Back from the brink: 1927 Bing from John.

1927 Bing No 2. 

You may recall that a little while ago I got a 'Bing' typewriter off John. The machine was beaten, battered and bent. It was also missing some fairly rather crucial parts - namely all three bearings from the carriage. To all intents and purposes this machine had largely had its day.

But there's just something about a typewriter I have received from someone. I now feel responsible for that machine, and I feel that - there's no point taking a typewriter off someone else, if you're not going to be responsible for giving it a future.

I could have shoved a few pins of dowel into the carriage and left it as a display piece. But that  felt like giving up can copping out. The trouble was, that I just simply didn't have the bearings to place back in. Nor did I have any information on the size of bearings that I would need - a pretty important piece of information, as you couldn't just simply 'guess' the size.

I also really, really wanted a working Bing. I've largely decided that I want a collection of Art Deco era machines, and the Bing was an excellent example of Art Deco and early Bauhaus influenced design.

So... I set to work. I dropped in a couple of bearings that I had hanging around from the Valentine project, and found them to be way too small. But I looked at the wear marks on the tracks of the old bearings, and got a rough idea of how much larger the original bearings were.

I took a few measurements, and a few more measurements and did a few calculations. I didn't have the ideal equipment to get the best measurements (remember, when it comes to bearings, you need to be able to get the sizes right to mere 10ths of a millimeter) so I was just kind of winging it.

Once I had estimated the size, I sourced a handful of bearings from the engineering shop. I got 4 of a size that was as close as possible to my estimation, 4 of the next available size larger, and 4 of the closest size smaller.

I needn't have bothered. It turns out that my estimation was correct, and the first size was right. I estimated 7.3mm, and the closest I could find was 7.14. The bearings were a touch under-tolerance for the machine once installed, as confirmed that my 7.3 estimation was pretty much right.

So now I had the bearings, and a bit of a phobia of putting them in. I still vividly recall the nightmare of trying to get the Valentine's bearings back in, and I expected this machine to be just as difficult.

But it wasn't so. With 15 minutes of thinking and planning, and 2 minutes of doing, I had the bearings perfectly lined into the typewriter. I breathed a sigh of relief then filled the tracks with lubricant, and started to work the lubricant in by moving the carriage back and forth.

The draw band needed to be replaced as well. This stupidly took even longer than the bearings to did, largely because of the unusual mainspring. I produced a new band out of 60lb fishing line, and soon everything was working (sort of) as it should. There's some pushing and prodding to do yet, but once again the typewriter was back to life, and mostly operating.

The aluminum keys are actually quite beautiful, and unique, and I don't know of any other typewriter that has anything like them. The action on the keys is also quite snappy - and it certainly gives a hell of a thump against the platen. But that wasn't the end of what is unique about the design of this typewriter. As I inspected it closely, I found this typeface:

I saw Ton's write up on the Bing some time ago, which contains an interesting example of the typeface. The typeface looks largely the same as my bing, but it isn't. Actually, there's some significant and subtle differences that gives a nod at the Bauhaus influence of the design. Can't see it? Have a look at the 'i', and then the lower case 'L'. Compare it to Ton's example when you have a moment.


I don't have a ribbon that will fit this typewriter, as it is a 10mm ribbon, - or maybe even an 8mm. But I shoved into the carriage a folded scrap of paper, and stuffed an old and somewhat dried ribbon between the prongs of the ribbon non-vibrator (it doesn't move... ever) to try and squeeze a sample out of this machine.

For now... I call this typeface 'Fat Vogue', until someone gives me an idea of its actual name.

This machine still needs a bit of adjusting and problem solving, but this sample gives you an idea of the structure of the typeface.

The Bing is never going to be someone's primary writing machine. It doesn't have any margin settings, it doesn't have a carriage lever, and it doesn't have a bell... That's right, this Bing has no 'bing'. But it isn't an awful typewriter either, and while many consider it a toy it really is a simple and low-cost typewriter that was made in an era when Germany was suffering severe financial and social problems.

The original idea of Bauhaus design was to bring art and functionality to the wider community in an affordable way. This principal is very much in the spirit of the design of the Bing, and defines its character. Some people see it as a unique machine, while others see it as a bit of an oddity.

This machine has quite a way to go before it again is a fully functioning typewriter. Its got some dings that need to be bent out, and some bits and pieces that need to be fixed and adjusted. But getting the bearings in, and finding the typewriter is largely working is a major step in that direction.

Now... time to fire up the CAD software again, and design a 3D printable set of replacement spools.

Was this 1920's enough, Sophia? :D

And again, a sincere thank-you to John for this marvelous typewriter. 

They may be just props, but I like it.

I'm particularly fond of women with intelligence. A sharp wit, a cutting intellect... what's not to like? As far as physical attributes are concerned, curly hair and a cheeky smile are pretty much at the top of the list.

And so I found myself sitting down to watch 'Canberra Confidential' on Channel 2 (Australia's government funded television body - the ABC), which was being hosted by one of my favorite political writers - Annabel Crabb.  She's always offered some very considered and thoughtful political commentary, and has some great curly hair and a very warm smile.

The show was great. It delved into some of the more bizarre back room (and often lounge room) historical goings on in our political capital - and was worth the watch. Even if it was more along the lines of entertainment, than political discussion.

But hey... with a title like 'Canberra Confidential', what more did you expect? I just wish there was more of it!

So, I'm guilty... I enjoyed the show. And I enjoyed it all the more for seeing Annabel Crabb sitting behind a great looking Remington 5 typewriter, along with some great Deco era decor. Gear that I'd feel right at home at.

Is it wrong to find this.... visually appealing?

 And while we're at it. Is this Remington one of Rob Messengers? I mean... he was local after all.

I want one.
The typewriter. Not Annebel Crabb.

A little spot of spotting!

 

The sun arose into a clear sky over Brisbane Saturday, and I awoke rather excited about taking a little trip out to Ipswich. 

I'm still adjusting to my new job and new hours, but I grabbed an extra shift at work on Friday night that saw me working till about 10pm just to keep my funds respectable. Hospitals are weird places after 7pm and it has been a very long time since I have done the after hours shift at work. At 9 o'clock when there's pretty much nobody in the corridors, all the doors on the campus automatically shut and lock-down. If you're in the hallways at the time, it is as though a fleet of ghosts have slammed all the doors shut and locked you out.

Despite working late, I still sprung out of bed ready for the drive - albeit with a slight headache. It is a fair way from my home to the town of Ipswich, but conditions were brilliant, and it looked like a lovely day to be out on the road. The objective for the day was to attend the Ipswich Antiques and collectables fair and have a browse - and hopefully spot some typers out in the wild. 

It took an hour to get to 'Ippy', which is a city just a little to the west from Brisbane. It's an odd little town that originally grew as a trade hub for the rural community, but became something of a miner's town in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, where the outskirts of Ippy were mined for coal to feed Brisbane's power needs as it mechanized with steam then electricity. 

When the mines closed - largely due to a string of underground disasters in the 1960's, the town relied on its rail-yards and train workshops to continue its economy. Now, the city is an odd mix of rural industry and tourism. A lot of people think about Ipswich by its 'blue collar' and somewhat impoverished outer suburbs, while others think of it by its proud heritage. Unlike Brisbane much of Ipswich has been able to keep a lot of its characteristic old buildings and homesteads.

It is a city that shows how much of the charm has been stripped away from Brisbane and its rush to ditch the past and replace it with the new and shiny and somewhat temporary.

So I was very curious about what might turn up at the fair. Naturally, I was inclined to do a bit of typewriter spotting - and perhaps buying if the price was right and the machine interesting enough.

 Upon arrival we were greeted at the door by this magnificent Ariel motorcycle which looks as though it has been someone's loving project. The day was beautiful, and why wouldn't you take your pride and joy out for a ride!

 I've likened restoring typewriters to working on Motorcycles before, and I'm sure many of the typosphere can appreciate what I'm talking about when you see a chrome, metal and rubber beast like this. My grandfather, a typewriter mechanic, lost the ends of two of his fingers while working on his motorcycle when he was younger. Oddly, it never seemed to stop him from being able to fix typewriters - or ride motorcycles. However, I have no intention of repeating family history.

 

Ms Jane was with me, and after we'd ohhh'd and ahhhh'd over the motorcycle for a bit we made our way inside.

The day was beginning to get quite hot, and the shed that the fair was being held in was really starting to cook up with the heat and the dense crowd inside. Once we'd gotten through the door, we had to push our way through clogged aisles of people inspecting wares and haggling over the price of a dainty little tea set or a Princess Dianna plate.

I never understood the charm of collecting plates. But there were plenty of collectable plates here. The Dianna ones always seemed especially gaudy. There were some spectacular jewelery pieces, but Ms Jane didn't have the budget to buy what she liked the most.

  

 Towards the back of the shed the crowds dropped off a little. But the temperature was several degrees hotter. I was starting to feel the sweat run down my back, and almost every trader exclaimed a complaint about the heat the moment you attempted to engage with them. 

As Paul McDermott (of DAAS) once said: "Of course we sweat in Queensland. It's all we do. If we didn't like sweating, we wouldn't live here".  But as I'm a Victorian at heart - my point of view is "F**k this heat. Let's find some air-conditioning before my shirt shows a sweat patch. You know how much this black shirt cost"?

I"d sussed out a Kerosene lamp that seemed to be a good price, but I didn't buy. I thumbed through a few books and rumbled through bits of junk under tables. Antique tools always seem to be a big hit, and oddly enough the old bottle openers that I saw selling at the Antiques auction a couple of months ago, seemed to be liberally scattered around the table with these antique tools. How very Australian - you need some beers open in order to be able to use these old world tools. 

The first typewriter I stumbled across wasn't really a typewriter at all, but rather a toy typer.

At $45, I felt compelled to leave it exactly where it was. I clanked the keys for a little bit, and well and truly affirmed that this machine had no place in my collection. It looked in great condition, but being in great condition doesn't simply equate to being a great machine. And besides.... it has a creepy as all get-up Dali-lama doll next to it, which I'm sure would posses its soul and have it quoting evil platitudes. 

As to be expected, and no doubt to the joy of our friends in Geneva, there were a lot.... and I mean a lot... of sewing machines. Singer seemed to be the brand of choice, and there were a lot of the old-style cast metal machines about. As it happens, I already gotten a sewing machine myself recently, so it was time to move on...

Not far from the Petite toy typewriter I discovered a nice and curvy Alder Tippa.

 

The photo doesn't really show it, but this machine had a few nasty looking blemishes in the plastic. I've wanted one of this model Tippa for a while, but at $55.... I wasn't too sure if I wanted to grab this one. I asked if they had the case, and they did.... but I passed it up anyway. 

Outside of that, the collection was a bit thin with typewriters. There was only one more to be had.... and it was this Imperial desktop machine:

$200? No thanks. The Imperial was not coming home with me today. Too heavy, too ugly. Too expensive. I bet it is a great machine... but... 

So that was that. I didn't co home empty handed though. I ended up getting this amazing 1950"s fan.

The powder blue was quite striking, but it needs a bit of a clean up. It works far better than most of my modern fans, and we've already made good use of this over hot weekend. As I walked out the door one of the traders yelled at me "Hey! Could you turn that thing on"? As he slowly melted into his seat.


The Maryborough fair is on next fortnight, but I doubt I'll be driving up there. However, in about a month, it's the Toowomba fair. And Toowomba beautifully interesting town.

So... do you type-in here often?

It was a glorious Sunday morning, but I was feeling in far from magnificent form. I crawled out of bed with aching muscles, and a rather sore head. I was very tired after the week's adjustment to my new (old) job.

I caught up with some of the activity from the Typosphere online, while listening to the congregation of the Samoan community church about half a block away as they belted out harmonies that instantly made me feel I was on a tropical island somewhere. I then cooked up a breakfast and got some typewriters ready.

Mr Pinky Beecroft was the first to be added to the pile. He's a pink Lettera 22 which I've been readying as a gift to 'Baroness'. My friend Mars had made a tentative gesture that she was interested in coming, so I picked out my Script Royalite 220 for her. I then rounded off my collection with my chrome Royal, which was going to be its debut outing.

I thought I could bluff my way past the tiredness. But after looking at both Robert's photos, and others taken by Ms Jane I realised that I probably didn't carry off 'tired' with the grace and elegance that I thought I had.

Not to worry.

I got to the Breakfast creek hotel at a time approaching about 1:30. Loaded with typewriters and other bits, I did a quick cursory look around the hotel to find the museum room - but didn't quite seem to find it. As it turned out, I had. My understanding was that we'd had the room booked for just us. But they had shuffled in a few extra plastic tables - which were filled by patrons of the pub having their lunch. Some of which turned out to be Rob Messenger, John and Margaret. (I hope I got that spelling correct)

The pub was mostly standing room only. It was the first cool but sunny day that we'd had for a month, and the hoteliers were scrambling to find enough space to put everyone in the massive complex. People were fighting (politely) over parking spots in the car park - not to mention every disabled parking spot had been filled by cars that were missing the requisite sticker.

There was a little anxiety at first about setting out our machines in what appeared to be a room of the bar. But by the time I had laid out my three machines, and a few other people had put theirs on the table, it was pretty obvious that we were dominating the room.

Other patrons around us started to look confused, and oddly anxious themselves as we set up our glistening writing machines on the table. But they soon relaxed, and in fact some of them even came over and tried a few of them out!

I helped John get a handful of his machines out from the back of his car, and as I did a lady drove past me and called my name. I turned around and was greeted by a smiling face. "I'm Kate"! she said.

Kate drove off to find a parking spot, while I carried in Johns Visigraph machine. I walked through the complex with this heavy but beautiful piece of machinery cradled in my arms, while people gazed at me in surprise as I passed them. The looks were priceless.

Before long Steve Snow turned up with a handful of machines. He carefully placed a Corona 3 and a Corona 4 on the table, before unzipping a mushroom Lettera 22 that was in excellent condition, which he sat next to Mr Pinky Beecroft.

Kate had a small case on wheels, which she extracted a lovely Royal Deluxe out of. The machine still clung to the dust of its many years, but was actually in much better condition than the difficult to clean crinkle paint let on. The machine felt snappy and tight, and would probably scrub up to be an amazing little machine. But in its current state it was a charming machine. I'd never quite seen one line it before.

At the other end of the bench John's astonishingly beautiful Royal 5 flatbed was ruling the roost. This machine is in amazing condition. ...and someone had just slotted in a piece of paper. I couldn't help myself. I had wanted to try one of these for a very long time, and I have to say - I wasn't disappointed.

Definitely the Queen Royal, flanked by the prince and princess. 

John's Visigraph was also attracting a lot of attention. I myself had never seen a machine setup so beautifully. It typed very well too - with the exception of the missing 'e' from the type-stub.

Between them say my Chrome Royal P. My chrome machine looked so small and insignificant between them. But its shiny looks made it an unmissable machine. The customised keys also attracted a lot of attention - but I'll tell you more about this machine at a later date. (i.e. when it is actually finished)

Mr Pinky Beecroft seemed to be the darling of the show to the women that wandered past. Most of the visitors that we had drop onto a chair and start typing, almost invariably gave Pinky a go. Sure - they also had a go at other machines, but Pinky was never  close to being lonely for most of the day. Which was odd... because he wasn't the best to type on.

Rino's Hermes 3000 was there too. The BMX tyre repair seemed to have worked beautifully on it. I'm even inclined to try it on a machine or two of my own now. Or at least, when I have the time. The keyboard was quite a surprise though, and Rino suggested that it was German. But I wasn't quite so sure. I'm going to have to do a bit more research on this.

The Royalite 220 surprised a lot of people, and I saw Rino giving it a go on several occasions. On the other hand, the Everest Mod 90 surprised me with its magnificent feel. I loved it! It was a great machine. However it sadly drew short of being perfect (in my opinion) with its awfully long arcing carriage lever.

A young blond lady sat down at Pinky, and asked if she could give him a go. "Sure"! We replied almost unanimously. The lady pressed down on a key and nothing seemed to happen, so I simply told her "Give that key a good hit. Don't be shy of it"!

And so she did, and she was off and writing.

Or at least until she asked "Where's the return key"?

People seemed to be largely enjoying themselves. I got to meet new people. They got to meet each other, and Steve got some great advice on how to fix his Smith Premier machine.

Rino and Kate were both very interesting to chat to. 

And I got a book! Rino left me with a copy of his "Song logic - essays in Music" - which a cursory look at gave me the feeling that it will intelligently accompany some of the themes introduced in Craig Schuftan's "Hey Nietzsche! Leave them kids alone" book that I'd read a little while ago. I'm looking forward to spending some time with it.

Meanwhile..... 

There was knitting..... 

* * *

We had a few people drop in from the outside bar, the inside bar, and the other bars - to take a look. Some of them were even brave enough to sit at the keyboards and give it a try. My initial anxiety about being in such an exposed area turned out to make the day all the more enjoyable.

Eventually we packed up our machines and headed home. I brought my car around along side Robert's in the quickly emptying car park, and transferred a few machines that Rob had picked up from Scienceworks into the boot of my car. A large family wandered by and a small army of heads turned. Pointing at and IBM Selectric a woman announced to her children "That's what we used for a computer when I was a kid". It must have been the Selectric, as I very much doubt it would have been the Remington 7 that I was holding between my arms at the time.

 We'd decided to make this an annual event, so those who missed out this year, all I can say is: don't be such a pussy, and come next year. Although, we're probably not going to have it in a pub next time.

Soon everyone had driven off into the sunset. Ms Jane and I returned inside and got ourselves a nice breakfast creek dinner,  and by the time I got home I was exhausted. I left home with 3 typewriters, and came back with 7. Carrying them up the stairs into my house almost proved my downfall - literally. But I was still too excited not to have a bit of a play with the Remington 7.

But that's another project for another day.

What can you buy for $18 from the Lifeline store?

 

All the news that's fit to type.

 

REMINDER: Brisbane type-in - 2pm this Sunday at the Museum room at the Breakfast Creek Hotel.

 

 

 

Reasing = reading. Urg! 

Filthy Labs: the PTFE conclusion

Welcome back to Filthy Labs. 

Previously in Filthy Labs, we began to assess the effectiveness of a "Wet" Teflon based lubricant spray on  the functionality of a previously gummed up typewriter. The machine in question was an Adler Gabby 25, which had been filled with a capricious amount of WD40 by its previous owner. The WD40 was cleaned out by an extensive blast of degreaser more recently, but after the machine sat idle for some months it began to jam up again significantly.

Two types of lubricant were applied to parts of this typewriter. The details of which can be found HERE. Both of the lubricants were used on the segment across selected groups of type bars. A control group was established of type bars that were left UN-lubricated.

*Please note. Typewriter manufacturers do not advise the lubrication of the segment.*

The Gabby on cleaning day, 3.5 months ago. 

Hypothesis: 

After an initial 3 months of storage, this typewriter began to return to very stiff operation - despite the WD40 being removed. Lubrication was applied to the machine in controlled areas, ensuring comparison between the control and non control group type-bars. The control group consisted of type bars in the segment that had not been treated.

The Teflon spray should have both cleaned and kept the type-bars lubricated, while the control bars are expected to return to their previously 'sticky' state.

Method:

After basic operation and initial testing, this machine was kept in storage - inactive, for 3 months through the hot summer period. It is then tested with some rigorous typing.

 Observation:

 

Has it really been 3 months since I last wrote on this machine? Damn! How time flies. 

I grabbed the Adler typewriter out of the cupboard, fed some paper into it, and was immediately reminded of how  incredibly smooth the operation of the carriage was. Over time the waxy 'dry' lubricant that I had applied into the tracks and had left the operation feeling very refined. I have observed this in numerous machines that I have applied the 'dry' lubricant into, and I still feel surprised by how dramatic the change is.

I began typing on the machine, and found the treated group keys (PTFE spray) was completely functional and smooth to operate. However, one of the keys on the right hand side of the keyboard still felt slow - and it seemed to stick a little, before settling back into place. It was a key that held a couple of fraction functions, and I checked my previous attempt at using this key, and found I had barely operated it previously. 

the 'Q' key that I had injected the 'dry' lubricant into last time as it was super-stuck, operated flawlessly. 

The control group keys had not simply stuck as they had before. The number keys in the control group showed a significant sticking, but in general letter keys operated back and forth typically.

However, there was a distinct difference between the keys in the control group and the keys in the treated group. The control group keys required a notably heavier touch to type with, and they felt as though they were offering considerably greater resistance during typing than the treated group, and the type slugs sometimes rested slightly away from the type-bar rest.

Conclusion:

The idea of studying this lubricant was to find a spray-on lube that would be more effective to use on a typewriter - particularly a gummed up machine, than the often miss-used WD40. It succeeded in producing improved operation over a machine that had been WD'd and it subsequently cleaned whatever residual muck was gummed in there - out. In operation, the lubricant made a significant improvement to the functioning of an otherwise quite dull machine. However, this may not be the case in a machine that was in excellent condition and hadn't been bastardized by a gummed up compound

The lubricant didn't show any obvious bonding depositing of dry residue over the 3 month period, but it hadn't been exposed to significant amounts of dust to trail if it would bond to dust and hold it. Residual lubricant had been brushed and wiped away, and as such there wasn't a lot of surplus lube to bond with dust anyway.

The TF2 wet spray did the job effectively, as did the focused application of the TF2 dry. The results between them did not seem significantly different, however the dry lubricant has a much lower risk of catching dust.

So.. Is it an improvement over using WD40? 

Well! At this point I would personally suggest it over WD40. Obviously with a jammed typewriter you need to give the machine a decent workout no matter what you do with it. Repeated movement of the type-bars helps loosen them up, and the addition of the TF2 lube in this situation certainly assisted this process. The treated parts of the machine worked brilliantly.

Trouble is, recently I've come across several typewriter repair professionals using WD40 in their repair work. At this point I realized that I had made a crucial error in judgement about WD40. I'd simply assumed that the collective knowledge on its use - which was generally a negative opinion  - was true. However some cursory research has shown me that the communal opinion of WD40 may be less and fact, and something more of a meme or a false truism.

This, in my opinion needs further investigation. I think it is time for the Filthy Labs to have a much closer look at WD40 - and what effects it may have on your typewriter.

The PTFE isn't a magic bullet. But, if you really find yourself needing to get your typewriter working with a lubricant, this stuff produces clean and excellent results.