Category: Typewriter

Smith-Corona Typewriter Series Feature Comparison

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Where possible I have tried to reference one of the earliest and one of the latest years of production to ensure the features remained constant.

5 series

work-in-progress
Clipper Sterling Silent Silent-Super
Years (approx.) 1949-1961** 1949-1963* 1949-1957 1954-1961
Lower-Stencil-Upper Ribbon Selector Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tension Adjuster Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ribbon Reverse lever Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tab No Manual Manual Key-set
Paper Bail Yes Yes Yes Yes
Paper Finger Rollers No No Yes Yes
Paper Guide No Yes Yes Yes
Paper Support No Scissor Scissor Scissor
‘1’ key No No No Yes
‘+/=’ key No No No Yes

*Switches to the 5AX line, body style changes
** Switches to the 5A line from 5C, body style changes

Report from (after) the IPM Typewriter Celebration

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Forgive the typos, this was ‘on the fly’.

Replacement Typewriter Cases

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There are many typewriters, even portables, that are missing cases or have case too badly damaged to serve their original purpose of protecting the machine. The most common solution in a case rehab or to find a good case with a parts machine and use the good case for the good machine.

It’s difficult to find new cases that will work for a typewriter because most cases have sections (lid and base) that aren’t proportioned similarly to a typewriter case. However, there is one category of available cases that some times have shallow and deep sections like a typewriter case: snare drum cases. Only some of the new ones would be suitable to be repurposed for typewriters. one advantage is that they are sized appropriately, being generally square and able to contain a 14″ diameter 5-6″ tall drum. This is slightly roomy for most portables. Padding or transferring the hardware from an old case will take some ingenuity. There are even some cases for deeper drums, toms and marching snares, that might fit full-size/office machines.

For ultra portables there is another left-field option, cases designed to hold LPs. There are several with dual, sometimes locking, latches and they come in a small variety of colors. LPs in sleeves are ~12.5×12.5″, so the machine would need to be a bit smaller in order to leave room for some padding.

Typewriter Display Cases

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Sometime ago there was a post on Typewriter Talk asking about clear display options for typewriters. One’s mind first imagines gallery and museum cases, then searches for a budget version. Acrylic sheets are not too expensive and the construction is straightforward but requires some tools and building experience. I thought, “there must be something that can be repurposed” and started down several paths.

The first path was to check for clear plastic or glass cloche or cake covers. Unfortunately, even my ultra-portable has a hypotenuse of ~16″ and I didn’t find a supplier of round covers over 13″. The Cake and pastry covers are an awkward aspect and are too shallow for most machines.

The path bearing fruit is organization tools, specifically closet containers mainly for storing shoes.

  • The Container Store Manhattan Modular Storage Drop-Front Bin with Lid: The interior dimensions are ~14Wx14Lx6-7/8″. It’s larger than the exterior dimensions of most of my portable typewriter cases. It also hast a horizontal swing door. I would propose using it upside-down from it’s design, possibly without the opaque lid. The vertical corners are radiused and the plastic looks reasonable clear and even.
  • IKEA SKUFFEN Shoe box, clear, 14Hx11Dx8H”: I think it’s too small for most typewriters.

Any ideas, how do you display typewriters?