My work as a typewriter repairman (raising funds for WordPlay Cincy) brings interesting experiences my way.
Yesterday, I drove south for a couple of hours into rural Kentucky, enjoying the early spring day. The reason for the trip was my failure to correct all the problems on a couple of Smith-Coronas. Their owner had to bring them up to Cincinnati twice, and it was only fair that I bring them down to him when they were 100% fixed.
The Smith-Coronas' owner uses them to write notes as he's studying the Bible. He says that his handwriting is impossible and he doesn't like using computers more than necessary, so typewriters are a perfect solution. He has built up a small collection of them, and also fixes sewing machines. We had a friendly conversation about technology, religion, and philosophy.
One of the perks of typewriter repair is that people bring you lovely and interesting machines. Here's simply a beautiful example of an L. C. Smith no. 8, made in 1928 (serial number 805533-10). I've cleaned it up for a customer who will be using it in her daughter's wedding. The platen was replaced at some point, and the typewriter was apparently barely used after that, because the rubber looks untouched. I figured my readers would like to see it.
You, too, can become a typewriter technician and have adventures like this. Dig into your machines, pay attention, practice, read the literature, and ask questions of your fellow typospherians. You may become a lifesaver for people and machines in your area.
Yesterday, I drove south for a couple of hours into rural Kentucky, enjoying the early spring day. The reason for the trip was my failure to correct all the problems on a couple of Smith-Coronas. Their owner had to bring them up to Cincinnati twice, and it was only fair that I bring them down to him when they were 100% fixed.
The Smith-Coronas' owner uses them to write notes as he's studying the Bible. He says that his handwriting is impossible and he doesn't like using computers more than necessary, so typewriters are a perfect solution. He has built up a small collection of them, and also fixes sewing machines. We had a friendly conversation about technology, religion, and philosophy.
One of the perks of typewriter repair is that people bring you lovely and interesting machines. Here's simply a beautiful example of an L. C. Smith no. 8, made in 1928 (serial number 805533-10). I've cleaned it up for a customer who will be using it in her daughter's wedding. The platen was replaced at some point, and the typewriter was apparently barely used after that, because the rubber looks untouched. I figured my readers would like to see it.
You, too, can become a typewriter technician and have adventures like this. Dig into your machines, pay attention, practice, read the literature, and ask questions of your fellow typospherians. You may become a lifesaver for people and machines in your area.
