Old Typewriters

[BlackWorksInc]

I recently aquired in my possession a rather aged, but mechanically sound Royal typewriter.

It appears to be a Royal Varsity "D" (not entirely sure there, but it's the best I came up with), so somewhere around 1940~1950's?

In any case, I have always liked typewriters; there's just something about the mechanical ticking of the keys and the solid "DING" as you near the end of the page. A sort of mechanical catharsis as you tap along your words on paper, your story being recorded one key stroke at a time.

Enough romanticizing, the main reason for the thread is that I am having a hard time finding a repair manual or a real guide on disassembly/reassembly. I want to try and restore this typewriter. Mechanically it functions very well, but some parts have a bit of rust here and there and she could use a good cleaning and some lube to get her running smooth as silk (though I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the rubber bits like the roller and feet...)

Anyone who has any information or anything in this venue would be greatly appreciated! Also feel free to chat about typewriters if you want also.

 

[BrianSD_42]

You may also want to try reddit.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

You may also want to try reddit.

I may sign up for Reddit and check it out.

I made a smidge of headway today (removed the outer panels and set them aside and was able to reseat the set screws on the roller as the driving rod was a bit loose).

I figured some old farts like [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] still used typewriters (and probably an abacus! j/k) and might have some insight.

The tricky part is just all the damn springs and rods, it's hard to get a good picture (for reference on reassembly) with all the mechanism in the way!

Anyways, here's a picture of the model I have:

(mine is a bit more "dull" & "dusty" looking)

Shame there doesn't seem to be that many typewriter fans on here.

Post Note-
Fun fact, most old typewriters lack a "1" and "!" key.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Have you Googled "restoring typewriters"? I just tried that and saw a lot of info.

 

[1engineer]

I may sign up for Reddit and check it out.

I made a smidge of headway today (removed the outer panels and set them aside and was able to reseat the set screws on the roller as the driving rod was a bit loose).

I figured some old farts like [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] still used typewriters (and probably an abacus! j/k) and might have some insight.

The tricky part is just all the damn springs and rods, it's hard to get a good picture (for reference on reassembly) with all the mechanism in the way!

Anyways, here's a picture of the model I have:

(mine is a bit more "dull" & "dusty" looking)

Shame there doesn't seem to be that many typewriter fans on here.

Post Note-
Fun fact, most old typewriters lack a "1" and "!" key.

Get off my lawn.

I actually had a typing class in the 7th grade but computers were already replacing a typewriter by the time I was in high school. 2017 will make it 30 years I have been logging on to the internet. First computer class I had in college used punch cards. Amazing.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Have you Googled "restoring typewriters"? I just tried that and saw a lot of info.

I did see a lot of good information for general stuff (which is still nice), but I was hoping for a more specific Royal Varsity service manual. I may be able to piece together a rough idea of what I am doing based off that stuff on Google though.

I want to do a full tear-down and rebuild if I can, hence the desire for more complete information.
[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION]

I was born just around the time computers started taking off, it's amazing how far we've come from floppy (the original 5" floppy) disks and MB of hard drive space to processors pushing 4ghz and solid state drives touting Terabytes of data!

I'm a bit of an old codger at heart though, have a soft spot for old things like typewriters, old school soda machines, industrial equipment, ect. Rather ironic considering my age and relative exposure to new technology through out my years.

 

[Yukon4Runner]

A different time...

 

[rallypoint_1]

^ WOW...what a dish!!!

 

[CXS]

Get off my lawn.

I made it through college hand writing everything since I couldn't afford a typewriter. I lusted for one of these!

 

[Ray Dunakin]

I wonder if you can still get ribbons for these old typewriters?

 

[wallytoo]

i like typewriters, i just can't help the OP, as i know nothing about them.

i still have a 70s smith-corona electric typewriter, with a soft carrying case/cover. used it for my term papers at UNH in the 80s and early 90s.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

A different time...

She could type on my keys... :happy:

 

[JBurt]

I've got nothing specific but if you need the roller recovered you might try western roller corporation in bend Oregon. They'll today them in urethane. I know lots of guys have had good luck getting feed rollers for wood planers fine there.

I hear you on old equipment. I still use my grandpa's table saw from the 40's, similar era drills and jigsaw, hand tools, etc.

I'd really like an old delta drill press

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I wonder if you can still get ribbons for these old typewriters?

Yeah you can still get them, worst case they don't fit so you roll them onto the original reels (assuming you still have them). I had a set come in last night for when I get her back together again.

I've got nothing specific but if you need the roller recovered you might try western roller corporation in bend Oregon. They'll today them in urethane. I know lots of guys have had good luck getting feed rollers for wood planers fine there.

I hear you on old equipment. I still use my grandpa's table saw from the 40's, similar era drills and jigsaw, hand tools, etc.

I'd really like an old delta drill press

Hmm, didn't realize there was a company in town that did that. The rollers hardly have any cracking on them, they're just hard. So I'm gonna try soaking them in wintergreen oil and alcohol and see if that'll bring the rubber back since it seems to work really well. It's expensive to get those parts coated in new rubber.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Yeah... so if any of you guys were wondering...

The Wintergreen Oil/Alcohol mixture worked rather well... sorta.

So the Platen is made of either a different rubber or something else entirely... that split and peeled off rather than softening (so I'll have to get it re-coated anyways...).

But the other rubber bits are soft and pliable like brand new, so I can say that if you ever need to soften up an intake boot or something this method works well!