SM3 induction

Surprise, surprise, I have decided this typewriter is a keeper. Now on permanent display (and with a foot-fetish friendlier photo) in the Typewriter Heaven Olympia gallery.

Underwood stripper

Regarding the previous post: Shordzi asked about the brand of paint stripper I used to remove the hand-painted brown finish (I think it is model maker's enamel). The can recommends 40 minutes. I left it for 10 before dunking in a bucket of water, brushing and rinsing it off.

Warning: This softened the decals to some extent, especially on the back of the frame where I left it on for about 15mins. This means that the writing is indistinct. The underlying original finish seems unaffected by the stripper.

Underwood uncovered

This looked sooo much nicer on ebay!

This 1930s machine has sat neglected in the loft for several years but these silver surfers over the pond have shown that a new paint job is achievable, without too much stress. It is a crying shame that removing the paint will destroy the original Underwood decals.

Thinking that if someone could paint it so badly and in such a crappy colour, the technical challenge of dismantling this Underwood wouldn't be beyond me. It didn't take long to find the two screws fixing the aluminium body to the its guts. I'm going to run into a challenge when it comes to the feet. The front ones are bolted to the frame but specifically shaped to take the nut and and bolt and grooved to accommodate the case fixings. Maybe I can whittle something. The back feet also need replacing...

STOP PRESS: I just had a quick dab with paint stripper. The hand-painted brown has started to come off fairly easily - decals and original enamel pretty much OK. Maybe this could turn into a renovation rather than a reinvention?

The glue sticking the aftermarket interior sponge foam (???!!!) is harder to get off than the paint!

Wilhelmshaven vs Frankfurt

Got one of these?

The Emoticon Legend types thank you letters to aunts, uncles and grandparents for birthday presents

...get some of these :-)

However will we survive when these are all used up? Note lack of bar-code on the 1980s' packaging

Mint Imperial

...well, almost mint. Here's a second booklet hand-made by the cherubim in Typewriter Heaven along with the Antares Parva manual. This one is about a basket-shift tabulator from an outpost of Imperial's empire on England's East Coast*.

Open publication

*Try saying that with a mouthful of Rice Crispies.

Disclaimer: publication not intended as a user guide or maintenance manual.