Selectric/72

[y11971alex]

Today, I went on a day trip to the Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. While I was touring the neighbourhood, I found a Selectric for sale for $50 CAD, or roughly $36 USD, in operational condition with only a couple of quirks. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to a car, nor was I expecting to be carrying a typewriter with me, so I had to lug it home via public transit.



Nevertheless, it's in awesome condition.



Response is prompt, and action is fluid, after I repeatedly touched the sticky keys to loosen them from the grease applied when they were last serviced: 1971. For a typewriter that hasn't been serviced for the last 35 years, it was up and running in record time.



According to the back panel, this was ordered and installed by Toronto Stock Exchange in Nov. 26th, 1970, so it's probably that this unit dates from 1970 or 1969. Internal engravings show that this was made in Canada.



There's some minor dust in the mechanism.

[Findecanor]

Nice!

In the top picture, it looks as if it has a pointy nose. Is this an extra wide variation of the Selectric?
From a simple Google Image search it looks as if there are three different variations in this generation of Selectrics, your being the widest one.

[y11971alex]

Nice!

In the top picture, it looks as if it has a pointy nose. Is this an extra wide variation of the Selectric?
From a simple Google Image search it looks as if there are three different variations in this generation of Selectrics, your being the widest one.

I think it must be the 15" model.

[y11971alex]

Update on the Selectric. The technician called back, saying that it's soaking in a special solvent designed to dissolve the old lubricant, dating from 1970, that is turning into an adhesive. :p

It's going to soak for 5 or 6 says, since a day-long soak only works for Selectric IIIs, for some reason. :p

The sticker on the machine also reads "Johnston Office Equipment", which was once a competitor of the technician's firm. Johnston folded a few years ago, so now they have something of a monopoly on Selectric repairs going on. Even IBM Canada had to call them up to repair the Selectrics they still use a few months ago. :p

[fohat]

Somebody posted a comprehensive guide for refurbishing a Selectric either here or on GH a few years back. It may have been the dreaded Ripster and it would be gone now.

I was semi-thinking of doing mine until I got to the long soak and I dropped the idea.

[XMIT]

y11971alex who is doing your repair? I can recommend someone in the US (Chicago area) who does a great job. I got this recommendation from bhtooefr.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121906933544

The guy's phone number is in that eBay listing. Seriously, just give him a call, you'll get a better price that way.

fohat: I decided a while ago that I *do not* want to be a typewriter repairman. That's where I draw the line. Beamsprings, fine, but the cost/benefit is too high for typewriter repair to make sense for me to do. I had the choice of doing it myself over many weekends with much swearing, or paying a professional with 30 years' experience a few hundred bucks to do a better job than I could hope to do without many hours of practice. Seemed like a no brainer to me.

I do have a big Selectric II, I kind of wish I had one of the smaller first generation ones instead. Oh well. Mine is great, I'm not getting another.

[y11971alex]

y11971alex who is doing your repair? I can recommend someone in the US (Chicago area) who does a great job. I got this recommendation from bhtooefr.

Dominion Business Machines, of Toronto. From their history page, you'll see that they started typewriter servicing in 1898.

[zslane]

When I was deciding which Selectric to buy (because I've wanted one since I was a kid--yeah, before there were PCs I was in love with typewriters), I did my research and decided that while the original Selectric, with its beautiful round body, is perhaps more iconic, I preferred the feature set of the Selectric II Correcting model. And it had to be one of the classic brown ones. Got mine from a local mom & pop typewriter repair shop off eBay:

image.jpeg (961.95 KiB) Viewed 1960 times

This is Hank, and my favorite element ball is Artisan-12 (with Letter Gothic 12 a close second). I really need to pick up an Orator ball someday...