True, the SM9 doesn't have the classic look, if that's what you are looking for.

I am not familiar with letgo -- I think you may find more variety with local Craigslist ads.

The Underwood Portables are nice machines, but that name covers a wide range of time. So it's hard to give you too much counsel about those without knowing more. A well-tuned KMM is a great machine, though as I recall, adjusting the upper and lower case letters to be in vertical alignment (i.e. the bottoms of the letters are even with each other, such as H and h) can be difficult. And I've found the platens on the KMMs may be on the hard side. But -- the KMM is David McCullough's tool of choice, so that should tell you something. 

Hi David,

Again, I've no experience of either (subjectively OR objectively!), but for what it's worth the Royal 10 & Underwood portable both look very pretty.  

For thirty quid, I'd get the Royal.

Actually, who the hell am I kidding?? I'd get them both!

Hello!
I'm Matthew, a student from Ohio (the Columbus area).  I've come to this forum on and off while looking for cleaning tips, information, etc.  I am an aspiring writer, and like to draft stories on my machines: nothing beats the simplicity and beauty of a mechanical typewriter.
I've also experimented with creating art with my typers as well: I now have a small collection of colored ribbons to use...  I hope to keep learning and experimenting in this regard.
I just recently purchased my second machine, an Underwood 150 (SX 150?--not sure of exact model...).  It's fairly dirty, and needs some TLC.  I'm a relative newbie, but so far I've enjoyed cleaning it up and doing minor repairs.
My other is a Brother Charger 11 (likely from 1984, according to serial number) and except for some old caked on correction tape hidden inside, it works like a charm.  It's served me well so far.
I'll probably try to post something or other regarding the Underwood soon--it's been fun to work on and I can't wait to have it fully functional.

Hello/smae from Wales in the UK!

I'm both a newbie and an oldie - as a child I wrote on my parents' 1950s Underwood - as a secretary in the USA mostly Selectric IIIs.

I'm a published (PS Publishing) novelist. Purchased this past Sunday an Olympia SM7 which my husband, who was maintenance engineer for an MoD company (expensive machinery! but he had diagrams), is now trying to sort a wonky carriage. It was I think a good buy for £20, just (hopefully) needs some TLC.

Regards to everyone! Hope to see you around. Kudos too to those now discovering these brill machines, especially young people wanting to try something different.

Best,
Aunty

Hello, my name is Lucas.
I like typewriters...which must be evident, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.  I prefer machines that pre-date WWII, though there are several machines produced afterwards that I love.  I don’t particularly harbor a preference for desktops Vs. portables, nor is there a specific manufacturer I like best.   My method of typing is weird.  I’m not really a touch typist, yet I can type fast without looking...my hands kind of hover the keys rather than rest on a “home row”, and my right hand might occasionally strike left-handed keys and vise versa.  I also exclusively use the left shift.
I don’t know what for me so interested in the first place, I mean, I love mechanical objects and I love literature.  Perhaps my brain found the perfect way to meet them in the middle.  It’s preferable to me to get all my machines broken, as they are cheaper that way, and I enjoy the process of fixing them up and using them later.  Machines that are mechanically unique from one another are the ones I try and collect, as a result, I probably would never own two of the same machine, unless one had a unique typeface, or I was selling..  I hope the information I’ve learned over the years can be beneficial to other people just starting out here, and would be glad to help out anyone...as long as they’re not trying to chop the keys off a machine.  There’s a special place in hell for key-choppers.
So....yeah....