1 of 1- CoronaJoe
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Ribbons
Were do you guys go for ribbons? I have a 50's RC Allen desk machine. The metal spools have a square notch for the latch(?) that is parallel to the shaft the spool mounts on.
- Bassoonbloke
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Re: Ribbons
- Fleetwing
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- From: Hartford, CT USA
- Registered: 30-6-2015
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Re: Ribbons
Not familiar with the spool design of those machines. However, you can always spool a fresh ribbon onto them. If you are in the US, Staples office supply stores carry ribbons, at least mine does. There is a section of the store with printer/calculator ribbons, and I get Porelon #11579 nylon ribbon, which is marked as being for printers, but fits the standard 1/2" typewriter spools perfectly. All black, FYI.
- Uwe
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Re: Ribbons
CoronaJoe, as Bassoonbloke pointed out it's very important to mention where you are located when asking for supply sources. Typewriter Talk is an international forum with members located all over the world, and while it's true that most things can be bought using the internet, being made aware of a local source can be an invaluable tip. For that reason I encourage everyone to update their profile to display roughly where they live so that others can better assist you.
Fleetwing gives good advice. When it comes to proprietary ribbon spools, the easiest thing to do is buy generic typewriter ribbon (13 mm - ½ in.) and transfer that ribbon to the machine's existing spools.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- CoronaJoe
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Re: Ribbons
Great! I never thought of the "International" aspect of these forums; good point. I am located in Oregon, USA. I have looked around and the metal spools such as I have seem peculiar to older machines, particularly the Woodstocks; which is the make RC Allen bought out. I like the idea of re-spooling. I've done that already, and depending on the quality it can be a bit messy.
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Thread Starter- Fleetwing
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Re: Ribbons
Messy, yes, and kind of tedious, but it's part of the fun.
- Uwe
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Re: Ribbons
I put the receiving spool on a cordless drill and mount the donor spool on a spindle. The whole operation from beginning to end is done in under a minute. And if it's a black-only ribbon and you can flip the spools, you won't have to worry about ribbon again for at least five hundred pages.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- CoronaJoe
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Re: Ribbons
receiving spool on a cordless drill a
Next time, I will do that.
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Thread Starter- SoucekFan
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- From: United States
- Registered: 27-12-2015
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Re: Ribbons
I use two small screwdrivers for spindles, with the donor one held in a bench vice, and I hold the receiving one and hand spin it, vertically.
- CoronaJoe
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Re: Ribbons
Upon closer inspection of the metal spools that came with the machine, there is "Made in England" stamped on their rims. Probably means little except perhaps quality or whatever in the day. I don't even know if they're original to the machine; but after searching numerous websites, that square recess near the hole and the hole size seems to make them a rare breed.
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