March 31, 2014 - TM37-305 - The WWII, Military, Typewriter Repair Manual

My wife just gave this to me, an early birthday present! She loves me!!

It has a lot of great material on some of the more obscure aspects of what I'd call "typewriter tuning." Also covers many brands of standard machine, including; Underwood, L.C. Smith, Remington, Woodstock.

*UPDATE* 4/1/2014:
There is an online version available here: http://www.maritime.org/doc/typewriter/index.htm

This manual is printed single-sided, which was a little off-putting at first, but then I realized that it will be great for note taking.

I do not know where my wife found it, nor how much it cost, but I am sure that an inquisitive soul will be able to locate it just like she did.

Best of luck, and Happy Typing!

March 28, 2014 - Fixing a Dragging SM3 Carriage

Our new SM3 arrived today, and was awaiting me when I got home. Everything was working pretty well..... Except that the carriage was running aground on the side body panel, and left a divot:

Maybe this is a common problem and everyone knows about it, but just in case, there is an easy fix for this.

There are four screws that attach the machine's chassis to the body, and at each of those mounting points there is a rubber grommet. The rubber grommet cushions and dampens vibrations, but when they compress over time and end up looking like this:

Then the chassis drops down in relation to the body, and the rubbing ensues.

I just used a standard 1/2" rubber automotive grommet, and the problem is no more!

Happy typing!

March 28, 2014 - Another Flight, Another Typewriter in the Overhead

Yeah, I am THAT guy!

This time it's a 1962 Olympia SM7!

March 27, 2014 - Visualizing Our Typewriter Inventory

I work with data for a living, and I have been struggling with tools that can help with the presentation of heavy amounts of information,  in visual ways.

Today I stumbled across Tableau Pubic, and decided to pump my (out of date) typewriter collection data into Tableau to see what it could show me about things like the distribution of our collection by manufacturer, year made, owner.

This was about 20 minutes of effort, so don't be too harsh on me. :)

Learn About Tableau

Learn About Tableau

I need to update the data, because it is about 3 months (and 25 machines) behind. More to come.

To play with Tableau yourself, you can find it here: http://www.tableausoftware.com/products/public

March 25, 2014 - the 1962 Olympia SM7

March 24, 2014 - Cincinnati Spring Type-In - Saturday, April 26

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Sitwell's Coffeehouse

324 Ludlow Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45220

12 - 4 pm

Questions? email brian.brumfield@mac.com

Please reach out if you have any questions. An "RSVP" would be awesome, to give us an idea of whom might show up. At the very least it looks like the coordinators (Bryan Sherwood and myself) and Richard Polt has marked his calendar as well.

Join us for some savory nectar of the bean, and some awesome machines!

Here is a little taste of what I plan on bringing with...

A relatively rare battery-powered SCM Electra SS:

A couple German machines. A 1937 Diplomat Elite and a 1932 Triumph Model 1:

Or how about this nice Olympia Traveller with CURSIVE typeface! The swank doesn't stop here though...

There's a formation of ultra-portables that will probably be there (this doesn't include my recent Olivetti Lettera 22 acquisition): 

A relatively rare Remington Military Radio Typewriter, MX-322/U:

And who knows what else. You can't miss this!

March 17, 2014 - Four More Machines (+1)

My Blown H3K margin tape spring :-(

March 17, 2014 - The new British Skyriter takes a bath

This mid-60's British Skyriter arrived this week, absolutely filthy. It was covered in dirt and what appeared to be an orange mildew ... nasty.

Some air, scrubbing, and TLC later, it's shaping up to be quite a handsome machine.

March 13, 2014 - Just another day on the road

This trip a bought two machines, but sold  one before I even had a chance to really look at it. :-)

This gold Remington is something of a basket case. I will use it a test-bed for repainting, and may ultimately serve as a parts machine. I want to restore this to its original silver color - but may try a duo-tone scheme that would be period (1950s) appropriate.

We'll see!

"BSBRUM" - Brian @ Brumfield & Sons Typewriters

March 13, 2014 - Diplomat Elite, Back in Charlotte

March 12, 2014 - Billy Bob's Silver Diner Type-In/Meet-Up

6:30pm1650 Hanes Mall Blvd.Winston-Salem, NC 27103

March 8, 2014 - The Royal (Quiet De Luxe) Is Back In Action

March 3, 2014 - All That's Left is Everything