1 of 1- robmck
- Speed Champion
Offline - From: Seattle, WA
- Registered: 31-1-2022
- Posts: 326
Choppers or parts sources?
We've all been need of a part or two as we go about repairing or restoring machines.
Heading to ebay, there's a few reputable sellers like Greg Fudacz that you can trust only parts out machines that truly are severely damaged in some way and that parting out the machine is probably for the best.
Then, there are several sellers that clearly are getting whole, possibly workable machines, disassembling them, and parting them out (e.g. those below), but I can't tell if they're key choppers willing to go the extra mile to part out the rest of the machine. Sometimes the condition of the body panels and parts implies that the machine was at least nearly functional. I asked one of these sellers why not just sell the machine, and they said, "the reason I didn’t sell the whole thing is because of the shipping cost. The cost was extremely high because of the weight." (Sounds weak, IMHO, but perhaps I'm being unfair, shipping and inevitable returns are a huge pain).
fields-o-daisy on eBay
furbysb on eBay
And, then, of course, there are the blatant key choppers.
The trouble is this middle category. I don't want to fund people dismembering machines for profit. But, I also understand that the judgement of when a machine should be parted out is somewhat subjective. I'm highly reluctant to part out anything that isn't completely unworkable (e.g. my 1962 Futura 800 that is otherwise in NM/VG+ condition, save for the 3 teeth missing from its starwheel, sits on my shelf patiently waiting for me to come across a 12CPI starwheel...).
On the other hand, sometimes you really want a part, and these folks in the middle category have one.
What do you folks think of this middle category? Are there other good sellers out there? Should we start a list of historically mindful vendors?
- Pete E.
- Typewriter Talk Elite
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- From: Idaho - USA
- Registered: 23-6-2020
- Posts: 2,152
Re: Choppers or parts sources?
Hi Rob,
There are 1-2 fellows on eBay that obviously part out whole machines and sell all the parts in logical batches.
I have come to appreciate their efforts when I have a machine that only need 1-2 parts to make it 100%.
I have parted out 3 machines to keep others running. It's not something I enjoy doing and would much rather find a parts-dealer if I can. Sort of like body-snatching...
- OregonJim
- Touch Typist
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- From: Oregon, USA
- Registered: 06-11-2022
- Posts: 161
Re: Choppers or parts sources?
- Uwe
- Moderator
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,408
Re: Choppers or parts sources?
I would argue that there's no such thing as an unrepairable typewriter, and based on that, no machine should ever be parted out. Rob's broken starwheel, for example, could be easily fabricated by a machinist. Most typewriters deemed to be unrepairable are done so either because of a part that could be repaired/made, or an owner's lack of knowledge.
However, a more realistic perspective is that the majority of broken typewriters are not at all rare, nor are they worth so much that they warrant extraordinary effort or cost to repair them. The truth is that it's simply cheaper and easier to scavenge a part from another machine rather than it is to have it repaired or fabricated. And this holds true for professional repair shops too; business math dictates that it's not profitable to spend $200 repairing a machine when it would only be worth $100 in working condition.
The ethics of keychopping has been a longstanding subject here. You can bet that the majority of those artsy crafters using bolt cutters to remove the keys from a early 20th century typewriter have no idea what the machine is worth, or whether or not it works. They have done the simple math of how much the typewriter cost them versus how much they will make from selling its keys. No doubt they are destroying working or easily repaired machines.
None of this touches on what is arguably the worst fate for a typewriter: how many machines are simply thrown in the garbage every year?
Valiant has rescued at least one (it could be more) typewriter from the curb. He spotted a good working portable in someone's garbage while out for a walk in his neighbourhood. Similarly, I have bought at least three machines - none of which required repair - from a picker who dug them out of garbage dumps.
My own stance is that I despise keychoppers and those who part out easily repaired machines. Common typewriter models that require expensive repairs are more understandable and tolerable victims. The truly rare models, something that is not easy to define, should never be parted. In such situations I'd prefer to see a non-working example displayed rather than no example at all. Those machines are waiting for the right collector who is willing to invest the time and money required for its restoration.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
