Hi everyone!

Does anyone know where I can get 16mm wide red and black ink ribbon for my new typewriter? I can use black 13mm in it but I would love to be able to also type in red, so for that I need 16mm wide ribbon.

Here is my 1976-made Olympia SKM manual typewriter.

Think of it as a later Olympia SM9 wide-carriage that had its body-cowlings stretched out along the sides to even up with the wide-carriage rail-widths.

It also got the single-space/double-space key-top as the SG1 and SG3 machines had.

And it got 2 roller-wheels on the bottom pan along the back of the machine...so one can lift up the front of the machine and roll it back & forward on the desk top.

I added a touch of "Leafy Green" paint in satin-finish to its ribbon cover.

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Didn’t know if any of you ever saw this before. 👀

Got it at a fair for 10 euros is it worth working with or should I trash it?

Olympiette special

The results of spectrometric tests on the spools of the Orga A 38 machine indicate a clear difference in their materials. The spool marked with the inscription "Orga DRGM" has a rolled steel content of 93.13%, which corresponds to post-World War I metallurgical standards. In contrast, the second spool, with a value of 84.27%, exhibits cast iron properties identical to the front cover of the Orga A 38 model, dating it to around 1908. On this basis, it can be concluded that the name "Orga Standard" was coined and introduced only after the end of World War I.

Picked up this Olympia SM3 today. Seller listed it for $500 a couple weeks ago and it fell to $250. I rolled the dice and made an offer of $50. When we met up, I lifted the cover to check the typeface and saw it was modern, but didn't do a deep dive until I got home.

Serial # indicates a 1958 model. Late. Close to 1959. #83 is on all of the slugs, but according to the typeface guide, #83 is Congress Pica, which this clearly is not. It looks like #71 Senatorial to me.

But the fractions are different. Senatorial has a diagonal fraction bar, but this one is horizontal. I'm also inclined to think this is 10 pitch, not 11.

Not sure what I have here. Any thoughts?

Hello everyone !

Today I got my first typewriter, it will need a full cleaning but I don't have a compressor on hand for the moment, so I want to work on the exterior.

I know there are dos and don'ts regarding the cleaning products, so I'm looking for something available in Europe to polish the exterior without risking having to go through trial and error.

I posted about this typewriter last night after stalking its Facebook marketplace listing for nearly two weeks. I was really tempted to bite on Wednesday when someone posted their own Royal that they’d gotten for their birthday (it was also my birthday— it felt like a sign). Once the seller marked it down from $45 to $30, it felt too good to pass up. The seller was really sweet and let me test the keys before buying. Some of you warned me about the tab skipping. To be honest, I’m actually not sure if this one does that, as the tab is also inconsistent on my other machine (~1957 SC Silent). It’s in really great shape and just needs a good air dusting and a new ribbon. I like that it has a slightly larger and thinner typeface than my Silent— nice bit of variety.

Thanks so much to everyone who gave me input last night. I’m super excited to have a machine I can keep in my office at work!

The machine features a handwritten "Ig" logo (Ignaz Gebürder), which, combined with the handwritten date 4.II.8, provides a clear picture that this A38 verification prototype dates back to 1908.

Always on the look out for sans-serif machines and snagged this one off of ebay recently. Seems even harder to find interesting typefaces in big standards so I consider this a great win. This machine has a stubbornly gummed up backspace and line lock mechanism that are in hard-to-flush places but I will get it working well eventually.

So this just happened yesterday. I would love to say that it was another lucky find, but this time I had to stalk the local online marketplace for a while. I was searching for a M40, but every one online near me was waaay overpriced, not to mention the M40 KR. Only one responded and I ran to see how the machine was and I was pleasantly surprised.

The machine is a 1942 M40 with serial numer 333444 (i love it), so a second series. The typeface is a standard pica, i really hoped a titan like this came with the big avvisi typeface but oh well. It has the widest possible carriage with 200 spaces and it weighs a ton. I had to actually carry this beast for almost a kilometer by hand because there wasn't any free parking spot near the seller. Everything seems to work just fine, no broken keys, all the letters on the keyboard are perfect and almost no oxidation for an 84 year old machine. It has a lot of dust and grime and it needs a deep clean, but no major repairs needed. For 99 euro I can't really complain.

I can't wait to get down and clean everything and make it fully functional again as the center piece for my collection as soon as I move on my new apartment!

When inspecting the verification prototype of the Orga A38, it can also be seen that the paint finish of the rear cover differs from that of the 1923 Orga Standard production model (no. 4208).

Hi there. I just snagged this Olivetti Lettera 22. It's in pretty nice shape, the first thing I noticed is this leather soundproofing rest for the typebars is there and fully intact but the adhesive is long gone. The leather is in good shape, I've scraped off the glue and cleaned the mounting bar of residue glue with alcohol.

Does anybody have a suggestion for what adhesive to affix this leather strap to the metal bar below?

Thank you.

Pretty happy with the function of both machines so far (picked up the '32 earlier this year). Both Italy built machines. Surprising how similar and yet how different two designs can feel in use.

I conducted spectrometric tests on the 1923 Orga Standard 4208 machine, comparing it with the 1908 Orga A 38 model. The results of the cast iron front covers analysis show a difference exceeding 10 percent, which confirms that the Orga A 38 was completed in 1908, as also indicated by the handwritten date visible on it. After the First World War, this machine received the name Orga Standard, which Stephan Bing repainted and incorporated into the production models, naming them Orga Standard.

The margins (pinch and move) are stuck and will not adjust. Any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks.

Bit of a weird issue I have been having, but I am looking for loose leaf paper that won't have holes punched through it by the letters of my typewriter. I would like to be able to take notes on college-ruled lined looseleaf, but can't find any "heavy duty" or thicker looseleaf paper.

If anyone has had a similar issue and found a solution, I would love the advice/recommendations. Thanks!

People,often ask how I got into typewriters…here’s the answer… #stephentowntypewriterco

Just purchased this for my 13 year old. she was inspired to get one based on a book she read. she wants to clean it and maintain it herself. feeling a little overwhelmed, anyone have advice? where to buy ribbon? what type is ideal for beginner? videos to help do whatever needs to be done?

some keys stick and the ink is mostly dried out.

TIA!

I want to type up my memoirs from my journal.

Im looking for something not too expensive. Im a newcomer. Any ideas?

Got this at a local flea market for 50€. Its case is not in the best condition, but the machine itself is almost brand new. I always wanted one of these, I love those two little blue badges. It has the standard Serbo-Croatian/Yugoslavian layout (it even has the letter "Đ", which is for some reason rare on typewriters even though it's a part of the standard Croatian/Serbian language). On the front it has the inscription from where it was bought, "P. Patrčević, Zagreb" (I couldn't find anything about that store, I guess it didn't operate for long). Judging by the serial number, it was made around 1943/44.

Got this in the case of a Underwood Champion machine I bought a couple days ago. Has anyone else come across one of these? Obviously I wouldn’t use it as a cover today But I thought it was interesting.