Typewriter Talk / Selectric repair

**Posted by OregonJim** 05-12-2022 00:17:27

I've got a pair of Selectric II's. One works just fine, the other is a little temperamental. I'm sure it just needs a little more sludge cleaned out of it.

However, I can't bring myself to use either for creative writing. As soon as I sit down at a Selectric, I feel like I should be addressing envelopes or filling out forms. Office work. The creative juices just seem to dry up when in the vicinity of anything labeled "IBM"...

**Posted by Beachycove** 05-12-2022 14:26:04

A sentiment shared by Mac users in the 80s!

**Posted by OregonJim** 05-12-2022 16:14:29

Don't get me wrong - I admire the Selectrics for the engineering marvels that they are. It's just that those particular machines are indelibly linked to office work in my mind. They were on every secretary's desk during the biggest chunk of my career.

Speaking of Macs, I remember the day I first started using them. December 13, 1988. It happened to be my hire date with a company that was closely partnered with Apple. The secretaries still had Selectrics right next to their Mac Pluses, 512Ks, and SE's for at least another decade. The Macs progressed through the IIcx, IIfx, various Quadras and Pizza Box models, and finally to the iMac - but the Selectrics never changed. My, how disposable technology has become.

**Posted by fountainpensplus** 27-12-2022 10:23:58

Having worked heavy excavation construction my entire working career I think gives me a different perception of IBM and offices. For me the office (and it was a small office) was a place to visit and not to spend the day working. When one of the early office managers retired and a younger person was hired the office got its first Selectric. It was an amazing device at the time. After the Selectric they moved to using a PC, first for accounting but soon there was one on all the office desks. The Selectric went from a central portion of the office managers desk to a rolling typing table. I can’t recall when it disappeared and was mothballed.

With my reawakening to writing with a typewriter I wanted a Selectric II Correcting machine but finding a nice working unit was difficult locally. I was given one from a non-profit office clean out. The oils had become sludge and the machine desperately needed a good cleaning. Lifting the hood it was more than I wanted to tackle. A friend gave me a second machine. This one would run once the cover had been removed and the clutch manually turned. It would run until turned off at which time the whole manual start was needed again. I gave them both to a fellow in town that wanted to learn how to fix them and get them running.

After acquiring a number of manual and electric machines I decided to get a good electronic typewriter and ended up driving to Portland and Pacific Typewriter. Don gave me a brief tour of the work bench area. They had three dip tanks. One to remove the sludge after the non-metallic parts had been removed. The next to wash the cleaning solvent off. The last was a lubricant bath. I drove home with an IBM Wheelwriter 10, some daisy wheels and ink cartridges. I never use the spellcheck feature. The auto-CR and easily moved margins I use a lot. Sadly at times my fingers can be a bit dyslexic so the correction ribbon gets regular use. It is easier than using a white-out tab with a manual. Will it still be putting ink to paper when it’s the same age as the Olympia SG1 and Hermes 3000, the other two machines I have on rolling typing tables? Possibly not.

George

**Posted by OregonJim** 27-12-2022 13:01:55

I now have the three machines that I used as a youngster when typewriters were still prevalent. That includes the Selectric II. The others are a Royal KHM and a Smith-Corona Classic 12. I wish I could remember what machines were in my high school typing class, but I don't - otherwise, I'd look for one of those, too. The only real memory I have of typing class was being scolded for yanking the paper out of the platen without using the paper release. I wasn't the only one. Hey - that's how they did it in the movies...

So my typewriter collection goal is complete. I can stop now, right? Right? RIGHT?

**Posted by fountainpensplus** 27-12-2022 13:17:41

OregonJim wrote:
So my typewriter collection goal is complete. I can stop now, right? Right? RIGHT?

Well, during my working days I used a pocket knife to make changes to information on the survey grades stakes as things changed. Once I discovered Benchmade knives it was all I used. Of course as I saw a new one of interest I'd buy it and at some point had quite a few. One day one of my sons asked me, "Dad, how many Benchmade knives do you need?" My answer, "Bryce I don't know yet."

So sure, you can stop anytime (you want.) After all, how many typewriters do you need?

**Posted by OregonJim** 27-12-2022 22:44:11

fountainpensplus wrote:
So sure, you can stop anytime (you want.) After all, how many typewriters do you need?

Lets see.. One with a script font for personal letters, one with a 6cpi font for headlines, a green one to match one of my guitars, one with woodgrain finish for that '70s vibe, an indexing typewriter for portability, a red one (to put beside the green one) for decoration next Christmas, and one that's 100% chrome plated. That should keep me busy for a while, don't you think?