Hello! I learned to type on my mom's mid-1960s Hermes 3000 when I was a kid, switched to home computers in the '80s, and got back into manual typewriters a year or so back. I mostly own Smith-Coronas but also a few others including an early Princess, an Olympia SM9, and a couple of Royal QDL's. I have a dream of writing a novel on a typewriter but we'll have to see about that.

This is a new member, I'm called Trevor. Forgive me, I do not ever go on forums, not actually very sure how they work. I have never been into any sort of social media, never had a facebook, I don't care about all that. I'm kind of an oddball, actually a complete oddball, but apart from that, I've never really wanted to take part in any online social groups, or forums. So forgive me if I'm doing this wrong. Its my birthday on the 17th and I'll be 39, pretty late to be trying to learn how to use the internet for anything besides silent research but there you are. Considering I am a typewriter enthusiast it might not be odd that this new to me. I've always had a typewriter, since I was around 12 or 13 I think, my mother gave me some old machine, I think it was a Royal KMM or something like that. I took it apart, tried to put it back together, ruined it but had a blast in the process. I was always bringing home old typewriters and tearing them apart. Small pieces would get stuck in the carpet of my bedroom, it drove my mother crazy. I've always had a typewriter, I write all the time, almost as a compulsion, I've been working on a book for the last several years, which I have recently been more serious about. I started looking for a better machine than I had been using, which I didn't like, and last year I bought a big old Remington Noiseless 10, which I now have running perfectly. I'm absolutely in love with that thing. Since I started researching it I've quickly become very enthusiastic about typewriting and typewriters, I've read volumes and have been all over all the typewriter websites, which I am very surprised about, there being so much out there. I had no idea there was such a community. In addition the the Noiseless 10, I've managed to pick up a Royal KMM14, an Underwood 3 (14"), and most recently, a Fox #3. I am over the moon about that thing, I did not pay very much for it, it is in great shape cosmetically, and as far as I can tell in fully restorable shape mechanically. It has the wooden base and metal cover even. It is very pretty. It was in a shop where I live, I've been looking at it for months. I did some research on it, and decided I better try to get it. The man who owned it is a friend, and he gave me a very good deal. So the plan is to not touch it until I am confident I won't destroy it, and my Underwood is in very rough, but complete and working condition, I'll do it completely and have some practice. As far as I can tell, the Underwood 3 is about as good as any to learn on, and its not "worth" anything. I did read the book about the Fox by-- Anderson? Can't recall his name, but I have downloaded the book. That's another thing that is surprising and very beautiful to see about this community, is people share so much, there is an incredible amount of information of all kinds, all the repair manuals, and the forums. The TWDB-- I couldn't believe that website when I discovered it last year. I'll put my machines up there soon. Some people are really nuts about their hobbies, like sports fans, apparently I've been bitten by that bug, and now that the NHL season is postponed and I can't listen to my beloved Winnipeg Jets on CFRW I will probably be spending more time with my typewriters than is healthy. Being locked inside for fear of corona virus, this might turn out to be the most prolific writing I've done so far.

Hi Trevor

Happy Birthday and Top-o-the morning to you in the same breath  welcome to the forum. I'll be 59 in just over a month, and like you, I don't have a Facebook account and don't intend to get one either. The only two forums I contribute to are this one and a small engine repair forum. I used to belong to the Yahoo portable typewriter group, but once Uwe opened this forum after Yahoo (modernized) their site, I very quickly switched over and have been here ever since, almost 7 years ago to the day.

It sounds like you live in Manitoba, I used to frequent the Half Moon Diner in Lockport when ever I came to Selkirk to visit my father-in-law who sadly passed away a few years ago. Anyhow, as Typewriterman says, you're always welcome here, ask questions and have a chat now and then. All the best,

Sky

Hello, all

I'm Phil, from way down in the south of the south of Louisiana. Growing up in England, my mother had a couple of typewriters, a Boots PT400 portable which had a pleasing action but was given away to my aunt, and an old green Smith-Corona Silent that I fixed the ribbon advance ratchet spring many years ago, which I think she still has.

I missed having a typewriter- I like to type mail envelopes with them. I'd been eyeing up a few things but recently snagged a Royal Electric REE series machine. It's needing a little work and is missing a couple of pieces but it's to the point where it types again, the margins work, the tabulation tries to work and the rest of the auto-repeat features function.

Should be fun to get the remaining 5% of the way back to functional...

--Phil

Uwe wrote:

Welcome to TT, Phil. 

I had to look up the "Boots" name. I assume it was a private label machine made for the English department store by the Korean company using Silver-Seiko (Silver-Reed) machinery (after it was sold off by the Japanese firm}?
 

Thank you. Yes, it was a rebranded design. I've been looking through the images gallery and other threads and have seen it appear with varying badges. It must've been popular. I can tell why, it was a nice lightweight portable that was nice to type on for a novice. Really pleasantly tactile keys.

I'm going to post up a little bit of a thread about this Royal I have though- gonna need a bit of help because there's a couple things I can't quite figure out (mostly because I cannot see too well into the deep recesses of the machine) and a couple of spare parts that hopefully will surface.

--Phil