No. Mac. gnuyork is a play on where I am from - New York State.

Hello all, just thought I'd drop by & introduce myself - I'm new not only to the board, but also to the world of typewriters generally. Not really sure how I ended up 'here' in the hobby* - I suppose it's a combination of desiring something a little more traditional and 'real' for my occasional creative writing, along with a love of good, ole' fashioned precision engineering generally.

So, I did some basic research, had a look around & decided that an Olympia would be a safe point from which to start. Not being particularly risk averse, I decided to bid on an SM9 (via a well - known auction site) near me, which the seller had described as 'spares / repairs' to cover himself. My small gamble paid off when a rather nice (and fairly inexpensive!) 1971 model turned up yesterday, seemingly in need of nothing more than a basic, cosmetic only clean along with a new ribbon. Hurrah!

I also bagged myself a 1958 SM3 (partly as insurance, partly because, y'know, no impulse control...) which arrived today, again in very good condition & working, save for a carriage lock which inhibits the keys, but doesn't lock the carriage itself (to be investigated later). So far, so good, methinks.

Regarding that impulse control thing, I'm also waiting on a 1964 SM9 (complete with turquoise Olly badging) & a 1968 (judging by the grey keys) wide carriage SM9, with a weather eye on a couple more Teutonic typers, too.

All in all, it would seem that you can expect to hear quite a bit more from me over the coming weeks and months - I'll probably bore you all by posting some 'Reader's Types' shots this weekend when time permits, & also annoy the hell out of the seasoned, old soaks with ridiculous, newbie style technical queries and sundry, other nonsense (apologies in advance!). 

* I say hobby, I clearly mean addiction - as evidenced above...

Hi Fleetwing - I'm actually from Stockport, just South of Manchester, but as Stockport or Stopfordian are somewhat lacking in alliterative qualities, MancFrank is the better fit - especially given that socially, I spend far more time in Manchester than on my home patch. 

My football affiliations are best described, in  the modern parlance, as 'meh'... For me, watching grass grow is more rewarding, I'm afraid - motor sport & athletics are more my bag, purely as a spectator, you understand (too little skill for the former, too much general 'bad living' & debauchery for the latter!).

It's far too early for me to give an indication as to which shift action I prefer, although my two - fingered stabbings on either machine has been most satisfactory thus far. Time will tell which wins out although, unlike you (and perhaps the majority of others?), aesthetically speaking, I prefer the modernist lines of the later SM7 - 9 machines. I'll happily concede that the classical looks of the earlier machines aren't too shabby, either. But, as with my architectural tastes, those deco influenced curves will always come second to modernism and brutalism.

Yes, I'm already eyeing standards - the few SG1/3 machines I've seen here so far have looked as though they'd provide more of a challenge cosmetically, rather than mechanically, and that's been rather off-putting. Still, I'm sure it won't be long until one seduces me... Other makers are on the scope, too - watch this space!

An easy assumption to make, Fleetwing.

My own was to wonder if your own appellation was a naval aviation reference, until I remembered that there's a Remington model of the same name.

Funnily enough, an SG1 has appeared here on Ebay which might be half decent - it's hard to tell given that the seller has posted one, closely cropped pic! Let's see what my request for further (and better) pics produces. There are two SG3's out there too, one a sixties machine, the other seventies. Both are in very poor cosmetic condition. Don't get me wrong, I'm no arch tinkerer, but I think I can find my way around a typewriters innards (time will tell!) - whereas I wouldn't know where to begin with respraying / re - chroming and such...
 

Hello John, I'm a newbie, too - and not just to the board, but to typewriters generally. That being said, I've bought and sold all sorts of things over the years (and like 'self funding' hobbies!), so I feel kinda qualified to give some general advice.

There are indeed dealers out there, although you should expect to pay 'top dollar' for a machine they've serviced & cleaned up cosmetically. This might be a good starting point for those of a nervous disposition who don't feel confident, have no prior experience of manual typewriters and also like the idea of a certain degree of legal recourse, should things go wrong.

On the other hand, 'real' retail stores (for which, I suppose, we're really talking charity / 'thrift' stores these days), offer the chance to view and give a machine the once over before you make any commitment and seem to offer (for many here) the ideal chance to bag a nice bargain. This is probably the most time consuming method, as most of these stores won't have an online inventory & so it's a case of 'pot luck', but may well turn up those little gems for not much money.

Then again, there's always ebay & other classified listing sites such as Craig's List. Ebay offer pretty good buyer protection, whereas the small ads won't, but also harbour fools, charlatans & those with unrealistic expectations. Caution is key here.

I'm sure the more seasoned members will have better, more detailed advice - but there's a lot out there to take in and choose from - which, I suppose, is half the fun. As for those several machines you've been looking at, well, be prepared to bite the bullet & buy one of each - this really does seem to be the most ludicrously addictive hobby. I only received my first machine on Wednesday (a 1971 Olympia SM9), my second on Thursday (1958 SM3) & I'm awaiting, as of right now, another five!

Honestly, it would've been cheaper to take up crystal meth... 

I'm sure that whatever you decide, you'll have a lot of fun & find a lot of like minded souls here to chew the fat with. So yeah, welcome to typewriters anonymous!