August 2025 safari - doorway building toy

Last weekend went to a few thrift-stores not visited before, even though relatively nearby. Expectations for finding typewriters are low, but; new stores - new chances. 

One store did have a group of machines huddled together.

Surrounded by sewing machines (some quite old/nice machines) and joined by a few adding machines. All the adding machines were 10-key specimens of probably the late 1950s, by Walther, Monroe and Addo (i.e. Facit). A mangle and portable record-player in there as well - plus a few electric heaters. (Hadn't seen that before in thrift-stores; seem hazardous things - unless you're only going to be using them for display?)

The Olivetti machines may have been donated by/from the same source - both have the period-typical drab green-grey and still very solid. The Lexikon has glass-topped keys, oddly contrasting with its sleek mid-century modern lines.

Another thrift-store had one typewriter - a very beige plastic Scheidegger machine in an equally plasticky case. Probably 1976 or thereabouts.

It was on a table next to an equally beige cat-carrier :-)

All machines were left where they were. 

Something completely different was however picked-up; a very small set of wooden building-blocks.

With a mystifying array of numbers on the lid-label and some examples of what could be built (at least, that was the assumption). In the store it was all a bit jumbled, but puzzling all the parts into the box at home, the set actually looks complete.

The aeroplane on the smallest arch-block is also shown on one of the lid-label constructions - these are almost certainly the correct, original blocks. This also means that the lid-label is very misleading; all the pictured constructions have three long bars, and the set only will hold the one - this may have baffled and frustrated some child 90 years or so ago.

With such a small set, you can only really construct tiny facades - or doorways! It's a doorway portal construction set :-) 

Definitely giving its 1 Euro's worth - it still is a small box of fun!

(And still wondering about that coded message on the lid; it's probably in cypher :-)

Finishing touches for the Burroughs Portable adding machine

Final touches on the Burroughs Portable adding machine restoration; refreshing the infill of the black numeral keys. The white infill of the black keys had worn - partly lost and with 'bubbles' showing black.

They were fine from a distance, but now that we've gone this far in restoring this machine... 

In the usual manner, some latex paint was mixed to be close to the cream of the white keys. Then applied with a small brush to all the black keys. The black keys are nicely smooth, so after letting the latex-paint dry any excess wipes off easily and cleanly. Refreshed keyboard!

Even when not seeing exactly what was changed, the machine simply looks a little 'cleaner' still.

To illustrate that the infill really is not white - it's almost light-brown - pictured here below with a white sheet of paper for contrast.

This wide-carriage specimen still had 6 tabulator stops fitted - from looking at other machines online that's not a bad score. On this eight-column machine, there are indeed 6 positions to evenly fill the width of the carriage. To however also have a stop at the centre - e.g. to park the carriage or when using the paper-roll -  a seventh stop would have been nice. Hmm.

Definitely going a bit far for this Burroughs Portable; a few new, extra tabulator stops were manufactured and added to the machine. Yes, excessive ;)

(Quickly-made tabs from tough plastic - surprisingly strong. Now that these work well enough, won't be making them from brass sheet. Added bonus is that they're easily identified as fake-parts.)

They blend in reasonably well, and functional - like the whole machine :-)