starting a third. I still find 4 x 6 inch index cards more freeing and flexible than using the more common notebook format. One big difference since a year ago: I’ve moved into using a significantly bigger box for increased storage which also includes lots of space for project notes, my zettelkasten / commonplace book practice, and an index for all of it.
I sometimes use one of the four typewriters behind my desk for logging. (Another benefit of using cards.) I put in a new card in the morning and add/cross out as I go throughout the day. I often use one of the other typewriters to write out slightly longer mini-diary entries about particular things as I go. This helps me get away from computer screens, even if it’s only for short breaks throughout the day.
Happy to answer any questions people have about the practice. (Prior AMA here.)
An uncanny coincidence that I picked up a 1958 Olympia SM3 typewriter today (with a Congress Elite No. 84 typeface, 11 pitch, 2.3 m/m and a custom math keyboard) and this awesome t-shirt shows up on my doorstep 20 minutes later???
Today’s office. We’ve got a newly finished Shaw-Walker filing cabinet and a 1955 Royal HH standard typewriter.
A fascinating looking class that ostensibly will have no required textbooks or the need to take notes. Michigan State, Fall 2024. Via Sara D. Miller.