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:

More progress on the 1931 New Orga (Privat 5): he types! I found some compatible spools and ribbon. Given the Orga typewriter from the movie, 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.

View on the top of a 1931 Orga Privat 5 with a typed index card. The card reads: If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it! Want to change the world? There's nothing to it. --Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Paramount Pictures, 1971)

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.

White 4x6" index card with two columns of Bullet Journal-esque rapid logging items including events, to do items, and general information

Happy to answer any questions people have about the practice. (Prior AMA here.)

Typewritten index card in black elite typeface that reads: Hello! I'm a 1955 Royal HH. I'm what's known as a standard typewriter. Usually I would sit permanently on a desk in one space and rarely move, much like a desktop computer now. Smaller and lighter portable typewriters existed for easier use, but they didn't come close to my performance, particularly for long periods of typing. Of course this performance is the reason that writers and creators like Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Elia Kazan, Mario Puzo, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, Charles Bukowski, George Burns, Herb Coen, Bruce Catton, Paddy Chayefski, Don Dellilo, Alice Denham, Paul Russell, James T. Farrell, William F. Buckley, Sterling North, Robert B. Parker, William Zinzer and even Hugh Heffner used Royal HH typewriters just like this one. I've got the standard Royal elite typeface and I can lay down type at 12 characters per inch and 6 lines per vertical inch. This makes me an excellent candidate to write the next great American novel. Why don't you get some paper and give me a whirl?

I usually type up a short introduction card for the handful of typewriters sitting around the house so that visitors will have an idea of what they’re appreciating. It’s almost like having a museum card on a work of art, but usually mine have a call to type on them. Naturally there are either index cards or paper close at hand to encourage both touching and typing.

Above is the brief introduction to the 1955 Royal HH I finished repairing, cleaning out, and re-assembling today.

A large standard Royal HH typewriter on a side table next to an old fashioned glass with a Negroni in it.
Ready to type at the end of the day, a Royal HH sits next to a Negroni.