1 - typeset
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Two typewriters in as many days
This is getting out of hand. I've bought eight in less than two months. I'm running out of places to hide them from my girlfriend. Thank God the garage is ample and dark.
I bought the Royal Futura 800 at an antique mall yesterday. I was smitten by its looks and reeled in by the price tag, $30. When I replaced the ribbon, I realized the font (gasp!) is in italics. That's a first for me. I agree with the opinion of Typewriter Review: it feels cheap and hollow. I don't know what I'll use it for-----maybe love letters?
I bought the Corona Four today for considerably more ($175). This one too seduced me, though I knew it wasn't a heavy-duty typing machine. That's fine: I'll mostly use it for missives and poems. I just typed with it and was struck by how hard the keys hit the platen. I use two sheets of paper, and when I took them out the force of the keys was such that the sheets stuck together. In fact, there were small holes on the first sheet. Is this normal? The platen is rock hard, though polished.
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- igotztowrite
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
Well, if you find a good place to hide them, let me know! 
I too bought a machine today. A Hermes 3000 - 2nd generation (boxy body). A local seller who I previously bought from contacted me. It was too good to pass up. Mostly, I wanted to compare the 2nd generation to the 1st generation (round body). It's a keeper. Now i need to sell the round body one before my hubby finds out that I have another Hermes.
As far as the hard platen, they shouldn't look polished. A piable platen actually looks rather dull. Try giving it a good cleaning followed by applying a rubber rejuvenator. You may have to do this multiple times. If that doesn't work, another option is too send it off to get it refurbished which is a more expensive route.
- SoucekFan
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
igotztowrite wrote:
As far as the hard platen, they shouldn't look polished. A piable platen actually looks rather dull. Try giving it a good cleaning followed by applying a rubber rejuvenator. You may have to do this multiple times.
When doing multiple applications of rubber rejuvenator, make sure to do be conservative with the amount and check between coatings. Too much rejuvenator can swell the rubber significantly. I have only tried Rubber Renue, so I can not speak for all brands. It can definitely help with cleaning and grip, but I wouldn't expect miracles in the softening department. Also, Rubber Renue smells like a combination of a chemical spill and wintergreen chewing tobacco spit, so be careful where you apply it. I am not sure if all brands have as much stench, but that one does. The platen will smell for a few days.
- igotztowrite
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
Yes! Use sparingly. Great point! Patience, gentleness, and slowness is a good thing on these beauties.
With added assumption that he is fairly new to this obsession - Another is to do get information on platen removal before attempting to remove them. Some are easy. Some are difficult. And always be mindful of protecting the paint when using any cleaning products.
- KatLondon
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
There shouldn't be any need to remove the platen? I've certainly never taken one out just to apply the rejuvenator, which you can do with it in situ by turning it as you rub the cloth on the exposed bit of the platen. I use a thing called Platenclene. (All brand names are different across the Atlantic.) If the platen is so hard that it's sticking two sheets of paper together, tbh that sounds like it will need DOZENS of applications, and probably - frankly - recovering.
But there is hope! The hardest platen I own is on my SG1, and I've found that Spazmelda's discovery of mylar stencil sheets for backing has made a big difference. With a sheet of mylar and two backing pages, plus my page, it is actually usable. There's a thread about it...
- igotztowrite
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
There shouldn't be any need to remove the platen?
If it's not too difficult, my preference is to remove the platen so that I can clean the surrounding areas that are so difficult to clean otherwise including cleaning the feed rollers. BUT again, would suggest doing a lot of research and take photos of the mechanisms.
BTW, my SG1 that I currently bought has a fairly good platen. Every Hermes 3000 that I've ran across had extremely rock hard platens although, they've all had great dark impart Hmmmm
- KatLondon
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
Hermes apparently all have rock-hard platens - though I have to say my 3000 is fine. (Except that the line selector just broke one day and then I tried to fix it and now it's completely broken because I have no earthly clue how to fit it all back together inside there.) I splurged and got the 2000 re-covered, as it was just silly, and the machine's a dream now so I'm happy!
My point was that if Typeset is a novice at all this he shouldn't feel he needs to either get himself in a pickle trying to remove a platen, or give up. He can just do what can be done easily enough for now, and the rest can always come later.
- igotztowrite
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
My point was that if Typeset is a novice at all this he shouldn't feel he needs to either get himself in a pickle trying to remove a platen, or give up. He can just do what can be done easily enough for now, and the rest can always come later.
Most definitely! From learning, I have a jar of pickles reminding me to be careful! 
- Uwe
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
When doing multiple applications of rubber rejuvenator, make sure to do be conservative with the amount and check between coatings. Too much rejuvenator can swell the rubber significantly.
I'll have to look into the brand you mentioned because I've yet to see a platen swell with the product I use, not even after over a dozen applications of it.
It can definitely help with cleaning and grip, but I wouldn't expect miracles in the softening department.
It must be a different chemical. I primarily use rejuvenator to soften, with the added benefit that it does a great job of cleaning. I had a rock hard platen in a Royal that caused the typeface to blow holes through both the ribbon and paper, but after many applications of rejuvenator the paper and ribbon are no longer being damaged. That's not to say the spray made the platen as good as new, but it's the difference between having an unusable typewriter and one that works well enough to avoid the cost of a platen recovering.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- M. Höhne
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Re: Two typewriters in as many days
.... snip ....,
I realized the font (gasp!) is in italics. ... snip .... I agree with the opinion of Typewriter Review: it feels cheap and hollow. I don't know what I'll use it for-----maybe love letters?
.... snip ....
It feels cheap and hollow. I know---I'll use it for love letters!
