Case for the Blickensderfer 5 cleaned up

The most-common type of wooden case for the Blickensderfer 5 typewriter is a plain wedge-shape carrying case with a leather handle. From pictures available online, these cases seem plain wood - or at least they look plain, unfinished wood.

This specimen looked fairly bad, but underneath the hinges a spot of original finish remained - looking almost as if it'd been lacquered. The exposed, weathered surfaces however didn't look as if they'd ever been lacquered. Adding that almost all cases seen online look unfinished - perhaps these cases were originally not lacquered but oiled wood.

Whatever it originally was, this one was first sanded down to remove all water-staining and mold-spots - down to bare wood and made smooth. At least, smooth to the touch, if not to the eye. 

Where the case was coming apart, the cracks were glued and clamped - left for a day to fully set. In the meantime, the brass fittings were cleaned and given a polish.

Then linseed oil was applied and rubbed with a soft cloth. This really darkened the wood again and made the grain stand out. It then becomes noticable that the sides are made of single pieces of wood, split over top and lower half of the case.

The fittings mounted again and a new leather strap cut from 3.5 mm saddle-leather was fitted. The handle-brackets originally were nailed onto/into the wood, now instead fitted with screws.

Structurally fine, clean and still looking its 120 years.

The inside only cleaned lightly with a damp cloth - and the pencil scribbles on the screw-cap were removed (rubber eraser). The rubber machine buffers will be replaced when the machine is ready for a fitting - to ensure a snug fit. 

The case is ready to hold a Blickensderfer 5 typewriter again! (being assembled...)

Book with numbers and advertising therefor

Numbers - a book full of them.

This is a book full of multiplications, one large table.  It was advertised for in a technical handbook shown below. This was aimed at engineering students (MTS students; Middelbare Technische School), for the year 39-40, and itself is filled with mathematical and technical information as wel as practical information on many technical components of the day. 

Amongst the several sponsored sections and adverts for all the things a starting engineer or machinist might need, here is the one for a calculating- or arithmetic-dictionary, the Rekendictionnaire by W. Vriesendorp.

The advertisement clearly explains what it is; a bound book with all multiplications of 1 to 999 by 1 to 999. A quote of an NRC newspaper review: "Het geheel is het product van een merkwaardig geduld en nauwgezetheid..." - The work is the product of a curious patience and scrupulousness. The line is hard to translate, but is neatly phrasing it as a product (i.e. a multiplication result) and might have a hint of irony, perhaps sarcasm?

That did not however deter Vriesendorp from using the quote in advertising his book of tables.

(The ad on the other page recommends spending a few Guilders more for the quality of a Richter drawing set - recently did :-)

Such books of mathematical tables were fairly common, every region or country having its own variant. Mathematical tables 'proper' would at least have a table of logarithms. These simple books with multiplication-tables are a bit of a 'subset' of the category; but multiplication-tables still had a market, even when the 'proper' books of tables were already largely displaced by sliderule or calculator.

(Advertising in a technical handbook might seem logical at first sight, however for the technical audience almost all calculations can be done with a sliderule - rarely needing nore than 3 digits significance. But in tallying partslists, extending bills etc, there might be a need.)

So a multiplication-tables only book, and only for the Dutch market, the Rekendictionnaire can still be found for sale second-hand:

It is indeed a hefty, bound book about A4-page size weighing in at almost 2 kilos. Published in 1937, it claims to contain 'tables' - or rather, it contains one large table.

In one page is the foreword and the full instructions on how to use the book to do multiplications. Not just of numbers up to 999, but also how to break-up problems to be able to do larger products. There would have been a loose-leaf insert with more examples, that sheet was however missing in this specimen.

The book itself is then pages full of numbers (quite the nightmare to set and proofread, I imagine). 

The numbers 0 to 9 are printed on the side to assist in opening it near the right number.

The book does not reduce the duplicates, i.e. it contains the answer for 28 by 231 both on the page of 28 (6468) as well as for 231 by 28 on the pages of 231 (6468). 

Looking up an answer is pretty easy; finding for example the product of 495 and 617. On the page of 495, look in the 600s column and find in the 10s row the answer 305415 printed behind 617.

Doing a quick check on a contemporary ~1940 pinwheel calculator; it of course arrives at the same answer :) 

The book is less capable than the calculator, but at Hfl 12,50 it only cost a small fraction of the price of a calculator that would have cost several hundred. As a way to do multiplications rapidly with a precision of more than 3 digits (sliderule), this book could have seemed an attractive solution.

Carriage of a Blickensderfer 5 progress

The carriage of a Blickensderfer 5 typewriter is a relatively simple affair, as is shown on several pages online. One end of the baseplate casting had been quite badly rusted, but overall the parts came out reasonably clean and usable.

From point of view of the restorer/repairer, there are two unfortunate aspects to the Blickensderfer carriage. One is that the main brackets are held with dowel-pins in a delicate casting. The other is that to remove the platen, pretty much the whole carriage and side-brackets need to be taken off.

The pins fortunately came out with precisely applied careful hammering without any mishaps. When putting it together again, these pins will not be used. Instead, a 2.5mm rod is formed to be a springy-fit through the holes and keep the pressure-brackets in place (arrow).

One of the front paper-guiding springs was broken. Using the remaining original as guide a brass replacement was cut (card as flat template).

Brass is nowhere near as strong or springy as the steel original, but it'll do for light use. It will also be assisted by the ruler (when such is re-created too and fitted). To make it blend in, the brass spring was nickel-plated. (Nickel at the plus, part to be plated at minus, electrolyte from vinegar with 10% salt and 10% sugar. Around 5V works fine at small distances.)

Another broken item was the platen-knob. Again very fortunate that still half a knob remained, so that could be used as guide to make a new platen-knob.

With a scrubbed and polished-up platen (slate-hard), the carriage fits and actually moves when space is pressed. The feed-roller will need re-covering later on, but for now is serviceable. Strangely, the feed-roller is still soft and rubbery, but the platen is rock-hard.

The missing paper-rack and more importantly the carriage-release bar were re-created from 2.5 and 3 mm steel wire. The carriage-release rod should be ~3.5 mm rod, but the 3 mm was difficult enough already to bend in shape. Knitting needles from the thrift store again are a great source of nicely straight polished rod material.

A very neat feature that hadn't been apparent to me initially, is that the chamfered wooden blocks at the back of the case press-in the carriage-release bar when the machine is placed in the case. This automatically dis-engages the escapement when the typewriter is placed in its travel-case; very clever!

But then, the Blickensderfer overall is a very clever machine :-)

Strengtheners inside Blickensderfer plastic keys? (And a cleaned-up base)

The plastic keys of Blickensderfer typewriters can sometimes be missing. These keys can't be pulled off. They've been molded onto the keystem, a small hole in the metal stem firmly locks the plastic key. When a key is missing, it will have somehow broken - the black plastic either deformed or became brittle, causing the key to become loose and be lost.

It looked as if these ~1906 keys have a brass ring molded into the plastic. This would a useful strengthening to reduce the chance of a key splitting, becoming loose and be lost. (Wondering if early Blickensderfer typewriters also have this brass ring! Or was this a change to fix this vulnerability of the keys.)

This ring will work well as a re-enforcement, make it much less likely for a plastic key to split and get lost. 

The brass ring in this key is askew, confirming that indeed the brass is molded into the plastic key.

This little detail became noticeable during the thorough cleaning of the keybars of the Blickensderfer 5 typewriter - before re-assembling the base of the typewriter.

Assembling the base of the Blickensderfer is reasonably straightforward. Very well described and pictured elsewhere online. One tricky bit perhaps is the special springs in the middle of the machine. These four springs have a different shape and act on the activating segments, spacebar and universal bar. Here still in-situ seen from below:

Taken off the machine, these four springs laid out in the same order.

The strong outer springs drop their 'eyelet' hook over a stud on the side of the activator arms. One stud indicated below:

After cleaning and polishing all parts individually, everything was placed back. Then it's ready for all the keys with their springs.

First all keylevers were cleaned too. Mere brass-polish was not enough to tackle the stubborn dirt and tarnish of these parts; fine steel wool first however gets them back to their shiny state. (Polishing with steel wool always creates a lot of steel-wool-dust; so always used inside a tray or other container. Parts then washed in soapy water to remove any steel wool particles.)

The missing keytops were replaced with newly manufactured keys. The lettering will be filled when the keyboard is fully cleaned, to then match the whiteness (or rather, the "brownish-grayness") of the original keys.

Start of re-building - next; on to a carriage : )

Third and last version of the Meccano hay tedder

To complete the series, after the first and second iterations, also built the third and final version of a Meccano model of a hay tedder.

Here shown again as "Hooi Keer Machine"  in a 1937 Dutch book of instructions.

Numbered model E8, this is a model needing at least an Outfit E. 

Meccano had changed their system of tiered Outfits in 1934 from numbered sets to lettered sets with new parts (plates) and bright new colours. The new range started with a small Outfit A, all the way up to the massive Outfit L. There was an even smaller Outfit 0, that was outside of the lettered system without upgrade set to make it an A. This lettered system was replaced in 1937 with a new range of numbered sets. This lettered-system booklet from 1937 is from the last year of these sets, and also the last year a model of a hay tedder was in the manuals.

The model is quite brilliant in the blue and gold. (A bit bright for a working farm implement perhaps :)

The model is essentially the 1928 version, but with plates added to close the sides of gthe 'box' around the single rotating rake. Pulling in the sides to the 3-hole width of the sector plate does put a lot of stress on the parts - strips get bent quite a bit.

Both the driving axle and the tedder-rod now use a 1" pulley, so this version also does not really 'ted'. The rake ends actually move slightly slower than the hay-tedder itself moves over the ground.

When the entire system was again reorganized into numbered sets, the hay tedder did not return. By 1937 a hay tedder was perhaps no longer a marvel of mechanical achievement to be modelled.

Hay tedders are an essential core element of the Meccano system. Hay tedders are an iconic model in Meccano.

Blickensderfer 5 - Restoration project begin

This is the base-casting of a Blickensderfer 5 typewriter.

This is also the start of a slow, full restoration project. Restoring some machines is a 'hunt and peck' process, finding individual faults to tackle one at a time. For this typewriter, restoration will be a complete disassembly and then full re-build from the frame up.

The machine as found seemed decent project-material; the case is structurally sound, but of course had signs of wear and tear. (It looks better in the picture than in reality - the sides had water/mold damage.)

The typewriter inside was in a bit of a state.  Dusty, rusty and obviously with missing/broken bits, it all seemed recoverable. Plus that Blickensderfer 5's are not too rare, this seemed good project material to have fun with.

It must have recieved a few knocks in its time, some keybars are bent. More visibly, there's a splattering of paint all-over.

The carriage lacks the wire paper-tray (almost always gone) and there's no carriage-release bar. No ruler either. Oh, and only half a carriage-knob :)

The bottom protection-plate was still in place and -as hoped- so were almost all springs. The severe rust on the left-end of the carriage-casting was by the way the reason it got blocked when sliding it over to the right. (That rust matches the water-damage to the left side of the case - decades spent under a leaky roof, probably.)

The below view with the carriage taken off the machine of the indexing mechanism confirms that the brown color of the brightwork is mostly dirt, rather than rust. That's good, makes it recoverable - it is however quite stubborn dirt (the usual patina/oil/nicotine/dust coating).

This view also shows the serial number 107935; that makes this a 1905 or 1906 machine I think.

The original plan was to have fun with it and do a re-paint - make it e.g an ivory machine or some other fancy finish. They're not too rare and Blickensderfers of this type have all text on metal plates that can be removed, so that would've been doable. On this particular specimen however, unexpectedly the patent-list on the side of the frame is a decal: 

Because this decal is still in fairly good condition, the option of doing a custom re-paint was scratched - the original finish will be kept and this Blickensderfer will be restored/repaired to original condition. The original black lacquer finish will be cleaned and touched-up as far as possible. 

For the coming months, this will be a slow restoration project to explore and figure out the mechanism of the Blickensderfer typewriter - from the base-casting up :)

Found out what the logo was! - the online world

Already some time ago, an old compass picked up in a thrift store. Mere pennies and not special, it's been floating around my desk as a fidget-toy (careful, sharp needle!) and at-hand when sketching. Experts always sketch with a compass. Elephants also use compasses.

It cleaned up well enough, the brass showing through the nickel-plating at the edges. Flip-over section to switch between drawing pen and pencil - thumb-nut and pencil-cone plain brass. It looks fairly old, but apart from guessing 20th century it is hard to date. It has the Richter patented method for friction, the patent for that ran out in 1907 so after that. It still has a drawing-pen, so probably not later than the 1960s. Elephants like to eat compasses.

It also has a logo with the letters CPN. Finding out what maker those letters indicate, is not easy with a simple internet search. However; a listing on an online classifieds showed a compass set with these same letters on the box and some extra lettering to suggest it was made in Germany and by a relatively capable/reputable maker.

Then reviewing the possible candidate companies on the great site of a drawing-instruments collector revealed that the letters are indeed CPN for Conrad Pröbster Nürnberg.

Unexpectedly, almost accidentally, now found out what the logo is and what company made this. The online world does have a lot of information (it is sometimes quite hard to uncover, though).

The increased page hits are probably from elephants that want to eat compasses. Elephants like to eat compasses, they like the taste.

Blickensderfer 7 with travelcase (refurbished)

The carrying case of the Blickensderfer 7 typewriter was stripped and re-finished with a dark lacquer, the fittings cleaned as best as possible and re-mounted with screws.

The bottom got new wool-felt in the original color. To complete the refurbishment of the carrying case, a leather handle was cut from saddle-leather and a new gold decal was applied (printed by/via typewriterdecalshop).

The case no longer looks like it survived a fire (barely), but is very presentable and will continue to protect the Blickensderfer typewriter inside it.

The carriage-lock brackets are relatively crude, but very effective and obvious/intuitive in how to use. The paper-table wire, carriage-return lever and bell need 'stowing' before the lid is placed over the machine. This does make these parts vulnerable, especially the relatively fragile bell of a Blickensderfer 7 is I think at risk of being missed and damaged by a lid coming down onto it.

When everything is unlocked and folded-out, the Blickensderfer 7 is ready for use - fully functional again and looking very smart indeed.

Meccano hay tedder - the second version

This is the model that from 1928 replaced the first, 1916 version of a hay tedder. Here shown in a 1930 Dutch edition instruction book; again a Hooi Keer Machine.

It is model number 2.9 so meant to be made with the parts in an outfit 2.

This iteration is a bit easier to decipher - although that may be with the benefit of having seen the previous version. Here made using a 1930 Outfit Number 3 in the dark red-green colour scheme. This time it clearly is a horse-drawn implement, with clear footsteps and a seat.

The odd thing is that whilst it is a much better looking model, it no longer demonstrates the actual working of a tedder. It is no longer a technical demonstration. With the small pulley, 3" wheels and driving a regular 1" pulley on the tedder-rod, the tedder rake rotates slower than the machine moves - so it doesn't 'ted'. 

To be fair, the manuals of the time did state that any model in them could be improved on in at least a dozen ways. To make it 'work' the transmission from axle to tedder-rod needs to be speeded up - done by changing the small pulley on the axle to a 1.5" pulley driving the 1" on the tedder-rod.

Now it works - but of course an Outfit 2 did not have a 1.5" Pulley, Meccano Part No. 21. To make this small improvement one would've had to go to buy this part - readily available in toy-shops, perhaps sold from a large dealer-cabinet.

For 4 pennies, a Meccano-boy would've set a step towards expanding his Outfit - as was of course the idea behind the tiered system of Outfits.

This hay tedded model stayed in the manuals under various numbers, until it was replaced by a new design in 1934 with the introduction of the blue-gold Outfits with many new parts.