You just picked up a dusty, but somewhat functional Olympia SM3 and you know that you need to replace the rubber body bushings to prevent your carriage from hitting the body panels and scratching the paint job. The problem is that you’ve got a lovely new-to-you typewriter in front of you, and you don’t have the patience to not type on it until you’ve done this easy repair.
I’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere, but I’ve got a quick, temporary solution that’ll get you typing in just a few minutes. (Incidentally squished, old rubber bushings is the number one issue with vintage Olympia SM3s, and if you’ve not come across it, I’ve written out the details for a permanent repair/replacement solution.)
One can remove the two front smashed bushings near the space bar on either side and pair/stack them up with the two smashed bushings in the rear. It may take a bit of removing some of the “proud” protrusions to smooth the bushing pairings, but it’ll work. In my case, I used an X-acto knife (though a pair of scissors might also suffice) to slim down portions of the bushings that were sticking out. This also helped to keep the bushing combination from being too tall and not allowing me to get the shoulder bolt back into the machine.
The one issue you may encounter with this solution is potentially while typing with the shift lock engaged. This is because the front bushings help provide the proper clearance for the space bar while the shift lock is enabled. Typically one doesn’t type in all caps, so you might not notice this subtle issue at all.
Another possible solution depending on your particular machine is to swap the front bushings with the back ones as the rear ones typically carry more weight and are more squished than those in the front. Your mileage may vary based on your particular machine.
If nothing else, hopefully either the swap or the stack hack will help get you typing right away while you wait to pick up some replacement bushings from the local hardware store.
I’ve been wrenching on enough typewriters, that it was time to up my game again and add some new typewriter tools to the proverbial tool bag. In fact it was also time for an actual tool bag! So back on August 16th, I added a portable repair person’s leather bag and some new typewriter repair tools to my collection. For those interested in improving their skills and typewriter tools, I am documenting some of these new typewriter repair and maintenance tools. If you’re getting into the space, I highly recommend you slowly build your toolbox with items only as you need them.
With some of the harder-to-find tools, do take care as they can often be dramatically overpriced in online auctions. The more cost-conscious should be on the look out for bundles of tools which are usually much less expensive than purchasing them one at a time. Additionally if you search around a bit you might find local collectives of typewriter enthusiasts who share or loan out tools.
Save the containers of solvents and the bottles of cleaning agents, all of the items which appear on this table fit comfortably into the black leather tool carrying case.
Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
The leather repair bag I picked up is similar to one that late century traveling repair people would have carried with them for on-site repairs and typewriter maintenance. It has a compartment in the bottom with space for three metal trays of replacement parts. It has a side pocket for manuals and any necessary service paperwork. The main compartment has a large open space for a variety of wrenches, screwdrivers, and various other tools for use on the job.
Until I create a dedicated space in the garage for typewriter repair, this bag makes an exceptionally convenient storage space for keeping all my typewriter related tools in one place. I particularly love the heavy leather and patina of it as a piece and it works reasonably well as a decorative item with the rest of the collection. Modern variations of this bag can be found at purveyors like Crawford Tool which cater to copier, fax, and electronics repair spaces. Sadly leather covered wood isn’t an option, but there are a variety of soft cover, hard cover, and even metal or military cases available, some with extensible handles and wheels.
The bag itself is in great condition given its age and general use. It certainly helps that it was incredibly well designed and made with some seriously sturdy materials. The thickness of the leather is truly astounding compared to any bag I’ve ever come across. There are one or two pieces of leather that need to be repaired or re-attached to the wooden internal frame and a button/snap that needs to be repaired. These should be easy fixes for a rainy day.
Because new stock isn’t much of a reality and I prefer to keep parts in situ on parts machines for use when needed, I haven’t been using the three metal parts containers as much as I might. Instead, I tend to use them as temporary receptacles of screws, nuts, and springs while I’m taking apart machines for restoration. This helps in keeping sections separate for easier re-assembly and having three means that I could be working on three disassembled machines at a time if I wish without getting parts from different machines confused.
Along with the bag I acquired wide variety of wrenches, screwdrivers, tweezers, and some new specialty typewriter repair tools. The specialty tools tend to the higher end of typewriter repair and adjustment that most hobbyists can manage without, but which can be useful from time to time.
Below are some of the new (and other recent) acquisitions:
Typewriter Manuals
The Manual Typewriter Repair Bible (wirebound; digital) – While there are a lot of great repair manuals out there, many specializing in one or more very specific models or series, this is probably the general repair manual you’d want in a pinch. The fact that it’s wirebound means that you can easily have it out on the bench for reference without worrying about the binding closing and losing the page you’re working on at a given moment.
Typewriter Cleaning Tools
Nylon, Brass and Steel brushes – these are good for a variety of purposes. The nylon brush is great for general cleaning an maintenance. The brass brush in combination with mineral spirits is perfect for cleaning type slugs which have heavy dirt, ribbon, and grime build-up and won’t damage the slugs. The steel brushes can be good for more aggressive cleaning of various rusted parts as necessary. Some care should be exercised though to ensure that the typebars aren’t so vigorously scrubbed that they are accidentally bent.
Chip brush – this type of soft bristled paint brush is excellent for handling dust, cobwebs, and other large debris when doing the first round of cleaning a typewriter. They’re also nice for regular weekly dusting of machines around the house.
Soft bristle fingernail brush – these have been excellent soft bristle brushes for use in cleaning typewriter external panels in conjunction with scrubbing bubbles or Simple Green cleaners. Their small size is particularly nice for getting into some of the smaller spaces that my bigger brush might miss. They’re also useful for getting the grease and grime underneath your fingernails after a day of wrenching on typewriters.
Libman curved hand brush – this has been excellent for scrubbing the exterior body panels of typewriters, particularly those with crinkle paint. The bristles are firm enough to scrub and get into small spaces without damaging the paint and stand up to some repeated use.
Cotton cleaning rags – these are excellent for a variety of cleaning uses, they’re fairly ubiquitous at hardware stores (especially the paint section), and definitely beat Q-tips for ease of use as well as cost.
General Typewriter Tools
4 pair of precision AA tweezers – these needle tipped tweezers are excellent for holding onto small pieces including small nuts or washers which sometimes need delicate handling while screwing screws into them. They can also be used for type slug soldering if necessary.
Needle nose pliers, duckbill pliers, and general purpose pliers – the bag came with duplicates of some of the sort I’d already had.
Screwdrivers – the bag came with a plethora of variously sized screwdrivers (mostly flathead), but I find they’re not as useful as some of my smaller precision screwdrivers which I use more frequently.
Jensen 8 piece open end ignition wrench set (with 7/32, 15/64, 1/4, 9/32, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, and 7/16 wrenches) for handling a variety of small nuts.
Specialty Typewriter Tools
Below are some of the more specialty and harder-to-find typewriter tools I’ve acquired, most of which came with the repair bag.
Two T-bar benders/link benders/type bar twisters – These thin bars with slots in the bottom and a T-bar at the top are used for bending or twisting a variety of typewriter parts which may need to be gently formed (typewriter repair-speak for bent).
Royal S-39 Ribbon Vibrator Arm Bender – This thin metal tool has two small slots cut into it for forming the Ribbon Vibrator Arms on Royals, but can be useful for forming a variety of thin metal parts. (see p. 360 of The Manual Typewriter Repair Bible)
Eyelet tool for putting small metal eyelets into typewriter ribbon. Generally I use this for Smith-Corona and other typewriters whose auto-reverse ribbon mechanisms are actuated by the metal gromets placed into the ends of typewriter ribbon spools. I picked this up when I switched from using pre-spooled ribbon to buying bulk ribbon and spooling it by hand.
I primarily use these to clean out the internals of most of my machines. Obviously care should be used to protect paint, plastic, and non-metal portions from these caustic solvents.
In cases where spattering or soaking issues may occur, I’ll use vaseline or other grease to cover up painted surfaces or decals so they’re not damaged, or I’ll cover things up (like keyboards with plastic or glass keys with paper legends) with thicker towels for brief exposures where soaking through isn’t a big concern. In some quick cases, like the painted logos on segments, I’ll just cover them with small pieces of packing tape which are easily removable without causing damage.
To help cut down on excessive use of these caustic chemicals, I make use of small plastic oilers with a long thin spouts to better limit and control the amounts of solvent I’m using. These are also useful for more accurately dispensing solvents onto small and specific parts.
Remember that these solvents should only be used in very well ventilated spaces and away from open flames or sparks which can easily ignite them and cause fires. Repeated exposure to the fumes of these materials can damage your lungs.
Mineral spirits
Lacquer Thinner
Acetone
PB B’laster – this is great, but has a more pungent, lingering smell than some of the other solvents
Cleaners
Scrubbing Bubbles – this is great for typewriter exteriors including crinkle paint and plastic of most sorts
Simple Green – a great cleaner and degreaser for removing decades of dirt, grime, and nicotine from the metal exterior of a wide variety of machines
Oil
Premium Sewing Machine Oil – this is great in sparing quantities for typewriter carriages and linkages which require lubrication. The pull-out extended spout is excellent for accessing the hard-to-reach interior parts of typewriters, particularly if they’re fully assembled.
Rem Oil – This aerosol-based oil is excellent for cleaning, lubricating, and providing corrosion protection for difficult to reach typewriter internals, particularly when you don’t have need to strip an entire machine down.
As ever, following up oil applications with compressed air can assist in thinning down oil on parts so that over-oiling and dramatic oil build-up doesn’t occur.
WD-40
Most will know of the regular caveats and admonitions about not using WD-40 to lubricate a typewriter, especially the segment. (Hint, it’s for Water Displacement—thus the abbreviation WD—and isn’t a lubricant.) However, WD-40 does work pretty well on crinkle paint finishes to provide both some protection as well as shine.
The clean front panel of a 1950 Royal KMG in gray frieze paint contrasted with the dust covers one of which is covered in 70 years of dust, dirt, tar, and hair and the other cleaned and sparkling after a treatment with WD-40.
Future
I’m still on the lookout for some keyring pliers for both round and tombstone keys as well as a variety of peening wrenches, but my general need for these has been relatively low for most of the work I’ve done thus far. It’s also a somewhat larger investment, but I really want a nice air compressor for more easily cleaning out machines. I’m also curious to do some research on durometer gauges for testing platen hardness and creating some guidelines about when to replace hardened platens. I’d love guidance on anyone who has researched this area before.
I’m also hovering on the border of doing professional typewriter repair part time on the side. I only have so much space to store repaired and restored machines of my own, and I feel guilty about restored machines sitting around unused. But I also enjoy tearing them down, repairing them, and restoring them back to their former glory. Why not turn my hobby into a part time gig for helping out others and carrying along the craft of typewriter maintenance, repair and restoration? It would also allow me the ability to work on a broader variety of machines.
What typewriter tools are in your collection, and, most importantly, how are you using them?
I always love hearing ideas, tips, and suggestions for making the work of typewriter maintenance and repair easier and more accessible for the home mechanic.
Editor’s note: This is another article in a recuring series of typewriter articles about typewriter use, collecting, repair, restoration, and maintenance. If the subject is of interest, feel free to delve into more of that collection.
As some typewriter collectors have realized there is a typewriter revolution going on out there. This means that there’s a growing need for people who can clean, maintain, repair, and restore typewriters. If this sounds like something you’re interested in doing, there are a huge number of resources out there that you can tap into to figure out how to do all of this work on your own.
I’ve been wrenching on my own typewriters for several years and gotten deeper into the hobby over the past six months, so I thought I’d do a brain dump and outline some of the basic resources for those who are interested either in fixing up their own machines or potentially considering starting a repair shop.
Crash course on typewriter maintenance and repair
A list of resources and references for the budding typewriter repair person. There is a lot here that I’ve compiled and consumed, so don’t be overwhelmed. Half the battle is figuring out where to find all these things, so if nothing else, this should shave off a month or two of reading and researching.
Basic Introductory Material
Get a notebook and be ready to take some notes so you’ll remember where you found the random information you’re bound to pick up over time and are able to occasionally review it.
First watch this video on how a mechanical typewriter works. While it’s specific to the early Underwoods, the general mechanisms on almost all other typewriters are broadly similar.
Work your way through Sarah Everett’s excellent Typewriter 101 videos (at least the first five).
Read Richard Polt’s book which is a great overview to the general space:
Next watch the documentary California Typewriter (Gravitas Pictures, 2016). It has some interesting subtle material hiding within it, but it will give you a good idea of where you’re headed off to. [YouTube copy; Archive.org copy]
Get a machine (or four) you can practice on. Get a flat head screwdriver and maybe a small adjustable wrench. Buy some mineral spirits and a small headed toothbrush and clean out your first machine. Buy some light sewing machine oil and try oiling it. Search YouTube for videos about how to repair anything that may be wrong with it. Usually 98% of the issues with most typewriters these days is that they need to be cleaned out.
Create an account on The Typewriter Database which will give you some additional access to catalogs, manuals, and dealer catalogs beyond what is available without an account.
If you intend to buy a bunch of these, you can get a discount by being a member of Ted Munk’s Patreon site. His personal website also has a plethora of ephemera that is often useful.
Richard Polt’s list of free service manuals and books also includes some correspondence course typewriter repair classes which are meant for the self-taught. Most typewriters are very similar so picking a good generic text that covers the basics is the best place to start before branching out to specific repair manuals for particular models.
Tools can be expensive, so start out small with just a few things and expand as you need them. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish with a single thin bladed flathead screwdriver, an adjustable wrench, a rag, a bottle of Simple Green cleaning solution, and a bottle of isopropyl alcohol. Most people probably already have these tools at home.
Videos
Subscribe to and become acquainted with YouTube channels like the following:
While watching a variety of videos is great, as you’re doing specific repairs search YouTube and you’re likely to find full demos of the repairs you’re doing yourself. This is where having a solid knowledge of typewriter parts and terminology can be useful. Almost every typewriter manual ever written has a diagram with the parts labeled. Hints for a Happy Typewriter has a pretty good set of typewriter terms to get you started.
I’ve compiled a playlist of videos for repair of an Olympia SM3 which, while specific to the SM3, is a an excellent outline/overview of how to disassemble a portable typewriter, where many of the adjustment points are as well as an outline of the order to do them in.
United States Navy Training Films
If you’re not a good typist or don’t have experience in the area, try out some of the following short films which will also provide some useful historical perspective:
The good news is that historically very few typewriter mechanics were also touch typists, but you should still be able to hunt and peck and understand the needs of your customers.
Internships & Apprenticeships
If you have the time and flexibility try arranging an internship or apprenticeship with a local typewriter repair shop. Meet your local repair people even if you can’t spend the time on an internship. You’ll learn a lot and create relationships with businesses who will more easily swap/supply you with machines they’re parting out or access to tools which may otherwise be difficult to source.
Visiting type-ins (or starting your own) can be a great way to meet people and discuss typewriter repair as well as see tools and other machines on your journey.
Hausrath, Alfred H., and Eugene L. Dahl. Typewriter Care. Edited by Walter K.M. Slavik. Federal Work Improvement Program United States Civil Service Commission and Government Division, U.S. Treasury Department, 1945.
The metal bar often with either grooves or embossed with white lines or in later century models the clear plastic Perspex card guides often with pre-printed white or red lines and/or hash marks on either side of the a typing point are called the line indicator. The “line” it suggests is the potential or actual line of type across the page and is often called the typing line. If it’s properly adjusted it should be set to the base line of the characters you’re typing and also fit the characters either between them or point at the center of the characters. This way if you remove a page and then need to type on it again, you can very precisely level and align the typing line and the characters themselves so that no one will know the page was typed in one or multiple passes. It’s also useful if you accidentally use the permanent variable in the platen and shift the regularity of your lines, then you can properly re-align them and continue typing.
Careful use of the line indicator and the character spacing hash marks also allows one to very precisely align pre-printed forms for filling in data either on blank lines or within pre-printed boxes. As an example, you can find a well-aligned version of a baseball scorecard I typed back in March. It relies on using the correct pitch typewriter and aligning the home plate in the top center of the scorecard carefully designed by Lou Spirito. If you compare them, my alignment is more careful than Tom Hanks’ “this is maybe close enough” alignment, which can show how useful the line indicator can be for professional looking typed documents.
With a well-aligned line indicator, one can place text exactly on a line over the width of a paper. One of these sets of HHHs were added after the page had been removed. Can you tell which one?The miniscule line indicator is combined with index card fingers on the 1930s Corona Standard.
The character spacing on the line indicator rule can allow one to also guestimate where they need to either end a word or hyphenate it when they hear the bell at the end of the line. Later machines often had 5-10 spaces on their line indicators to allow just this sort of guestimate as this was often the number of spaces available before hitting the right margin after the bell.
Line Indicator and paper bail rule on a 1950 Royal KMG
On some models, the line indicator may have a V-shaped groove or small hole cut into it just below the top of the typing line. This is meant to allow the operator to insert a pencil or pen into that space and then using the carriage release to draw a straight horizontal line across the page. Doing the same thing, but with the platen knobs will allow one to create vertical lines on their pages quickly.
You can easily see the two v-grooves in the line indicator for making horizontal or vertical lines in this New Orga (Privat 5) typewriter.Note the oval holes in the Perspex to allow inserting the tip of a writing instrument to create either vertical or horizontal lines on a page in this Olympia SM3.
On old typewriters with poor or hardened rubber on the platen and rollers, which can allow the paper to slip a bit, or be inserted at a slight angle or on typewriters which don’t have paper guides, one can also use the line indicator to ensure the paper is level when inserted.
As a subtle paper and type alignment hint, most pica and elite machines will lay down type at six lines per inch, so one can use this fact along with the line setting of the carriage return to align the start of their page on either the fourth or the seventh single spaced line to give the page either a 1/2 inch or 1 inch top margin respectively.
Typewriter Rule Registration and Alignment
If you’re repairing or restoring a typewriter you generally want to properly register all the various typing rules on the machine so that they line up with each other. This can include rules on the back of the machine, the paper table, the front of the carriage, the line indicator, and the paper bail. Often one may be a permanent placement and not have adjustment capability in which case the others are aligned to it. Most of the rest of the rules will have oval screw holes which allow them to be shifted left/right to line them up and then screws to tighten them down. Alignment can be effectuated by putting a sheet of paper into the machine squarely and then using both edges of the paper to line up the same markings across all the rules.
The line indicator is one of the few rules that can also be adjusted up/down so that you can type out a line of HHHs or NNNs and adjust both sides so that you can level the line indicator to the baseline of the characters typed across the page to have everything level. It’s this careful alignment in the shop which will allow the professional typist to turn out the best quality material, particularly when it comes to typing out pre-printed forms.
Notice that the carriage rule shows 60 (out of a total of 140) while the paper bail rule reads 12. These rules are properly aligned, but the 0 on the paper bail rule corresponds to the center with 70 marks on either side for more easily centering text when necessary.The Royal HH has so many rules… but is still easy and joyful to use.
Older machines, particularly ones with manually set tab stops in the back of the machine to allow for accurately setting tabs, will have one or more rules hiding on the back of the machine. Be sure to account for these and adjust them properly as well.
Notice the oval slotted holes for attaching the screws on the tab rule on the back of this 1958 Olympia SM3. It takes some care to think about properly aligning this rule with the various versions on the front of the machine. Possibly because of the extra alignment work and materials involved in providing this rule and the fact that users probably didn’t actively use it, Olympia quit including it on models in late 1958.
Be aware that on some machines the design might sometimes allow two rules to coincide. As an example, the line indicator rule and the carriage ruler on the Underwood Touch Master 5 are the same rule.
The Underwood Touch Master 5 line indicator serves double duty as a carriage rule.
Hopefully now that you know about the subtle art of the line indicator and how it’s used, you’ll be able to better adjust your own typewriter and turn out more sophisticated looking pages.
I often see people asking questions about the value of vintage typewriters. Questions like:
Is it really worth $550 to buy a clean, oiled, and adjusted typewriter from a repair shop?
What about the cheap typewriters I see for $20-50 on Facebook Marketplace? Are they any “good”?
What’s with the dramatic difference in prices? Am I being tricked?
For the sake of clarity, I’ll be addressing the majority of the typewriter sales in the secondary market which are broadly the most common typewriters made for the commercial market after about 1925. Most of these were manufactured in the realm of hundreds of thousands to several millions each and are thus decidedly not rare.
Within this market, the savvy consumer knows that the condition of the machine is generally the biggest driver of the sales price. Sadly the majority of machines you see for sale are in poor to absolutely dreadful condition, but are priced as if they are cleaned, oiled, and well-adjusted right out of a professional typewriter shop. If you watch patiently, you’ll notice these so-called “rare” machines never sell. If you’re buying, you should ask yourself the following: Is the exterior of the machine in good cosmetic condition with clear and intact decals? Is the interior clean and free from excess dust, oil and other residue which can affect performance? Does the machine function as well as one could expect or almost as good as if it just came off the factory floor? Is the type properly aligned on the page? Does it make clear, bright imprints for all characters? Do all the buttons, levers, and adjustment points work as expected? Does the escapement work across the length of the platen? Will paper feed through properly? Are the rollers round, even, and grippy? Does it have its original metal spools? Does it have new or even usable ribbon? All of these cosmetic and functional factors effect the ultimate sales prices in the market.
The truth is that the vast majority of typewriters on the broad online marketplace don’t fit many of these criteria. Most are barely capable of any of these. A large number are dusty “barn” machines that have been sitting around for decades and barely befitting the name typewriter. Far too many have “sticky” keys or other mechanical problems. Many have broken or disconnected drawbands. Others suffer from a broad array of other repairable and even non-repairable maladies.
Having purchased around 50+ machines from a variety of online shops and thrift stores for $9-150, I have never gotten what one might call a “perfect machine” as one would expect recently serviced from a professional typewriter repair shop. Only a handful required an adjustment or two and a solid cleaning and new ribbon to be close to perfect.
I’ve recently been to a handful of type-ins now, and I can attest that most people who have their own typewriters are amateurs who at best have dusted off the exterior of their machines and are charitably limping (a base level of typing) along as best as they can with what they have. While this is certainly fine and potentially acceptable to some, it’s definitely not the lush level of a well-adjusted machine. If you want to be a good steward of your typewriter and plan on using it extensively or even professionally as an author, it is definitely worth the time and attention to have at least one solid machine in your arsenal. If you have the funds, definitely replace the rubber feet and re-cover the platen on at least one machine to enjoy pure typewriting nirvana.
One will regularly see posts of unknowledgeable sellers who insist they “know what they’ve got” offering dirty and disgusting typewriters for $500 or dramatically more. Most of the typewriter collecting community see these typewriters for sale and have a good laugh knowing that the seller is comparing their machine to an immaculate version of their typewriter that has been lovingly restored.
A Typewriter Repair Cost Thought Experiment
As a thought experiment based on several years of collecting and restoring/repairing typewriters, I decided it might be useful to create a ballpark representative graph of what the typewriter cost space looks like to have and use a great functioning typewriter. To do this I’m going to look at the raw base costs of what it takes to have a professionally adjusted and cleaned typewriter serviced by three different personas in the space. I’ll look at the seasoned professional with 9 months to many years on the job in a typewriter shop, the avid typewriter collector with between 15 and 50 or more typewriters in their collection the majority of which they’ve self-serviced, and the beginner to novice typist who is potentially buying their first, second or maybe third typewriter and who may likely never go beyond that number.
The repair layout of a collector with a wide variety of tools
The primary variables we’ll be looking at will be time, experience, and general costs. We’ll also look at tools and their availability, the cost of the machine itself, replacement parts, and the cost per hour of labor. I’ll be ignoring the cost of storage space and other miscellaneous overhead costs of actually running a business which a repair shop might require, but that an amateur is only tangentially responsible for by using space in their home. We’ll try to keep as many of the variables constant across the spectrum for a reasonably useful comparison of cost and time for these personas.
Tools
The availability and cost of various tools will be a factor and vary dramatically across the three categories. If the beginner doesn’t already have them, they’ll want at least a minimum of a couple of screwdrivers, an adjustable wrench, some canned air, a toothbrush, and some mineral spirits for about $100. A collector will have all of these as well as a dedicated air compressor, a full set of screwdrivers, wrenches, and several basic pliers, a variety of brushes (nylon, brass, and steel), some oilers, spring (push and pull) tools, and possibly even more for an investment of $300 or more. Finally the pro will have all of the above in addition to a wide variety of specialty tools for less common repair and adjustment needs. Many of these are not easily accessible and many are no longer manufactured. This will include a wide variety of custom pliers, benders, and potentially even a dunk tank for cleaning typewriters. This equipment will often require an investment of one or several thousands of dollars. Because this larger investment is depreciated out over the span of years and used on hundreds of machines, I’ll set the tool price per typewriter for the professional at $5, the collector at $20 and $90 for the beginner.
A collector’s toolset including some custom and hard-to-find pliers and benders.
Typewriter
Next is the actual cost of the physical typewriter itself. Whether it’s a Smith-Corona Corsair from the late 60s, a Smith-Corona Silent from the 50s, a 1930s Royal P, or an Olympia SM3 from the 50s, even a dirty, disused, old typewriter is going to cost something. I’ll consider what we’re buying as a baseline run-of-the-mill machine of the type you’ll find at almost any thrift store that is in desperate need of a cleaning and which may have a few sticky keys, has it’s fair share of eraser shavings and cobwebs inside, needs a couple of small adjustments and perhaps one repair or replacement part that doesn’t include replacing rubber feet or a platen. As most beginners don’t know the market well, they’re highly likely to pay in the $50-150 range for such a machine while the savvier collector will end up in the $20-75 range. The pro shop will quite often acquire their machines as donations or bulk pick ups for $5-20 each and the cost of gas to get them depending on what sorts of makes and models we’re looking at. As an anecdotal bit of data, one professional restorer recently told me he wouldn’t go over about $60 to buy a garden variety Olympia SM3 which most collectors would probably be on the hook for about $120.
Three cheers for eraser crumbs!
Repair and Replacement Parts
Pro shops are often much better off than the other two categories as they often have a dozen or more parts machines which they cannibalize to repair machines. They may also have custom suppliers of screws and springs which dramatically reduce the cost of researching and buying from places like McMaster-Carr, Fastenal, or your local hardware store. We’ll place their replacement part cost at about $5. Collectors may have parts machines, but are also likely to have friends, acquaintances or sources parting out machines inexpensively for around $15. The beginner will struggle to find repair parts and would potentially pay in the range of $40 for the same pieces.
Cost per hour for cleaning and repair
Professional repair rates in the United States are currently in the $40-75 per hour range, but for our back-of-the-envelope calculation, let’s stay with the more conservative $40/hour rate. The collector doesn’t have the same level of knowledge as a pro, but isn’t dreadful and knows where to look for what they need, so we’ll give them a $30/hour rate for work. Finally we’ll pay the wholly inexperienced novice the United States minimum wage of $20/hour. This is sure to save them a lot of money compared to the pro, but it’s also going to take the novice a huge amount of research work and tinkering to come close to the proficiency of the pro, so perforce, it will take them far longer to come to having a machine as nice at the end of the process. I would expect the experienced collector to slowly come close to the level of quality turned out by the professional, but this is going to exist on a scale based on level of experience.
Professional
Collector
Amateur
Reticent amateur
typewriter
$30.00
$90.00
$120.00
$120.00
tool cost
$5.00
$20.00
$90.00
$90.00
cleaning time
$320.00
$480.00
$2,240.00
$3,360.00
repair parts
$5.00
$15.00
$40.00
$40.00
totals
$360.00
$605.00
$2,490.00
$3,610.00
A graph of typewriter repair graphing experience against time and cost
As a result of the ballpark numbers above, I’m going to graph a few points for the various levels admitting that there is generally going to be some variance around the values. This variance increases as we move from the professional level (small variance) to the collector and then onto the novice (a much larger variance). Because the experience and ability of the beginner is so large, I’m going to plot two points for them to emphasize this variability. We can now take some of our rough numbers and plot the cost values against the amount of time it would likely take each of these levels to put out a single, clean, repaired and reasonably well-adjusted typewriter, keeping in mind that the level of the beginner will almost always lag behind the capabilities of the advanced collector or pro.
The purple $375 data point is for the professional repair shop, the orange $605 is for the collector, and the two red values at $2,490 and $3,600 are for the wide ranges of the beginners.
A professional shop with only one trained repair person will likely repair, clean, oil, and adjust a single machine in about 5-8 hours while the collector can likely do the same in about two days of full time work on average. The beginner, presuming they are mildly mechanically inclined and willing to try will take two to three weeks of full time work to pull off the same level of quality. This generally presumes the typewriter is not in horrible shape to begin with and doesn’t have complicated issues like subtle escapement problems.
Analysis and Conclusions
This graph, while it has some obvious variability given some very conservative numbers, will give the beginner at least some idea of not only the time, but the cost associated with buying and self-repairing/restoring a typewriter to the level that a professional shop would. Here I should say that we’re explicitly not including the costs of any new rubber feet, rollers, or a recovered platen which would potentially add a couple of hundred dollars to the overall base-level costs. Despite the availability of online advice and fora, the beginner often isn’t aware of the hidden costs of tools, materials, time, knowledge and effort involved to bring their machine close to its original condition. Typically they’re usually looking for the bare minimum to get a machine working and not to get it working to its peak capabilities the way a professional shop would.
If you’re a professional writer interested in getting straight to work on a professional level machine, it’s incredibly easy to see from this chart that you shouldn’t waste the time, effort, or expense of trying to buy a $20 typewriter (or worse, overspending on a $300 dirty typewriter) to clean up for yourself and your daily work. It’s a definite no-brainer to check out your local shop and buy a machine for $400-600. It’s even a no-brainer if you have to drive several hours to a distant shop to do the same. You could probably even fly and come out ahead. There is certainly a similar calculus if you’re a first time buyer in the market for a gift for a significant other or even a young child’s birthday or holiday present. Is it worth the supposed “savings” to buy a cheap machine and then spend the time and energy to bring it back to life? You definitely don’t want a gifted machine in poor shape to become someone else’s white elephant when they realize it needs some serious repair or cleaning work. Worse might be to spend a few hundred dollars on a machine in mediocre condition and then need to spend another $500-$750 on it at a repair shop to get it into the same condition you could have just paid for $500 upfront.
Further, you’ll notice that professional typewriter shops are not making a huge profit margin for their time and experience, even at the comparatively much higher levels of paid labor. (Remember we also didn’t factor in any overhead, retirement funds, health care, insurance, regulatory compliance, etc.)
Now the question becomes a bit harder to answer if you’re an inveterate tinkerer who wants to have a typewriter or twenty. If you’ve already got a nice toolchest and some garage space, perhaps the cost of doing your own machines is worth the trouble? Do you have the mechanical chops to begin with? Do you enjoy the research and digging required to puzzle out the repairs and adjustments of your new-to-you typewriter? Is it worth the hobby time as an “investment” in yourself and your mental health? Would you be acquiring lots of machines? Or do you just want three? What level of repair work are you willing to add to the mix of your sort of typewriter collection? How sustainable is that level over time and across the number of machines?
Obviously the more machines you collect and repair, the more valuable it becomes to invest in the knowledge, manuals, tools, and materials to do the work. Once you’re into it at the level of 50 machines with the majority of them in solid repair status, you’re beginning to hit the levels of a professional repair person. This also presumes that as you’re progressing, you’re also spending the time and effort to collect (buy) the uncommon tools of the trade as well as repair manuals to be able to more efficiently do your work. If the fun of repair becomes drudgery and “work”, then perhaps it’s time to invest into your local repair shop’s future? Doing this can help ensure the ensuing generations can still appreciate and use these machines.
If you’re both a collector and an active writer, are you properly balancing your priorities of writing and tinkering? Is the tinkering beginning to stand in the way of your productivity as a writer? Are you using the excuse of perfecting small adjustments on your typewriter to actively miss your deadlines?
What about the more expensive Hermes 3000s and Olympia SM3s of the world? In the realm of dirty, used typewriters there are some shining pricing exceptions that will provide even more exceptional value. For the past year or so the popularity and reputation of the Hermes 3000 and the Olympia SM3 have put their prices much higher than a lot of the rest of the market. As a result, an un-serviced Hermes 3000 can start at $250 and the Olympia SM3 can start at $120 even for the experienced collector. (Yes, you can get lucky and find these at garage sales, but that takes additional time and effort which isn’t included in our cost evaluation chart.) Despite this premium, professional shops are still selling these cleaned, oiled, and adjusted in the range of $500-550. This makes them exceptionally great values from repair shops for budding authors and professional writers. It also makes them larger risks for beginners who may need to spend even more attempting to clean and repair them if they’ve got significant damage.
At the end of the day, there’s a huge gulf between the experience of typing on the dirty typewriter from Joe’s grandmother’s attic that you (over) paid $200 for and the clean-as-a-whistle well-adjusted typewriter that you smartly acquired from an experienced vintage typewriter repair shop for around $500. If you’re buying a machine for regular writing use, you’ll know and appreciate the difference. Of course if you just need something as a bit of decor, then do what you will and go on about life, but at least you’ll have a bit of an idea of what you’re missing out on. If you choose not to miss out, you’ll have a much better idea of what sort of work you might be in for and what the trade-offs are to get the sort of machine you’d like to ultimately have.
I regularly see writers (or their friends or significant others considering buying them presents) interested in purchasing their first typewriter as a (distraction-free) writing tool. Naturally, unless they grew up with them or have other direct experience, the primary questions are: how much are they?, which ones are the better professional tools?, and where can they get them?
Having written up some suggestions in the past as well as a bit about the state of the current typewriter market, I thought I’d put the two together for future queries as the broad advice doesn’t change very much. This article might also be generally useful for anyone considering their first typewriter, or even getting into typewriter collecting in general.
This won’t cover any of the electric typebar typewriters or the later wedge typewriters, thermal typewriters, or electronic word processors which are similar, but potentially different beasts and markets.
In the Typewriter Market Condition is King
When it comes to manual typewriters, condition is king and a big determinant of the overall price. Sadly this fact is wholly unknown by the vast majority of people selling the typewriter they found in grandma’s attic. Knowing this fact will arm you for a much better purchasing experience as well as when it comes down to actually using them.
Sure there are a small handful of very popular portable typewriters like the Hermes 3000 or the Olympia SM3 which can go for a few hundred dollars even in bad condition, but for the most part a reasonably solid typewriter can be had for $10-75.
Too many people will also use the useless word “rare” to describe their typewriter for sale. This really only applies to some of the earliest typewriters from before 1920 which broadly aren’t as available now. Almost everything made from the 1930s on was mass produced in the hundreds of thousands or even millions, so applying the word rare is silly. Some colors or typefaces may be uncommon, but they are not rare and it usually doesn’t take too long to find multiple versions of the same thing for sale. None of the recommendations suggested here would ever be considered rare or even uncommon by any standard.
Balance of Budget, Time, and Facility with Cleaning machines
Your first typewriter is sure to be the balance of several variables including your particular budget, the amount of time you want to invest finding and then potentially fixing up your machine, and the facility you may have (or not) for cleaning and potentially repairing your typewriter yourself. Self-repair is certainly doable and there are significant resources for helping out the novice, but it does take some time, patience, and a few tools. If, as a beginner, you think that cleaning and repairing your own machine is the best use of your time, go for it, but you may be opening up a can of worms that’s really not worth it.
Budget Range
I’ll split the typewriter space up into the budget ranges based on what the buyer may have for potentially spending on a typewriter. This is NOT a split of historical budget ranges indicating the quality of the typewriters themselves. For example, in its day, an Olympia SG3 would have been at the higher end of the typewriter market while the highly mass produced Brother JP-1 typewriters would have been considered budget models by comparison. Today, with careful shopping, you could foreseeably purchase both in equivalent condition for the same $25, though to the user, the Olympia SG3 will obviously be more performant particularly for longer typing sessions.
Low budget is $10-75. For this range, one can get a typewriter that is generally functional, but which assuredly needs to be cleaned, properly lubricated, and possibly adjusted. (Remember: lesser condition usually means lower price.) To stay within this range, you’re going to need to be both willing and able to do some basic cleaning and potentially minor repairs yourself.
This isn’t to say that you wouldn’t stumble across a near mint Olympia SM3 that you can pick up at a yard sale for $15 and it needs no work at all, but it won’t be an every day occurrence. You’ll likely need to invest some reasonable time in searching for such a thing.
Medium budget might be $76-349. In this range you should be able to acquire a reasonable machine which you might then take to a local repair shop to get a reasonable servicing and repair or adjust any issues your “new-to-you” typewriter may have. This range should cover the cost of the machine as well as the servicing in most cases. Most repair shops charge in the $40-75/hour range and can do some miracles in just a few hours.
High budget is generally in the $350-600 range and for this amount you should be receiving a vintage machine in good to excellent cosmetic condition which has been thoroughly cleaned, oiled, and adjusted. It should function as well as it possibly can for regular daily use.
It’s quite likely that you’ll currently find some solid value in this range as some repair shops will be selling machines like the Hermes 3000 in excellent shape while online auctions for them in dreadful shape are almost as expensive.
Beyond the high range, you’re going to be looking at more exotic machines which are much less common, which have had higher levels of restoration work (usually all the rubber replaced and the platens recovered), or which have less common typefaces (script, Vogue, Techno, Gothic, etc.). As this tends to be more rarified space of collectors or those with very specific tastes, I won’t delve deeper here.
Typewriter Recommendations
In another article, I’ve gone deeper into the difference between standard typewriters, portable typewriters, and ultraportable typewriters. In this section, I’ll focus primarily on recommendations for writers who are looking for one (or maybe two) high quality typewriters for regular (daily or weekly) and heavy (several hours a day) use. This means these machines will tend toward the higher end of quality and manufacturing in the middle of the 20th century at the peak of typewriter engineering and manufacturing from the 1930s into the 1970s.
While some of these recommendations may be useful to collectors, there is such a much wider space of collectible typewriters and reasons for collecting them, that such an analysis is a much bigger topic. For those just dipping their feet into the world of collecting, I’ll recommend Richard Polt’s excellent book The Typewriter Revolution (Countryman Press, 2015).
Standard Typewriters
If you’re a serious writer, you’re sure to find a smoother and better experience with a standard typewriter, but they’re slightly larger and heavier (~30 pounds vs. ~15-22 pounds) than the portables. The benefit is that they almost always have the broadest range of features that a writer will ever need. These are usually the ones I recommend if you’re typing for several hours on end and have a dedicated space for your writing. Standards aren’t as popular with most collectors, so they also tend to be less expensive as a general rule.
For longer writing sessions, one of the additional subtle reasons to use a standard machine is that its larger size will take up more of your field of view. This can tend to help hold your attention for longer periods of time and aid in reducing distractions, which is often one of the reasons writers prefer composing on typewriters over computers.
Twins! 1950 Royal KMG standard typewriters with elite (left) and pica (right).
I personally really love my fully restored Royal KMG, Royal HH, and Royal FP, as well as my Olympia SG3, my Remington Standard, Remington Super-Riter, and Remington 17 which are all rock solid writing machines. I’m still on the hunt for an Olympia SG1, which many collectors consider to be one of the best typewriters ever manufactured. (Update 2026-01-31: I’ve acquired my first SG1, and it is everything promised.)
Here are some of the other more common standards for serious writers to consider by a knowledgeable restorer:
Portable Typewriters
I’d generally endorse most of the advice on the lighter, portable models you’ll find in the following resources. They are geared specifically toward writers, and all three have lots experience and reasonable bona fides to make such recommendations.
In this space, you may want to take some care for the particular models you consider as not all of them will have features like a tabulator (tab stops) to make indenting text easier, especially if you’re a screenwriter or playwright who needs this sort of functionality every few lines. (A tab button on the keyboard is a solid enough indicator that a machine has this functionality.)
Among the most commonly recommended portable typewriters are the Olympia SM2, SM3, and SM4 (all very similar, but slightly different in their tabulator functionality or lack thereof in the case of the SM2), Hermes 3000, Olympia SM7, Olympia SM9, the Smith-Corona Super and Smith-Corona Silent Super (5 Series machines), the Adler Tippa and Tippa S, the Royal Quiet De Luxe, and the Remington Quiet-Riter.
Ultraportable typewriters
While these can be interesting and pretty as well as easy to carry, most serious writers are not going to love typing on them for extended periods. They might be a nice secondary machine for traveling around and getting something done, but I wouldn’t recommend one as a first or second machine for most writers.
Typewriters you assuredly don’t want
Many newcomers will ask if a particular typewriter is a “bad” one or is generally known to have problems (aka a “lemon”). This is usually folly as most typewriters built into the 1980s were generally solid and not just meant to last, but were built to be repaired. Naturally the ones built of steel in the 50s-60s will be the most sturdy and the aesthetics will vary dramatically over the decades.
The one major caveat you’ll hear from almost any typewriter enthusiast and collector is to warn people against purchasing one of the brand new Shanghai Weilv Mechanism Company typewriters which variously go under the names: Rover, the Royal Epoch, We R Memory Keepers, Royal Classic, Maplefield, and The Oliver Typewriter Company. I’ve written about these manual typewriters elsewhere and included some reviews and things to know about and be wary of if you’re planning on buying something new instead of something either vintage or antique (over 100 years old). Professional writers will abhor these machines.
Where to buy a typewriter?
Repair shops
Your very best bet for a first typewriter (and even subsequent ones) is to go to a repair shop that also sells machines. Doing this will give you the chance to put your hands on them, try them out, ask lots of questions, then buy your favorite from a variety of machines. Your shopping time is worth money and productivity, so buy something you like out of the gate and you’ll save a lot in the long run. You’ll probably be happier and better off in the long run with something in the $200-600 range serviced from a repair shop. It will also give you something you can start using right away to get work done rather than faffing about with cleaning or potential small repairs, which can take up valuable time for the new and uninitiated.
There are a variety of online shops, many associated with repair shops, as well as individual sellers and antique stores that sell typewriters on independent websites. These can be particularly good as they’ll often have a level of expertise and experience in cleaning, repairing, restoring, and shipping typewriters.
I personally don’t have direct experience with any that I would specifically recommend, but they’re definitely out there and are usually marked by providing an abundance of photos and useful information about their wares.
Online Auctions and Sales Sites
An important caveat: The vast majority of sellers in the typewriter market with machines in the $40-300 range have exactly as much knowledge about them as you probably do (which for the non-collector/non-repair shop audience is to say little to none), so be incredibly wary of accepting claims that “it works” or “it just needs a new ribbon” without video and photographic proof. Most are pricing their less-than-stellar typewriters based on the higher prices repair shops are selling their best serviced machines for. Don’t fall victim to this ubiquitous ruse because the seller doesn’t know better.
In this segment of the market you’ll find a huge range of potential sellers from some incredibly professional typewriter repair and restoration specialists who deal primarily online to clearing house thrift stores all the way down to typewriter flippers (those who buy a dusty, half-functioning typewriter at a yard sale for $5 and then list it on Etsy for a 1000% markup without doing any additional work) who use AI to write flashy, nostalgic descriptions of typewriters that bear no resemblance of the particular machine they’re selling and then to your neighborhood gadfly trying to sell grandma’s vintage 1950’s Smith-Corona Silent as a $3,000 antique because he “knows what he’s got” yet somehow misstates the date of manufacture as well as the model. (And if you happen to be reading this Marvin, no typewriter on the planet has the serial number H123456L, that’s the setting indicator for the touch control functionality.)
This means you might spend some time checking out how specialized the particular seller is in typewriters by looking at their past sales. Do they only sell typewriters, do they sell lots of things, or are they new accounts with only one item? The best ones will have lots of good photos of machines and cases from a variety of angles including close ups of the typeslugs, typesamples of the machine’s output, and even video of the machine in use. Serious typewriter sales people will list the serial numbers and the dates of manufacture, though many less serious sellers and “typewriter flippers” will have posted their machines to an online forum to crowdsource this information which they wouldn’t otherwise have.
This segment most deserves the warning: caveat emptor (buyer beware). If someone is selling a $500 machine that “works” without any proof and who says it “just needs new ribbon” (a simple purchase of $10 or less) hopefully shouldn’t be fooling anyone but themselves, yet I know it happens.
Facebook Marketplace is almost always local individuals, but can also include some pro shops from time to time. Prices can often be 2-3x what they ought to be, but you can visit machines in person, try them out, and negotiate things down based on the actual condition.
Craigslist.com is a reasonable space and often very much like Facebook Marketplace with a poorer UI.
eBay is an online auction space where some very professional repair people auction off their work along with thrift stores, antique stores, and the general public. It requires a bit of due diligence to suss out what’s being offered and the condition, but usually doesn’t allow the ability to actually test out the machine and see the exact condition first hand. There is a bit of protection if the shipped product doesn’t live up to the hype. Be careful of inexpensive “buy now” listings with exorbitant shipping prices in the $100+ range.
Etsy can have some excellent listings from a range of sellers, but it also tends toward the more expensive pricing end of the spectrum for what you end up receiving. Again, you can’t try before you buy here.
Offerup is a broad platform similar to Marketplace and Craigslist with some reasonable listings. Sadly some of the listings can be old and out of date or the seller is no longer paying attention to their account.
ShopGoodwill.com is a platform run by Goodwill that usually has a wide variety of dozens of machines every day from across the country. In addition to not being able to try before you buy, it can be very hit or miss to attempt to judge a machine’s condition solely on just a few photos. The level of expertise on typewriters is generally abysmally low here, so the level of detail about the machines for the non-expert is equally low and the packaging and shipment can be a problem in 10-20% of orders. This being said, one can get some excellent deals on standards on a regular basis in the $10-30 range and portables in the $30-60 range, particularly if you purchase from a local Goodwill that will allow the arrangement of an in-person pick up. This gets around $20-50 shipping fees and the potentiality of damage in shipping. Some of the higher end portables like the Olympia SM3 will go for $120 in unknown condition while the Hermes 3000 can go for $250 or more. At these rates, you’re far more likely to get better value by buying at a local repair shop.
Surely there are many other online options not listed here. I’m sure people will mention a few with caveats and reviews in the comments.
Yard Sales & Estate Sales
You can find some really great machines at yard sales and estate sales, but the trade off is the time and effort you need to invest in searching for them, particularly if you have an idea of something specific you’re looking for. Here you’re trading the cheapness of a working $10-20 machine for a lot of searching time. Naturally this option probably isn’t the best one to take if you’re getting a typewriter as a gift for someone’s birthday this weekend. You’ll want to plan ahead and give yourself several weeks or months to hunt around for the right thing.
Sometimes sellers will think their machines are more valuable, but usually the $50-100+ machines can be negotiated down to a more reasonable $5-25 range. Usually if it’s out, it’s something they want to sell or get rid of.
With this route you can also directly put your hands on machines and at least test things out pretty thoroughly before committing to buying. If something is dirty or broken, you’ll see that pretty quickly compared to attempting to buy something poorly listed online. Be sure to bring your own paper and maybe even ribbon for testing if this is what you’re shopping for.
Thrift Stores and Antique Stores
These can be a great source for inexpensive and functional machines. Depending on the outlet, Antique stores will have a somewhat larger markup and won’t negotiate down as much as they ought to.
Type-ins
While in person type-ins aren’t terribly frequent, they can be great places to meet other typewriter afficionados and get the chance to try out others’ machines to see what sort of typewriter feels best to you. It’s not uncommon for participants to buy, sell, and trade typewriters at these events.
Typewriter Service
Beyond the basic regular maintenance of keeping dust out of your machine and occasionally changing your ribbon, you may require the service of a professional shop for your initial purchase. This can be a relatively quick and inexpensive way to bring a machine up to fighting shape after decades of dusty disuse. It also does a lot more to support the broader art and craft of repair and the typewriter community.
If you’re handy and have even a bit of a mechanical bent, you can take advantage of a wide variety of online repair manuals [1][2] and cleaning advice, repair resources and advice including a huge number of YouTube tutorials for almost every typewriter out there. Doing this can be incredibly cost effective, but it always helps to have a relationship with your local shop for potential repair parts or maybe even a loaner if you need one.
If nothing else, it can also be inspiring as writer (or if you’re giving it as a gift) for the new typewriter’s owner to have an idea of other writers who have used that machine in the past.
As an example, I find it inspiring that the Royal KMG I use regularly was manufactured from 1949-1952, and was known to have also been used by writers including Saul Bellow, Edward Abbey, Joan Didion, Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, Mister Rogers, Rod Sterling, Carl Reiner, Grace Metalious, Wallace Stenger, John Ashbery, and George Sheehan.
For the first time buyer, particularly with time constraints, it may seem like shipping a great looking machine is an excellent idea for the pittance of $20-40. Poor packaging of typewriters by untrained or ill-educated online shops is one of the leading deaths of typewriters. Even reasonably well packed machines can be dramatically damaged in shipment, so unless you’re purchasing from a shop that has lots of experience in shipping typewriters, save the money and hassle and buy something locally that you can pick up.
If you want to go deeper into the world of typewriters, collecting, using, repairing or even talking about them, I keep a list of useful typewriter resources.
Questions?
Hopefully this has been a reasonably thorough precis of all the things I wish I had known before buying my first typewriter and encapsulates a lot of basic typewriter knowledge I’ve accumulated throughout the first fifty machines spanning my typewriter collection. If you have additional questions, feel free to ask below.
In the meanwhile, just jump in and start looking around. Good luck and happy hunting!
New typewriter enthusiasts will very often post to Reddit, one of the Facebook typewriter groups or other similar fora, something along the lines of: “I spotted this typewriter at an antique store. Good condition to buy?” and include a picture of some generic typewriter.
It bears mentioning and thoroughly understanding that even an expert typewriter collector or professional repair person can only tell very little of the condition of a typewriter by photos. Does it look generally clean? Are the decals in tact? Does the segment look clean (a vague proxy for the potential condition of the internals)? Is anything obvious missing (knobs, return lever, keys)? Does it look cared for or has it been neglected in a barn for half a century? If it has a case, how beat up, dirty, and water-stained is it?
Most modern typewriters made after 1930 in unknown condition are worth about $5-25 and they peak at about $500 when purchased from a solid repair shop unless some Herculean additional restoration has taken place, they’ve got a rarer typeface, or are inherently actually rare. Hint: unless it’s a pro repair shop or very high end collector with lots of experience, don’t trust anyone saying that a typewriter is “rare”—run the other direction. Run faster if they say it “works, but just needs a new ribbon” as—even at the most expensive—new ribbon is only $15 and their “rare” $600+ machine should have fresh, wet ribbon. The rule of thumb I use is that almost no one online selling a typewriter knows anything about it, including if it actually works. Worse, they’ve probably priced it at professional repair shop prices because they don’t know that in the secondary typewriter market: condition is king.
The least experienced typist will know far more about the condition of a machine by putting their hands on it and trying it out. Does it generally work? Does the carriage move the full length of its travel? Can you set the margins at the extremes and space reliably from one end to another? Does it skip? Is the inside clean or full of decades of dried oil, dust, correction tape, white-out splatter, and eraser crumbs? Does the margin release work? Does it backspace properly? When typing “HHHhhhHHH” are the letters all printed well and on the same baseline?
Presumably a typewriter at an antique store will meet these minimum conditions (though be aware that many don’t as their proprietors have no idea about typewriters other than that if they wait long enough, some sucker will spend $150 on almost anything). They’ve done the work of finding a machine that (barely) works, housing it, and presenting it to the public for sale. This time and effort is worth something to the beginning typewriter enthusiast, but worth much, much less to the longer term practiced collector.
If everything is present and at least generally limping along, you’ve got yourself a $30 typewriter. Most people can spend a few hours watching YouTube videos and then manage to clean and lubricate a typewriter to get it functioning reasonably. You can always learn to do the adjustments from YouTube videos. (Or just take it to a typewriter repair shop and fork over $200-400 to get things squared.)
If you’re getting into collecting, you’ll make some useful mistakes by overpaying in the beginning and those mistakes will teach you a lot.
Maybe you’re a tinkerer and looking for a project? If so, then find the cheapest machine you can get your hands on (maybe a Royal KMM for $9 at thrift) and work your way through a home study course.
Otherwise, if you’re just buying one or two machines to use—by far—the best value you’ll find is to purchase a cleaned, oiled, and well-adjusted machine from a repair shop. Sure it might cost $350-600, but what you’ll save in time, effort, heartache, searching, repair, etc. will more than outweigh the difference. Additionally you’ll have a range of machines to choose from aesthetically and you can test out their feel to find something that works best for you.
Or, you could buy a reasonable machine like the one typically asked about for $40-70 and find out it needs cleaning, oiling, and adjusting and potentially a few repairs. The repair tab might run you an additional $450. Is it worth it when a repair shop would have sold you the same, a very similar, or an even better machine in excellent condition for $350? It also doesn’t take much work to realize the god-send that a properly packaged and shipped typewriter is worth.
Why Context is Queen
Remember in asking about the cost and value/worth of a typewriter, you’re actually attempting to maximize a wide variety of unstated variables including, but not limited to:
upfront price and value,
information about the current state of the market,
information/knowledge about the machine itself, its history, desirability/popularity, and how often it’s encountered in the wild,
information about how to clean it,
information about oiling it,
information about adjusting,
information about repairing it,
cost and availability of tools and repair parts,
and the time involved for both learning and doing all of the above.
The more time you’ve spent learning and doing all of these, the better “deals” you’ll find, but gaining this expertise is going to cost you a few years of life. What is all this “worth” when you just want to type on a machine that actually works as well as it was meant to?
Most of the prognostication you’ll find in online typewriter fora will be generally useless to you because you’re not readily aware of the context and background of the respondents with respect to all of the variables above. Similarly they’re working with no context about you, your situation, where you live, what’s available in your area, your level of typewriter knowledge, your aesthetic, or your budget. You don’t know what you don’t know. At the end of the day, you’re assuredly just as well off to use a bit of your intuition and putting your hands on a machine and trying it out. Then ask: “What is it worth to you?”
If you find yourself asking this question online, but you’re really asking: “Is this $50 typewriter highway robbery?”, the answer is generally: “no”. Alternately if the question is: “Is this $1,000 typewriter really this valuable?”, the vast majority of the time the answer is also probably also “no”.
What I wouldn’t give to have some popular cookbooks like Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking, Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, Better Homes & Gardens’ New Cook Book, Brown’s Good Eats, America’s Test Kitchen books, or Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street published as recipe cards in 4 x 6 inch index card format.
While their book formats are lovely and lend themselves to lean back aspirational food content, they’re not so great in an actual kitchen. If all the content was on the front of the card, perhaps with those aspirational photos on the back, and a reasonable tabbed index and packaged for sale in a nice cardboard card index box , I’m sure my kitchen life would be far better.
Can one of the recipe giants produce something as functional for use in the kitchen as their recipes?
If they wanted to go crazy, they could also:
offer a deluxe wooden card index with a thin, angled notch on the top to hold the recipe as an easy display while cooking;
print the cards in high quality in such a manner as to make them liquid/splash proof or alternately include a reusable plastic sleeve or two for covering the cards while in use in the kitchen;
add all their “methods” information on individual cards in a separate section;
number them to allow for cross-indexing them to related recipes or methods (color or textual effects like bold, italics, underlining could also be used to cross-reference these)
Some quick examples in the space:
There are a handful of publishers doing this in the cocktail space.
Some of the weekly food-in-a-box services like Green Chef and Hello Fresh publish 8.5 x 11″ card stock recipes that come with their food deliveries
Other than these and some magazines that occasionally publish one or two recipe cards, is anyone in the food space already doing this at a bigger scale anymore?
I’m slowly closing in on a completist collection of Royal standard typewriters.
Here’s most of my collection so far. Only a few major must haves left, but also still a few to finish refurbishing. Seven are fully refurbished, though two still need some small tweaks; all type but two need some reasonable work, and the rest need a full clean/oil/adjust.
From bottom to top, left to right: 1935 H (with 5 key decimal tabulator), 1935 KH, 1936 KHM; 1945 KMM, 1946 KMM-18 (with a 10-key decimal tabulator), 1950 KMG-P; 1950 KMG-E, 1955 HHE, 1954 HHS (pica double gothic); 1957 FPP (cameo pink smooth), 1961 FPE (sandstone), 1959 FPP (sea blue smooth); 1960 FPE (light green smooth), 1961 FPS-18 (clarion double gothic, pearl light gray smooth).
Anyone with a nice Royal 10, please inquire within.
Two new additions to the Royal FP collection this year give me most of the major colors. Anyone want to join me for a type in?
Serial Number: 7084044
Hermes Epoca typeface, 10 pitch, slugs: SNO, 6 lines/vertical inch, portable, bichrome, segment shift, tabulator, U.S. keyboard with 44 keys and 88 characters
light green plastic body, grey-ish cream colored plastic keys
Manufactured in France
Purchased from from Jan M. Macho in Pasadena, CA. This was the personal typewriter of his father John J. Macho, Sr., an émigré from Czechoslovakia who was in regional sales for Paillard in America and sold millions of Hermes typewriters.
Jan Macho, Sr.’s grandson Chris Macho eulogized his grandfather on Instagram:
This is a Hermes 3000. My grandfather, Jan Macho, “Deda” to me, made a living and a small fortune as an exec at Hermes Typewriter Co., and he sold a million of these. I admit, I don’t think of him as often as I should, and it takes hints like these in the wild to remind me of him. Fuck me, he was just so legendarily amazing, kind, generous, and plain THE SHIT in how he carried himself (and now I’m tearing up as I write this). I mentioned him and the Hermes thing to the people at this place here and they gave me a beer. So here he is, still hooking me up from the other side. Love you, miss you Deda.
Generally his typewriter is in solid condition aside from some cosmetic issues in the rear body plastic possibly due to heat exposure. It’ll need a full C/O/A and some new rubber, but will be resurrected to be a spectacular little portable typewriter for a few more generations.
I was so enamored of the provenance of the typewriter that I barely managed to get through a preliminary check of the functionality before buying. I completely didn’t even notice the Epoca typeface until I got it home. Somehow I’ve always been the bridesmaid when it comes to Hermes machines, but it seems I’ve jumped right over the bride title straight to princess.
1971 was a year of change. It brought out boxier typewriter designs like the dense plastic body shells of this French manufactured Hermes 3000 and a very similar, but rarer Sears Newport, which was manufactured by Messa in Portugal.
Congratulations on your new math class, and welcome to the “family”!
Beginners Welcome!
Invariably the handful of new students every year eventually figure the logistics of campus out, but it’s easier and more fun to know some of the options available before you’re comfortable halfway through the class. To help get you over the initial hump, I’ll share a few of the common questions and tips to help get you oriented. Others are welcome to add comments and suggestions below. If you have any questions, feel free to ask anyone in the class, we’re all happy to help.
First things first, for those who’ve never visited UCLA before, here’s a map of campus to help you orient yourself. Using the Waze app on your smartphone can also be incredibly helpful in getting to campus more quickly through the tail end of rush hour traffic.
Whether you’re a professional mathematician, engineer, physicist, physician, or even a hobbyist interested in mathematics you’ll be sure to get something interesting out of Dr. Miller’s math courses, not to mention the camaraderie of 20-30 other “regulars” with widely varying backgrounds (from actors to surgeons and evolutionary theorists to engineers) who’ve been taking almost everything Mike has offered over the years (and yes, he’s THAT good—we’re sure you’ll be addicted too.) Whether you’ve been away from math for decades or use it every day or even if you’ve never gone past Calculus or Linear Algebra, this is bound to be the most entertaining thing you can do with your Tuesday nights in the Autumn and Winter. If you’re not sure what you’re getting into (or are scared a bit by the course description), I highly encourage you to come and join us for at least the first class before you pass up on the opportunity. I’ll mention that the greater majority of new students to Mike’s classes join the ever-growing group of regulars who take almost everything he teaches subsequently.
Don’t be intimidated if you feel like everyone in the class knows each other fairly well—most of us do. Dr. Miller and mathematics can be addictive so many of us have been taking classes from him for 5-20+ years, and over time we’ve come to know each other.
Tone of Class
If you’ve never been to one of Dr. Miller’s classes before, they’re fairly informal and he’s very open to questions from those who don’t understand any of the concepts or follow his reasoning. He’s a retired mathematician from RAND and long-time math professor at UCLA. Students run the gamut from the very serious who read multiple textbooks and do every homework problem to hobbyists who enjoy listening to the lectures and don’t take the class for a grade of any sort (and nearly every stripe in between). He’ll often recommend a textbook that he intends to follow, but it’s never been a “requirement”. More often that not, the bookstore doesn’t list or carry his textbook until the week before class. (Class insiders will usually find out about the book months before class and post it to the Google Group—see below).
His class notes are more than sufficient for making it through the class and doing the assigned (optional) homework. He typically hands out homework in handout form, so the textbook is rarely, if ever, required to make it through the class. Many students will often be seen reading various other texts relating to the topic at hand as they desire. Usually he’ll spend an 45-60 minutes at the opening of each class after the first to go over homework problems or questions that anyone has.
For those taking the class for a grade or pass/fail, his usual policy is to assign a take home problem set around week 9 or 10 to be handed in at the penultimate class. [As a caveat, make sure you check his current policy on grading as things may change, but the preceding has been the usual policy for a 20 years or more.]
Parking Options
Lot 9 – Located at the northern terminus of Westwood Boulevard, one can purchase a parking pass for about $12 a day at the kiosk in the middle of the street just before Westwood Blvd. ends. The kiosk is also conveniently located right next to the parking structure. If there’s a basketball game or some other major event, Lot 8 is just across the street as well, though it’s just a tad further away from the Math Sciences Building. Since more of the class uses this as their parking structure of choice, there is always a fairly large group walking back there after class for the more security conscious.
Lot 2 – Located off of Hilgard Avenue, this is another common option for easy parking as well. While fairly close to class, not as many use it as it’s on the quieter/darker side of campus and can be a bit more of a security issue for the reticent.
Tip: For those opting for on-campus parking, one can usually purchase a quarter-long parking pass for a small discount at the beginning of the term.
Westwood Village and Neighborhood – Those looking for less expensive options street parking is available in the surrounding community, but use care to check signs and parking meters as you assuredly will get a ticket. Most meters in the surrounding neighborhoods end at either 6pm or 8pm making parking virtually free (assuming you’re willing to circle the neighborhood to find one of the few open spots.)
Broxton Avenue Public Parking at 1036 Broxton Avenue just across from the Fox Village and Bruin Theaters – $5 for entering after 5:01 pm / $9 max for the day
Geffen Playhouse Parking at 10928 Le Conte Ave. between Broxton and Westwood – price varies based on the time of day and potential events (screenings/plays in Westwood Village) but is usually $5 in the afternoon and throughout the evening
Dining Options
More often than not a group of between 4 and 15 students will get together every evening before class for a quick bite to eat and to catch up and chat. This has always been an informal group and anyone from class is more than welcome to join. Typically we’ll all meet in the main dining hall of Ackerman Union (Terrace Foodcourt, Ackerman Level 1) between 6 and 6:30 (some with longer commutes will arrive as early as 3-4pm, but this can vary) and dine until about 6:55pm at which time we walk over to class.
The food options on Ackerman Level 1 include Panda Express, Rubio’s Tacos, Sbarro, Wolfgang Puck, and Greenhouse along with some snack options including Wetzel’s Pretzels and a candy store. One level down on Ackerman A-level is a Taco Bell, Carl’s Jr., Jamba Juice, Kikka (sushi), Buzz, and Curbside, though one could get takeout and meet the rest of the “gang” upstairs.
There are also a number of other on-campus options as well though many are a reasonable hike from the class location. The second-closest to class is the Court of Sciences Student Center with a Subway, Yoshinoya, Bombshelter Bistro, and Fusion.
Naturally, for those walking up from Westwood Village, there are additional fast food options like In-N-Out, Chick-fil-A, Subway, and many others.
Killing Time
For those who’ve already eaten or aren’t hungry, you’ll often find one or more of us browsing the math and science sections of the campus bookstore on the ground level of Ackerman Union to kill time before class. (During and after the pandemic, the bookstore began closing at 5:00 PM.) Otherwise there are usually a handful of us who arrive a half an hour early and camp out in the classroom itself (though this can often be dauntingly quiet as most use the chance to catch up on reading here.) If you arrive really early, there are a number of libraries and study places on campus. Boelter Hall has a nice math/science library on the 8th Floor.
Mid-class Break Options
Usually about halfway through class we’ll take a 10-12 minute coffee break. For those with a caffeine habit or snacking urges, there are a few options:
Kerckhoff Hall Coffee Shop is just a building or two over and is open late as snack stop and study location. They offer coffee and various beverages as well as snacks, bagels, pastries, and ice cream. Usually 5-10 people will wander over as a group to pick up something quick.
The Math Sciences Breezeway, just outside of class, has a variety of soda, coffee, and vending machines with a range of beverages and snacks. Just a short walk around the corner will reveal another bank of vending machines if your vice isn’t covered. The majority of class will congregate in the breezeway to chat informally during the break.
The Court of Sciences Student Center, a four minute walk South, with the restaurant options noted above if you need something quick and more substantial, though few students use this option at the break.
Bathrooms – The closest bathrooms to class are typically on the 5th floor of the Math Sciences Building. The women’s is just inside the breezeway doors and slightly to the left. The men’s rooms are a bit further and are either upstairs on the 6th floor (above the women’s), or a hike down the hall to the left and into Boelter hall. I’m sure the adventurous may find others, but take care not to get lost.
Informal Class Resources
Google Group
Over the years, as an informal resource, members of the class have created and joined a private Google Group (essentially an email list-serv) to share thoughts, ideas, events, and ask questions of each other. There are over 50 people in the group, most of whom are past Miller students, though there are a few other various mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and even professors. You can request to join the private group to see the resources available there. We only ask that you keep things professional and civil and remember that replying to all reaches a fairly large group of friends. Browsing through past messages will give you an idea of the types of posts you can expect. The interface allows you to set your receipt preferences to one email per message posted, daily digest, weekly digest, or no email (you’re responsible for checking the web yourself), so be sure you have the setting you require as some messages are more timely than others. There are usually only 1-2 posts per week, so don’t expect to be inundated.
Study Groups
Depending on students’ moods, time requirements, and interests, we’ve arranged informal study groups for class through the Google Group above. Additionally, since Dr. Miller only teaches during the Fall and Winter quarters, some of us also take the opportunity to set up informal courses during the Spring/Summer depending on interests. In the past, we’ve informally studied Lie Groups, Quantum Mechanics, Algebraic Geometry, and Category Theory in smaller groups on the side.
Dropbox
As a class resource, some of us share a document repository via Dropbox. If you’d like access, please make a post to the Google Group.
Class Notes
A few people within the class use Livescribe.com digital pens to capture not only the written notes but the audio discussion that occurred in class as well (the technology also links the two together to make it easier to jump around within a particular lecture). If it helps to have a copy of these notes, please let one of the users know you’d like them—we’re usually pretty happy to share. If you miss a class (sick, traveling, etc.) please let one of us know as the notes are so unique that it will be almost like you didn’t miss anything at all.
You can typically receive a link to the downloadable version of the notes in Livescribe’s Pencast .pdf format. This is a special .pdf file but it’s a bit larger in size because it has an embedded audio file in it that is playable with the more recent version of Adobe Reader X (or above) installed. (This means to get the most out of the file you have to download the file and open it in Reader X to get the audio portion. You can view the written portion in most clients, you’ll just be missing out on all the real fun and value of the full file.) With the notes, you should be able to toggle the settings in the file to read and listen to the notes almost as if you were attending the class live.
Viewing and Playing a Pencast PDF
Pencast PDF is a new format of notes and audio that can play in Adobe Reader X or above.
You can open a Pencast PDF as you would other PDF files in Adobe Reader X. The main difference is that a Pencast PDF can contain ink that has associated audio—called “active ink”. Click active ink to play its audio. This is just like playing a Pencast from Livescribe Online or in Livescribe Desktop. When you first view a notebook page, active ink appears in green type. When you click active ink, it turns gray and the audio starts playing. As audio playback continues, the gray ink turns green in synchronization with the audio. Non-active ink (ink without audio) is black and does not change appearance.
Audio Control Bar
Pencast PDFs have an audio control bar for playing, pausing, and stopping audio playback. The control bar also has jump controls, bookmarks (stars), and an audio timeline control.
Active Ink View Button
There is also an active ink view button. Click this button to toggle the “unwritten” color of active ink from gray to invisible. In the default (gray) setting, the gray words turn green as the audio plays. In the invisible setting, green words seem to write themselves on blank paper as the audio plays.
Future Classes
Often during the current class Dr. Miller will solicit ideas for future courses. Sometimes this is done informally and other times it’s done by way of a simple survey. If you have ideas of things you’d like to explore in the future, feel free to bring them up during the breaks. Generally Dr. Miller tends to stay on the abstract side of math and away from the “applied”, so you might not get much traction in suggesting things like applied statistics, but this shouldn’t keep you from trying.
Class History
For those interested in past years’ topics, here’s the list I’ve been able to put together since I started in the Fall of 2006:
Dr. Michael Miller, a retired researcher at RAND, has been teaching upper level undergraduate/graduate level math courses for fun at UCLA Extension for over 50 years. This fall he’ll be introducing the areas of groups, fields, and Galois theory from abstract algebra to those interested in abstract math: Groups, Fields, and Galois: Part 1. His intention is to do a follow-on class on Galois theory in the Winter which will use this class as a foundation. If you’re in the Los Angeles area his class starts on September 22, 2026 at UCLA on Tuesday nights from 7-10PM. Register here: https://www.uclaextension.edu/sciences-math/math-statistics/course/groups-fields-and-galois-part-1-math-9001
His courses are thorough and rigorous, but geared toward lifelong learners and beginners in abstract mathematics to allow people better entry points into higher level mathematics. His classes are interesting and relatively informal, and most students who take one usually stay on for future courses. The vast majority of students in the class (from 16-90+ years old) take his classes for fun and regular exposure to mathematical thought, though there is an option to take it for a grade if you like. There are generally no prerequisites for his classes, and he makes an effort to meet the students at their current level of sophistication. For this particular class, if you’ve got some experience in high school algebra and know some preliminaries about mathematical proofs you’ll be ready to dive in.
There are regular commuters joining from as far out as Irvine, Ventura County and even Riverside. Most in the class are dedicated hobbyist and professional mathematicians, engineers, physicists, and others from all walks of life (I’ve seen actors, directors, doctors, artists, poets, retirees, and even house-husbands in his classes.)
If you’re unsure of what you’re getting into, I recommend visiting on the first class to consider joining us for the Fall quarter. Sadly, this is an in-person course. There isn’t an option to take this remotely or via streaming, and he doesn’t typically record his lectures. I hope to see all the Southern California math fans next month!
Course Description
Group theory is recognized as one of the great unifying mathematical disciplines, with far-reaching applications in virtually all scientific (and many non-scientific) fields. This course, the first of a two-quarter sequence that concludes in Winter 2027 with a course on fields and Galois Theory, is geared toward developing the tools of group theory needed to establish the Abel-Ruffini theorem on the insolvability by radicals of the general polynomial of degree five or greater. Results established along this journey will also be applied toward addressing the three classical ruler and compass construction problems of antiquity: trisecting the angle, duplication of the cube, and squaring the circle, as well as Gauss’ surprising characterization of constructible regular polygons.
September 22 – December 1
Tuesday 7:00PM – 10:00PM PT
REG# 410697
Fee: $450.00
Recommended textbook: TBD
Dr. Miller provides enough background and thorough notes that if you’re taking notes on his lectures, you typically won’t need a textbook.
If you’ve never joined the class before (Dr. Miller has been teaching these for 53 years and some of us have been with him for nearly that long; I’m starting into my 20th year personally), I’ve written up some tips and hints.
