Blowing out dust - period style

Over decades of neglect, an old typewriter or calculator will collect a lot of dust. Even inside a machine's housing, there often is a surprising amount of dust and debris in the mechanism. 

To clean this out, a soft brush is of course useful - taking care to e.g. not disturb any small springs. Another way is to blow out the mechanism with air.

For a smaller repair-workshop and prior to aerosol cans, there could be used a dust-blower. A wooden cylinder, in this case the 'universal dustcleaner':

These are still fairly common, especially this brand of dust-blower with the flowery label. It is a wooden, rolled tube (veneer) lined with cloth and has a wooden plunger with a leather seal.

The leather-seal on this specimen had been folded back, over the wooden plug. Originally it probably would have been folded forward into the tube, thus sealing against the sides with the air-pressure. Some time in the past this dust-blower was opened and the plunger inserted with the leather wrapped over the plug. To be fair, it's quite difficult to insert it correctly from the back, originally it likely would have been pulled in from the front before gluing on the spout.

The leather had hardened completely, making it difficult to shape it back. A lot of leather-wax was added, to hopefully make it a little pliable again. The seal could be replaced with new chamois, but as it's mainly a historical artefact may just be left as-is. Some extra felt rings were added underneath the leather 'dampeners' on the shaft that also had gone hard - to dampen the plunger 'hitting the buffers'.

From appearance, it could date from anywhere between 1880 and 1920. In fact, most of these are much more recent. The actual manufacturing date is stamped on the plunger; this specimen was made March 17, 1938. (The white dust in the image below is talcum powder, added to make it go smoother.)

It does work - not quite as effective as a pressurised-air can for sure, but durable and very sustainable :)

Carriage on the Standard Folding typewriter

Moving on to the carriage, the front support studs first needed aligning. These three studs are set-screws that were adjusted in the factory and then fixed in their correct position by 'pinning' then from the front. (That is the cause of the small holes in the front-edge of the base, and why there is a central cut-out in the front carriage-clamp.)

The centre stud had become loose and lost its position, luckly it had not yet worked itself completely free. Against a ruler and using the wear as an additional guide, it was re-fixed at (probably) the right height.

With the same method as before, all parts and screws of the carriage were cleaned and bagged ready for re-assembly. 

The feed roller was left in place (could not work out how that would have to be removed). The combination margin-stops / paper-bails are ingenious. The paper-bail finger is always at the edge of the paper, just out of reach of the typing :)

The carriage slides on the machine-base on the two steel bars or strips at its edges. It is simply metal-on-metal sliding, no rollers of any kind. The rear strip rides in a slot in a profile on the base. The front trip rides on the tops of the three studs.

The carriage is then held in place by clamps at the front and back. The front clamp was missing on this machine - using the useful images of Standard Folding 2's on The Typewriterdatabase and especially the clear photos at Words Are Winged, a functional replacement was crafted from 1 mm aluminum sheet. This is not a strong as the steel original, but should hold the carriage on well enough - this typewriter is unlikely to ever again be used heavily.

Painted satin-black, it works to hold the carriage on its rails. It is now again safe to fold the Standard Folding typewriter!

A length of waxed hemp as draw-string and the escapement works! The spring somehow slips its anchor and won't keep the full pressure needed for the entire travel. Maybe this will be looked at, but maybe not - this typewriter will not be used heavily. Rather, the goal of this restoration is for the machine to be preserved. Ideally it should become functional again, but not to the level of it being a practical typer

Now complete with carriage and platen, the little typewriter is starting to take shape - progress :)

Starting on the top-assemby and broken worm of the Standard Folding typewriter

Continuing with the top assembly of the Standard Folding typewriter; the carriage was taken off (is was barely hanging on anyways, with only one bracket left). Then first the carriage base-assembly with the folding-arms was taken apart. End result is a pretty bare baseplate and lots of grimy bits grouped in bags. Only the escapement rack and the rear guide-rail were left in-place.

The baseplate is a fairly basic 'slab' of aluminum, also with the dull, passivated finish. The normal cleaning with soapy-water and vigorous scrubbing would have damaged this finish. As an alternative, the part was washed in acetone, 'scrubbing' gently with a soft toothbrush. (Outside/well ventilated and gloves.)

Bag-by-bag all the groups of parts were cleaned with the usual techniques. The spool-bases had originally been blackened and by now become rusty. These were sanded smooth to the bare metal and painted with a satin-black finish.

Result then; a nicely clean baseplate and a collection of clean sub-assemblies. As stated in service-manuals of the time, assembly is the reverse of disassembly.

So it is.

One unexpected complication was the worm of the right ribbon-feed. This was broken! Somehow it got a knock that spread the worm-thread wider in one spot. This made it jam on the sprocket of the spool capstan; it cannot have worked after that damage. Weird that it even broke the worm where it is fixed with a pin to its axle, but did not destroy the flimsy spool-base. Must have been a very targeted knock.

Fortunately it could be tweaked back into functional shape - well, bent-with-brute-force really and some filing too. The broken and bent-back two parts of the worm were locked on the axle with cyanoacrylate. (In case the worm would've completely disintegrated,  a new worm would have had to be made - could probably have been done; tin-plated copper fuse-wire is soft and available in suitable gauge.)

Mounting the rest of the parts on the baseplate is fairly straightforward. Some bending needed for the escapement plate to straighten it, was bent and would jam in its guide. Probably another damage that happened to the machine after it was last used. Fitted back onto the typewriter base, the little Standard Folding typewriter is taking shape - next the carriage (and several missing parts).

Mounting keyboard and typebars and dulling aluminum for the Standard Folding Typewriter

In preparation for mounting the keyboard 'tapestry' back into the frame, the linkages were sorted on length. They are not numbered, so were kept in sets of 14 for left and right sides of the machine to allow every linkage to be placed back in its original spot. (And of course all were cleaned and rubbed with a bit of vaseline.)

There may be a way, but it didn't seem possible to attach the outer linkages to the key-lever when inside the frame. To avoid that puzzle, deviated from the procedure shown at Words Are Winged and already attached the outermost 4 linkages for both left and right. Also the distance-bushes were added, of course.

This whole assembly was then wiggled back into the machine from the front. The three rods fixed with the screws through the frame-sides. Some painters masking-tape on the front bar to prevent scratching of the paint during the process.

The next step was mount the typebars - these were also laid out in the correct order just like the linkages. A little cloth with oil to give every screw a little dab and tweezers to manoeuvre the linkages back into place.

The typebar-rest on the Standard Folding is mounted onto the front-panel and is what determines the height of all the keys. This front panel unfortunately lost its original dull, passivated finish during the paint-stripping. To get rid of the shiny aluminum and make it suitably 'dull', the panel was glass-bead-blasted -very carefully.

The above image shows the left-half already blasted, the right-end still shiny. The blasting was done carefully; only very low air-pressure and especially a very constrained supply of blasting-material. With aluminum there is a very real risk of creating such surface-stress that the part will warp and deform. First practiced on a scrap test-piece. Fortunately, the panel survived unscathed and is now nicely even and dull/matte.

The rod for the springs was bent ever so slightly - either from a 'bang' or from a century's worth of the springs pulling it (although metal should not relax that way). The rod could be rotated a bit to now be pulled straight - all the springs will stop it from turning, so no need to 'fasten it tight' with the screw-thread.

The original typebar-rest felt was kept, merely given a gentle lukewarm wool-wash and turned over. It is clamped between panel and its support bracket at both ends (and some glue-stick glue on the bracket).

The base of the Standard Folding typewriter is now mostly complete; of course all adjustments remain to be done after the whole machine is fully assembled. (A bit daunting; the segment of a Corona 3 is already a bit tricky; this is 28 separate segments to tackle :-)

Keyboard repair (and new labels) for the Standard Folding typewriter

After almost 115 years, the keyboard of this little Standard Folding was in a bad state. Most keys had their label and keyring replaced, probably some time in the 1930s or 40s. The replacement rings are a wrong 'flat' pattern and the labels look similar to those used for the later Corona Special machines. To add to this, the 'U' key-lever had lost its key entirely.

Before untangling the 'tapestry' that is a folding keyboard, a picture to note also the position of the spacers at the rod-ends. Some of the key-levers had rusted onto their rod - or rather the rod rusted firmly into the key-lever aluminum bush. These needed several days of oil and gentle tweaking (aluminum is soft!) to loosen them - giving it more time usually helps :)

All key-levers were cleaned with soapy water. Actually, most still needed a scrub with very fine steelwool to make them presentable. Another rinse after the scrubbing to make sure no steelwool debris remains on the parts.

As the key-labels were going to be replaced anyways, the old replacement-rings were removed. The keys are aluminum disks of ~13.8 mm diameter and 2.5 mm thickness (1/10 inch I guess). In the centre a 2.5 mm square hole. Aluminum is an easy material to work with by hand, it's soft and filed easily - nevertheless a 2.5 mm square hole in a 2.5 mm plate is tricky :-)

Keeping a new keyring handy for checking the fit/diameter, the 'U' was given a new key - the lower key-lever in the image above has the new 'U', an original for reference at the top. Looked credible enough.

Using the many useful images of Standard Folding keyboards online and exploring ~1903 typefaces, new key-labels were drawn in Inkscape. The curvy, 'art nouveau-ish' typeface can also be seen on the patent-prototype from 1903, and was kept for nearly all Standard Foldings. Very period in styling. (See patent-model picture on page 200 of the book "Typewriter - a Celebration of the Ultimate Writing Machine" by paul Robert and Peter Weil.)

Couldn't resist and made it a proper keycard. Here below in fairly high-resolution, in case anyone has a Standard Folding in need of new key-labels. (Many of these machines have damaged key-tops - the originals are made from card with a thin celluloid top-coating. This top-layer wears through over time - perhaps from typing with fingernails touching the keys.)

The labels were made with same method used before on the Erika. The keycard was laser-printed on ivory paper, then sealed with artists-varnish and given grey paint on the back to seal/make opaque. This should make the labels last, makes them resistant to wear and to moisture. 

Experimented a bit, and settled on using a 13 mm hole-punch to cut out all the new labels. The same way a set of thin plastic-sheet covers were stamped out. With a set of newly polished key-rings, all parts in place to re-label all the key-levers.

The key-rings were taken from a wrecked 1917 Corona 3. They are not quite the right pattern for a Standard Folding (and not tall enough), but less wrong than the previous and they are from the same company. The rings for the shifting keys are still the 1910 original rings - which is fortunate, because the donor-Corona already had lost a ring and had exactly 28 rings left on it (backspace made 28th).

Some PVA glue was placed on the keys before placing the label to prevent it rotating - and the PVA should not adhere to the aluminum and will make it possible to cleanly undo this restoration later. Firmly pressed down the stack of label and plastic cover with the ring and folded over the tabs with a screwdriver-tip to fix it all in place. Only one tab broke (unfortunately), so a small dab of cyanoacrylate placed there. (Cyanoacrylate is by the way also safe for restoration, it can be cleanly removed by heating it - placed in hot water it will lose all strength and fall apart.)

Then weaving the re-labeled levers and spacebar back onto the three polished rods, the assembly is ready for inserting back into the typewriter. Looking much better (and safe to touch again ;-)

Starting re-building the Standard Folding Typewriter

Using the proven project-approach of putting all parts in little bags, the Standard Folding Typewriter was completely taken apart. This reduces the machine to a simple aluminum frame. 

The holders for the (new) rubber feet were already sanded bare and re-lacquered black.

Then one-by-one, all the parts are cleaned until there is a collection of clean parts in bags. The cleaning really made a difference. As illustration; the lower rod in below image looked just like the rod above it - very satisfying difference :)

Using the great step-by-step guide "How To Build A Standard Folding Typewriter: Part 1" at the Words are Winged blog as a guide, the first parts are mounted back into the frame. As advised, the shift-lock bracket was mounted before placing the main pivot-rod with the shift-keys.

Re-building started :-)

Restoration of a Standard Folding Typewriter - stripping lacquer off aluminum

The full re-build of the little Corona 3 was actually done as a trial-run for the possible full re-build and restoration of my Standard Folding Typewriter. This relatively rare machine carried much history with it, signs of repairs and use over its lifetime. It however also looked 'derelict' and frankly it is/was. Being a bit daunted by the machine, it'd been kept wrapped (dirty!) on a shelf since getting it in 2022.

The Corona 3 proving to be feasible, the Standard Folding was now decided to get a full re-build. This will make it look better, cleaner and perhaps even functional. (And not looking like you'd catch something off it at 6 yards probably also would enhance its chances of surviving.)

The crinkle paint probably was applied in the 1930s, so historical of itself already. This had however to be completely removed for a restoration. All screws had been painted-over and impossible to remove, and also of course because these machines should be plain, dull aluminum.

Stripping paint from aluminum cannot be done with the usual method of lye; this would destroy the aluminum part (and potentially be quite dangerous too)! An alternative method is then acetone; especially older lacquer should dissolve and/or soften with acetone (i.e. nail-polish remover).

Because acetone is very volatile, a lidded bin was used and a few liters of acetone bought. Some paper painters-tape to better seal the lid and then propped-up to allow 'dunking' of the painted frame.

Note that also the celluloid top-layer of the old keys will react with the acetone. As these were not original and going to be replaced anyways; these were left on the machine. (And also because all screws were painted-over solid and couldn't be taken off.) 

The acetone-method does work, but needs much more time than the lye-method. Only after two full days in the acetone-bath was this lacquer fully softened.

After leaving it in acetone for 48 hours, the machine still looked painted black as before. The lacquer on the frame had by then however completely softened to a 'paste' - it could be simply wiped off with tissue-paper or a soft brush.

After wiping-off the black goo, fortunately most of the frame's original passivated-aluminum finish came out fine. Unfortunately, the front-panel and the carriage-panel did not come out so well, these ended up having to be polished and are now plain, shiny aluminum - to be dealt with later.

Importantly: all screws are released from their lacquer-seal and the little machine can now be taken fully apart for cleaning and re-building!