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It's A Jewell

November 27, 2013, 5:31 pm
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I did not quite know how I wanted to start this post.  If I had chosen it was a Jewell of a day or some similar title I was unsure what to write.

Today is my third day in Pennsylvania and the fifth (not of Scotch though) of my trip.
Earlier today there was a bit of sleet so Debbie and I decided to wait on the weather and see if we would get rain or snow.  As it turned out the precipitation stopped so we decided to take a trip to visit some Army surplus stores since it was one of the planned stops of my trip. We then packed the car and headed to Coleman's Military Surplus.

Debbie had never been to any surplus store before and was amazed at Coleman's.  We spent several hours there and a few more dollars than planned.  We never did make it to Millersburg and Saturn Surplus.  Had I brought my Blazer that would have been a must stop as I wanted to get another 4A032 engine and a few other generator parts.  Now I have an excuse for another trip.

Then we headed North and stopped at my parents house where I picked up the Jewell.

I did not want the flash, but the camera froze (as in due to the 20 deg. F temp.) and I could not retake without the strobe.  I like the contrasting colors to my Ace.


 Blasted Blogger!  I hate the auto crap Blogger does, but it is free.

I started to type out on the patio because everyone else wanted to talk and the typewriter drove kitty cat crazy.  
Then the snow started falling again and blowing in on my paper.  As the paper got wet it did not want to feed correctly so I plopped the lid back onto the machine and put the typewriter in the car.

Hope these typecasts are readable.  I am using my camera since I don't have a scanner.

Now Blogger lets me have normal justification.  I made quite a bit of typos in the typecast.  The first was because it was difficult typing in the blustery wind.  Later as I started to type in the hotel room I became interested in a documentary about Johnny Cash that I had never seen before, and I did not pay much attention to typing.

Another neat logo


I found this to be the most common of the Underwood globe and wing logo.
Like my ACE the Jewell has little listed on either Typewriter Serial Number sites.  I am guessing this one is from 1954 since the serial number is W 2499306.  If any one knows better please let me know.


I bid everyone a very enjoyable and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

For now from the Keystone via my Underwood Jewell and Dell XPS
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I'm Still Here

December 15, 2013, 7:20 pm
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While we were away this arrived.     



The longest masonry stone arch bridge in the world.  The Rockville Bridge.
I travelled under this bridge for nearly 20 years every day.		    

I have several photos of the bridge and trains from the 70s when I was in college taking photography classes.  Back then you could go up on the bridge and take photos and even walk the bridge.  Technically it was probably illegal, but I met some track crews and have some unique photos.  All  I need is to dig them out of my files.  The bridge was built in 1900 and is over 3800 feet long.  Before Conrail I think there were 4 tracks on top.  No there is one or two.

On the way home we drove past the monuments in D.C.  I could not resist imitating Luis over at One Photograph a Day and snapping a few photos as we went through.  Construction is almost finished on the repairs of the Washington Monument.
 

Jefferson Memorial
Doc Pomus was a singer and songwriter of the 1950s and 60s.  He wrote many of the songs old guys like me grew up with.  Later I played hundreds of his songs on the radio and today they get quite a bit of air play as oldies. 

I watched the DVD and if you liked the music of the 50s and 60s I think you will enjoy his story.

Doc was quite an amazing fellow.  When I heard about the documentary on NPR I contacted the producers and was able to get an advanced copy of the DVD. 
The movie is being screened in selective theaters and the DVD is available in limited quantities until 22 December.

http://pomussongs.com/

http://akadocpomus.com/the-film/


To order the DVD
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'Tis the Night Before Christmas

December 24, 2013, 1:00 pm
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Christmas: 79 Years and Still Going

December 25, 2013, 2:24 pm
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I knew the paper was at the end.  Trying to stretch it did not quite work.

I have quite a bit to write about Rich.  He and Bob were my first mentors and they had quite an impact on my life.  I've had quite a successful life.  I know my life would be much better though had I lived more as they did. 

Here are the links to the Santa Truck:

Lykens site

Please spend some time on this site.  For me many many great memories from working with Rich and the Santa team.  I left Lykens in the early 80s never to return again to be able to work with the gang.  Rich and Bob (and some of the other fellows) are no longer with us.

The best I can say is that Rich was a humble man that never liked attention.  I hope if he can see from the beyond that he is not upset his family set up the wonderful tribute to him. 
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As 2013 Comes to an End

December 31, 2013, 6:48 am
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From my original post on the SM9


I did receive a fantastic Underwood Standard.  It is the best typewriter in the collection save for the hard platen that makes it noisy.  Best of all was the price,
free.

The other highlight happened just this week when I received a free Omega D-II (predecessor to the D2V which is what I really want) enlarger is in great condition.  I've wanted a 4 X 5 enlarger for years and now this one is complete with the 4 X 5 condenser.  'Nuff said.  It'll fit nicely beside my Bessler 67C that I use for 35mm and 6 x 4.5 cm.  One day I hope to add medium format to the D-II.

Both of those only cost a bit of gasoline to go an get them and the trips were a nice for Mrs. M. as she seldom gets out and about and does not always desire to go along on my errands around town.

For those new to the blog Mrs. M's health is not always up to doing things.  She has a condition that causes paralysis (among other things) and she no longer walks.  So errands require getting in and out of a car too often for her to enjoy the outing.

Well, much more went on during 2013.  Many things were completed and many more left uncompleted.  As I reviewed a list of things to do from 2007, 2008, and 2009 I found many of the same things are still undone.

Now to dust off my old Signal Electric spark gap key and get ready for Straight Key Night .  Or I may just use my J-38.

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And 2014 Begins

January 1, 2014, 1:07 pm
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I notice things too late.  It is 300k and 500k miles, not kM or mm or inches or some easily attainable distance.  My German cars all made it more than 500k miles.

Sometimes the best things in life are free, like my favorite typewriter.

I should not reuse paper!

And this Omega D-II Enlarger.  Ready to print 4" X 5" negatives (or smaller)


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Burke & James Press Camera

January 5, 2014, 1:21 pm
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My press camera likes sitting on my leather desk chair as much as I do.


The view finder on top and the focus finder on the side.

 The top view finder is nice to quickly frame a shot, but it requires using the rear ground glass for correct focus.

The Kalart rangefinder focus finder on the side is quite easy to use and focus without needing the ground glass.

There is a focus/distance scale on the front bed and if shooting outside with ASA100 ASA125 B & W film I just set the focus for infinity and the lens at f16 for shooting in the bright sun.  I generally carry my LunaPro SBC with spot attachment in case I decide on more critical exposure.  For transparencies I do not guestamate my exposures and will use the correct focus and exposure as measured by my Luna Pro or Spotmeter-V.


Second paragraph, last sentence should be 'takes care....'

 This camera is a great cross between a regular press camera and a technical camera.  I tend to grab this for outdoor photography more than my other cameras.  For serious photos though I'll grab the view camera.  Weight wise it weighs about 3 pounds.  About the same as the D4 and lens.  Now if you want to capture several frames per second or high speed, take a 35mm or Dslr.

Here are photos over 60 years old and are still sharper and have better color than most digital cameras can do.  I do hate that I cannot buy Kodachrome any longer.
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Mamiya Super 23 Press Camera

January 28, 2014, 5:49 pm
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Super 23 with 100mm flat field lens.  This lens is required to tilt the back.


150mm lens, Super 23, sheet film back with ground glass, 100mm lens and 50mm lens.


6 x 9 and 6 x 7 back. Note 120 or 220 film can be used in the same back by changing the film plane inside the back making it easy to change film lengths.

Tilt-swing back.  Loosening the 4 thumb screws enables the bellows to be extended and back movements to be set. Normally the bellows is collapsed and the back is fully against the camera.


This is the Nikkormat Ft.  Rugged, but not as nice as similar Minolta and German cameras of the same era.


Carina 2 before getting a ZEP bath

Carina 2 after its bath

Linkages after all the white grime was washed away

Easy to see why 35mm took the place of medium format cameras for many photographers.


I also cleaned all the lenses for the enlarger.

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Happy I.T.A.M.

February 2, 2014, 4:00 pm
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On The Third Day of I.T.A.M.

February 3, 2014, 10:13 am
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Today's typecast was typed 100% on a sheet of the above paper.
Sorry for the yellowish rendering of the paper.  It is not yellow or buff, but white.  My scanner would not scan the ink in the correct color and to get the ink closer to its color the paper is a bit yellow.  The ink should be a bit bluer.

Well, I typed the post before going to get Mrs. a new camera.  By the time we left the clouds were breaking for the second time today and the sun shown through which got rid of most of the fog.

As we returned I commented on that the temperature is hotter than Hell here. It always is. Check it out on the NOAA site.  The forecast center is just up the road from Hell in Pinckney.  Yes, Hell does freeze over.

85 balmy (85F, 29C) degrees here under about half clouds and half sun. RH is 87%
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Olympia Carina 2

February 3, 2014, 5:35 pm
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Sent from my Olympia Carina 2 SN 48116741

Left alignment screws.

Right alignment screws.

This is just a macro of the screws.  Top most is for UPPER and bottom most is for lower case.

Before a Zep bath.


After a quick washing in Zep



Olympia Carina 2, Made in Japan by Nakajima
This is the second Japanese Olympia I've had in my collection.  The first one was B12 and it is no longer in the collection.  I did not like its action or tinny sound.
This one is a bit flimsy, reminds me of my Brother which is also a flimsy machine.  The Carina 2 is a nicer typer than my B12 and it does not have the tinny sound.  It is all plastic except for the paper tray and the major machine components.  To rate the machine compared to the B12 I would say the B12 is an ok typer and the Carina 2 is a fairly good typer.

The Carina 2 is a nice travel typewriter as far as weight and size, but with the large blow molded case it is quite large, about the size of a big brief case where a Skyriter, Baby or Montana is much more suited to travel as they are all much smaller when in their case.

The Carina 2, being a Nakajima machine has no information on line about its history or date of manufacture.  None of the serial number databases have it or any serial numbers close to it listed.

Here is the link to my earlier article when I first got the Carina 2.

The Olympia B12 is here.


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ITAM IV

February 4, 2014, 5:29 pm
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Itam Five. How Do You Store Your Typewriters?

February 5, 2014, 5:28 pm
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Sorry for the typos.  I just noticed some mis-spelled words and such.




Since the photo was taken there are 3 more on the top shelf and the Montana and Baby are on the shelf with 5 Skyriters, (yes 5.  One is unseen behind the other 4) and the very top shelf (not shown) has 3 machines on it
Here is the link to the post on the Hermes 3000.  There are several other ones as this was the H3k that I took apart to straighten the frame and make a few other repairs. I never had a typewriter in as many pieces as this one before.  It was the first.  The repairs were made over a few weeks and the entire project was much more fun than work.  Great fun once a sheet of paper was inserted and I found the machine worked nearly perfect.
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Itam 6, Typeweriter Repairs and a Mystery

February 8, 2014, 3:13 pm
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Before alignment




Left alignment adjusting hardware

Right alignment adjusting hardware

Hold the screw while making adjustments.  A Grace G2 Gunsmith Screwdriver fits it great.

Use an open end ignition wrench and turn the nut to the right to lower the character or left to raise it.  An angled typewriter wrench would work a bit easier, but ignition wrenches work fine.

This is the adjustment.  I used 2 wrenches to free the jam nut, made the adjustment and rejammed the nuts.  I really did use 2 hands, but at the moment of the photo, one was holding the camera.
After the completed adjustments



This is the first typewriter added to the collection in 2014.  Do you know what make and model?
This started out as a short break from paper work to clean my HHE.  I was going to post on the HHE, but when I pulled my Underwood 4B I found I never replaced the ribbon I stole to install onto the SS.  I could have used the HHE, but decided to wait.

While searching Craigslist I found an offer too good to refuse.  One night after work I made a stop and the typewriter above found a new home.  A further hint is that it works fine.

I spent most of Saturday cleaning a few typewriters and then typing in the garage where I only have test paper and engineering paper.  I used the engineering paper and made many many typos.

I hope everyone is enjoying I.T.A.M.  Does not seem to be as much I.T.A.M. activity as a few years ago.  Each year seems to be a bit less.

Cameras?  Well the rain that is needed on the Left Coast is steadily falling for the past 2 weeks on the Right Coast.  Unless of course the coasts are observed from the North looking South.  No running, bicycling, or photography.  I think we had one day of sun.

Here is the original post on my HH.
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Character = Royal HH Typewriter

February 9, 2014, 12:53 pm
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Ribbon Color Selector on the 1953 Royal HHP

Ribbon Color Selector on the 1956 Royal HHE.  Character.  A previous owner repainted the positions.





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Not Much of Anything. Only an Excuse to Post During I.T.A.M.

February 10, 2014, 6:26 pm
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Facit TP1 Ribbon Feed Repair

February 12, 2014, 6:00 pm
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Valentine Day Rambling

February 14, 2014, 4:38 pm
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Something in a Plain Brown Wrapper Arrived in the U.S. Mail Today

February 15, 2014, 12:49 pm
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Typing Table

February 16, 2014, 1:59 pm
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Typecast typed 100% on this brand typing paper

Using this Brother Acord 10 from 1981, making it the newest (by age) in my collection
Sorry for the blurry Escort.  I realized I uploaded the wrong photo after this post was up and when I change photos it usually messes up my post so I hope no one minds a bit of camera movement in the above photo.

The H-Lo typing table with the side leaves down.
For those who may want to live in Florida, once again today was quite spring like.  Clear sunny sky and at 2:14 E.S.T. my weather station recorded the high: 75 degrees F or 24C.  Won't be long and the heat will be unbearable again.  Once the temperature gets into the 80sF or high 20sC the R.H. follows and gets unbearable it stays in the 80% and usually more. 
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