An appeal

[chunkolini]

Mods, if this is not in keeping with forum rules feel free to delete this post.

I am looking for old typewriters for use in a sculpture project as my existing stash has run out.

They make wonderful legs for insects and centipedes, see image below.

I aware that it is the act of a heathen to chop up these ridiculously overengineered machines but needs as must. I am happiest chopping up dead examples of the species. Ideally I am after the older ones, especially the weapons grade cast iron versions as the newer models are much more flimsy.

I am happy to pay shipping costs and make a small donation either to booze funds or a chosen charity, or of course you are welcome to deliver. I am in South Herefordshire
Cheers all.

Chunko'.

 

[mart]

That is very creative Chunks. Regarding the bits you want, do you have a Yahoo freecycle group in your area? Also, I would try putting (free) wanted adverts in the local supermarkets. Also, some local free newspapers allow free small adverts.

What do you do with the sculptures once they are finished?

 

[tigler]

You're not having my Olivetti Lexikon 80

 

[chunkolini]

Mr Tigler
Hope you are feeling better.
I figured you would have a few of these, I bet the Olivetti is powered by some antique compressor and wired into the PC
The Olivetti?

Thats the type of thing, looks like a pig to dismantle though.
I prefer the humungous cast iron jobbies, very dangerous things to chop up.
I have tried freecycle in the past and alwatys get tangled up with their weird software,, but I will have another go.
What do I do with them? I grudgingly sell them, six years ago I walked out of a stressful job to see if I could make a living doing this nonsense.


MrT, I was planning on inviting myself over sometime to check out your mancave, sadly DVLC have intervened. When you make your reperative ride you is welcome to visit.

 

[tigler]

Thanks, am feeling ok now. No subsequent migraine attacks, which I was worried about because it's happened that way in the past. Actually I'll make a small confession, I talk to my body now, inwardly not aloud, that would be mad ! I apologise for treating it badly sometimes, negotiate with it to hang on in there when giving it a hard time and thank it for being there making me feel ok and remaining in good health ! Hmmm, just read that and realise I am in fact quite mad !

Yes, that is like my Oli. Always had a thing for mechanical typewriters but didn't want to start yet another collection, so I agreed with myself to have just one. After some research I chose the Lexikon 80 as being a good example of the art, looking good and found one for a tenner, then an original destruction book for 99p. I like it and marvel at how such a complex utility item like this was once taken for granted and made for an affordable price. I've even typed a few pages on it !

BTW, I'll be getting a 2 wheeled device out soon so I'll drop over and bring some more tunes.

 

[stuvy]

BTW, I'll be getting a 2 wheeled device out soon so I'll drop over and bring some more tunes.

Has chunko got a blocked nose and sore throat

 

[chunkolini]

Has chunko got a blocked nose and sore throat
Good grief!

 

[chunkolini]

MrT
That would be good, I have some nice Jazz* tunes you might like.
Chunko',
*is that a swear word?

 

[tigler]

Cool, I like Jazz, the more esoteric and wierd stuff !

 

[octo0072000]

bit off topic this is for O dark one American blacksmiths faces


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUj-OKSYe9U

this is home made anvil etc a few minutes in he is building a centaur life size

just wish i was arty enough to do this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW1n0Xts0H8&feature=endscreen&NR=1

 

[chunkolini]

Impressive stuff and so fast in the first video clip.
However when I first started out in this line I decided not to get involved in blacksmithing, I may have been influenced by a book I read but I felt i wanted to use the material as it comes hence I got into fabricating things rather than doing forge work.
To some blacksmiths I am 'just a fabricator' a skill with no history or tradition. Fine says I, I am free to explore and do what I like rather than being hidebound by tradition.
But I will never make imitation wrought iron either.

I confess to feeling smug when my blacksmith neighbours comes sneaking into my workshop asking me to roll a ring for her out 8x40mm strip and make it in about 2 minutes; saving her about 2 hours of work.

Back on topic, somebody must have a knackered tripewriter in their shed.

 

[chunkolini]

Tripewriters?
I went on fleabay and bought these two, a tenner and a fiver, I organised shipping about a tenner each.
Picture for mr Tigler.

I have dissected the Imperial, and it only drew blood twice, some nice bits inside.
I did feel a bit of a heathen destroying it but it was 'tired' the engineering inside is amazing, all grub screws and impossible to access locknuts.
If anybody ever gets hold of one and has a spare hour it is interesting trying to get inside non destructively. Hats to the designers and builders of these machines.

 

[Robotstar5]

I should imagine there used to be typewriter service engineers?

 

[chunkolini]

I was wondering that, they seem to be built from the inside to outside, I cant see how you would dismantle one nicely let alone put it back together, bonkers things, bearings and springs all over the place.

 

[tigler]

I'll let you off Mr C !! They are quite rough examples !
There were indeed Typewriter service engineers, or office machine technicians.
All the large manufacturers had service depts.
The last serviving typewriter service place is in Liverpool I think, somwhere ooop North anyway. Well, they were until a year or two ago, they may have gone since I last heard.
They were on a radio program and said, amazingly, that they had quite a few customers still taking typewriters in for servicing, which is now very expensive.
I've heard that some writers still prefer to use a typewriter as it instills discipline and makes their work feel more creative and real. I can understand that as they produce actual pieces of paper with words and they can feel the key strikes and see things moving.
Now there's an idea, someone should write software to show an actual typewriter on a computer screen, so that the keys strike as you type and all the moving parts are shown on the screen, with sounds too ! Or has someone already doen it ?!

Little known fact about typewriters, the key layout hasn't always been QWERTY. There were other layouts devised by various companies but it came down to Dvorak and QWERTY by a guy called Sholes.
There were various 'studies' done to prove which was the best, influenced of course by the commercial interests of both parties ! He with the most baking won, QWERTY of course ! Not the best layout though.

 

[pedrobedro]

When we were camping last year we went a walk and there was an old Imperial typewriter in a ditch miles from nowhere which seemed odd. About the keyboard layout, I read somewhere that an alphabetic system was tried and the machine return could not keep up with the typists and kept jamming so the alternative layouts were developed to slow them down.

 

[Shox Dr]

I thought it was because certain key combinations would jam the machine

 

[tigler]

That was one of the questionable claims by the QWERTY chap ! There were quite a few key layouts before QWERTY became industry standard, VHS-V-Betamax-V-Video2000 anyone ?

 

[octo0072000]

type writer servicing old style

http://www.johnlewismechanicalantiques.com/typewriterrestoration.html