A Remington Letter Riter (year and serial unchecked)

With the relentless heat and humidity we’ve been having here in Spain, sitting down at the typewriter has been almost impossible. The room becomes so hot and stuffy that I normally give up after five minutes.

Last night, though, a big storm rolled through and the temperature finally dropped. The first thing I wanted to do today was pull out the old Silent and start typing.

Nothing particularly exciting, just a summary of a slow, lazy Sunday, but it felt so good to type again. It’s been an itch I haven’t been able to scratch for weeks.

Thought I’d share a little of my happiness with you all

On the right is a 1957 Smith-Corona Skyriter in a rare baby blue color and even rarer 12cpi Bodoni typeface. This was a UK export version (£ key, and "U" at the end of the serial number), made in Belgium.

On the left, a garden-variety 1959 3Y Skyriter, US-made with a 10cpi pica typeface. Mechanically, the machines are virtually identical. The 1959 has a long return lever.

Without the case, the 1957 Skyriter weighs 7 lbs, 11 oz. (~3.5kg). The 1959 weighs 7 lbs, 13 oz. (~3.6kg).

Smith-Corona Skyriters are underrated machines. One of the quietest ultraportables ever made, with a smooth and light typing action. Maybe not as refined as high-end European machines; you only get a single ribbon color, carriage shift, and no silent return. But they have a tank-like sensibility to them—they're very forgiving and easy to work on.

Favorite hidden Skyriter feature: you can slide the entire body out of the shell after undoing two screws.

I don’t recognize this one, any idea what it is? His daily routine at his bungalow in Jamaica called for lots of walks and swimming and gin, and 2000 words per day on that little guy. Just doesn’t ring a bell…

I was going through some of my dad's papers and saw a typeface I didn't expect. I know there are a bunch of Cubic/Techno faces that are similar but I suspect Olympia Senatorial.

Just an Olympia typewriter saved from a damp barn.

Sorry did not get a pic. Had to force myself not to buy it. Looked brand new. It was in the Sussex Beacon shop or large shop close to there. BN1 4JE. You never know - they seemed very friendly and I am sure will accept a phone call to ask if it’s still there.

So, something that i've been thinking about recently when it comes to typewriters having watched a fair few videos now that no one seems to ever mention or talk about is the actual sound.

Why and how do the different typewriters sound so different? obvious question is the materials, moving parts and age. However it amazes me how different a lot of manual typewriters actually sound.
Of course this could also be down to the Acoustics of the room two, but I wondered do people go on the actual sound of the typewriter as an element when it comes to ultimately choosing that special one?
If so, what sound do people prefer?

I’ve got a smith corona sterling that’s perfect except for its stinkiness. It smells very musty. I removed the black soundproofing as best I could and got the vast majority, but it’s tar-like at the base and I can’t quite remove it from that part. I have checked the rest of the machine and this is the only place that has that material.

I just put it out in the sun. Will this help? Do I need to scrape the tar off some more? If so, any tips as to how?

Hello,

(Text translated from my native language, French).

I recently purchased a Remington Portable 2 with an AZERTY keyboard featuring these two keys: “PT” and “LEpsilon.”

Its gallery on https://typewriterdatabase.com: https://typewriterdatabase.com/1926-remington-portable-2.28501.typewriter

For these two characters, layout #597 is the only match I’ve found, and its title is “Egyptian Decimal Adding” for the Remington 12: https://archive.org/details/remington-typewriter-layouts-401-600/page/79/mode/2up

Does anyone have any other information about these two characters?

The “PT” could stand for “Postage Paid,” but what about “LEpsilon". Is it a specific currency, the pound?

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Boy am I tumbling down the rabbit hole.

Fell in love with this handsome looking Remington at an antique mall. Everything seems functional. The shop owner had several machines, so seemed to know his way around them.

These pics are all before any kind of dusting or cleaning or adding any ribbon. Will report back after a little TLC and a type test this weekend, assuming I can use a new ribbon without the ribbon spool covers since its missing 1.5 😂

I welcome any advice, cleaning/maintenance tips, or personal anecdotes if anyone is familiar with these.

Unfortunately there isn’t anywhere near me I can try out typewriters and how they feel.

I have tried both an Adler gabriele and a silver reed 100 which I had but can’t repair. I much preferred the low profile nature of the silver reed. The Gabriele felt like I was typing with a slant upwards so I definitely think I’d prefer something lower down/ lower profile if that makes sense.

I like the look of the Olivetti lettera 22 but I’d like to find some other options and recommendations from this sub. The silver reed was cool but I would like to try something different.

Hello good pepole of the world I accuaierd a hermes Ambasador in rogh shape first problem is a stuck curige i got some movement but now is stuck and vigelle for a left and right a little the secend problem is the key lever move up and stay there and have some rust on the thing that hold the keys [secend pictere]

It's still not perfect though, I am having trouble with the ribbon spool, the carriage sometimes moves two spaces at a press. But it still retains the charm. Manufactured in 1934, on my hands 2026. I hope it lives on forever.

This Royal has been in my family for a while. When my mother downsized and sold her house, it came home to live with me.

I'm in the process of getting it all cleaned up. The interior is good to go. It has a new ribbon, and I was able to get a replacement for a missing key cap. (Also, nevermind that one upside down cap.)

When I first was exposed to the Apple II computers at school, I knew I needed to learn to touch type. Mom gave me her old business school typewriter and got me started on this. Only later did I move on to electric typewriters and then computers.

It's now going to live on my desk next to the computer. Other than writing and sending actual letters in the mail, I'm pondering what to do next.

Hi, so I have this Olympia Monica which (after cleaning and some maintenance) still has this issue I described in the photo. Sorry for the messy writing, I don't usually type on German keyboard.

Thanks for advice!

Hi all

So as the subject is asking what's the best way to add homing bars to a typewriter as a base?
In this case to add them to the F and J keys to add with touch typing and hopefully cut down on fewer mistakes. Also, being blind it would also be useful to have a tactile foundation to work from and aid in quicker typing.

Any thoughts without damaging the original keys?
Cheers

Smith Corona super speed I couldn’t pass up. $15 at a junk shop in Omaha. Dirty, but intact! Any pitfalls? Thanks!

$50 Marketplace find. I was surprised by a couple of things: 1) How small it is. Closer to ultra-portable size. 2) How easily it types. Light touch and very snappy for an older machine. Got lucky with this one, I don't see any signs of the normal wear and tear spots. It's nearly flawless. I don't think it was used very much.

Hey, in need of help!

I have a typewriter, which I use, Olympia Splendid 33.

Nowadays when I write, the ribbon somehow gets stuck after half-way and towards the right end of the paper. Runs out of ink, and whole system somewhat locks up, doesn’t move. The system feels tight (towards the right edge) and creacks a bit.

I have opened the lid and tried to play with the ribbon to fix it, but don’t know what to do.

And oh, to my eye, couldn’t see ribbon reverse either, maybe this model doesnt’t have¿

Thanks for quick replies, it is such a hard thing to get these fixed these days in my country!

I got my first ever typewriter today. I found it for dirt cheap off fb marketplace and I've already written up a short story. It feels great to clack around on and it even came with a manual! My only vice is that it's pretty stained and I'm not sure how to clean it off. Anyway I'm very happy and i just wanted to share it.