Thank you, skywatcher, for your reply! That is certainly helpful, and I appreciate the tip to find a vintage typewriter from a reputable seller who cleans, services, and reconditions the machines he/she sells. I appreciate it and I welcome any others' thoughts on which vintage portable typewriters I can, also, consider.

Hi Ren,

You might want to reach out to some of these repair folks and/or shop listed in Michigan State on the web site, below.  You have to scroll down that web page to get to the USA - Michigan listings.

If you find a repair person or shop that sells repaired typewriters, it would be a good trip to visit them and get a few machines under your fingers.

Many times buying on-line and having a machine shipped can be risky if it is not package well and becomes damaged in the shipment process.  Seeing and buying in person helps sAave that risk and the cost of such shipping to your home.

https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html
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Hi Again Ren

The person selling the Tower President is renowned  for the quality of his workmanship. Spanghew has been collecting and reconditioning typewriters for over 40 years and knows what he is doing. If I could afford it, I would definitely buy one of his reconditioned units. I would almost go so far as to guarantee his workmanship after having shared many a conversation with him. If the machine stays within your price range, you will find it a joy to use and an outstanding start to your typewritten journey.

One thing to note about this unit are the OEM or OEM style ribbon spools, metal typewriter ribbon spools are no longer manufactured. New ½" typewriter ribbon is available in all sorts of colors, but always come wound onto one or a pair of plastic ribbon spools. Finding a machine like this with metal ribbon spools is like finding a vintage sports car that still has its original wire spoked wheel rims. New ribbon is easily wound onto the metal spools so the machine can be kept as close to original as possible.

It should be noted that these are just my thoughts of this eBay seller and the quality of the machines he sells. As Pete E says though, there are always other avenues to explore when looking for a good used typewriter. Hope this gives you some food for thought,

Sky

Ren,

Another typewriter to keep an eye out for is a Smith-Corona Electra 120 or an Electra 110.

They are well-built and reliable.  The "120" has a 12" long platen (so you can type on business envelops) and the "110" is a smaller width at 10" platen length.

I like this model a lot.  It uses electricity to move the type-slugs to ribbon/paper...but it has a manual carriage return lever and other manual carriage functions which still gives the feel of a manual typewriter.

Machines that are 100% electric have a "power return" key-top and that return of the carriage to a new typing line can be a bit like a powered "battering ram" with many makes/models.

These electrics are easy for young kids to use as well...as the touch on the key-tops is very soft and easy to use if they do not have a lot of hand/finger strength, yet.

Here is a photo of my S-C Electra 120...which also has a nice cursive script for its font.

My machine was made in 1966.
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