I'm Insane So You Don't Have To Be! The Victor Portable Typewriter

Warning: Viewer Discretion is Advised.

A package is on its way. A special sort of package, one which requires the workbench to be cleaned and prepared.

Lo. The UPS was able to deliver the package safely, something they don't seem used to doing.

As you have already guessed, the contents have a particularly familiar form.

Beneath the cardboard and the bubblewrap, we have a case.

And Houston, we have a typewriter. A Victor portable typewriter, to be exact.

Yes, this is the machine which languished on Ebay for over a year. The price finally came down enough that I decided to throw a best offer out, and it was accepted. So now I am the owner of one of the failed typewriter designs of the '20s. And I'll be honest. This thing is in good shape all around, save for the one part that was made of potmetal (and which also happens to be rather important); the frame-segment. Everything else is high enough quality steel.

Well, you know me. And what I tend to do to typewriters. So lets pop the hood, get to work, and give the typosphere the best glimpse its ever had of the Victor Portable.

The carriage lock is a cool feature, that seems to work well. 

The carriage knob is unique, in that the screw goes through the plastic part of the knob itself. It also turns out that the rod is spring loaded on the left side.

The carriage bearings are rather unique. They are like an Underwood 3-banks, save for extra star wheels.

The carriage rocks back for shifting.

The design is meant for the escapement to stay where it is, though, so the carriage escapement rail is designed to sway over the fatter gear.

A cool "feature" of this impressively designed machine is that the carriage is actually held in place by a swinging pivot. Unscrew the one on each side, and pop. comes right out (be careful around the ribbon vibrator).

Taking the keylevers out was a task which I was rather unorthodox in, to say the least. But theyre out.

The Victor portable (patents pending). It will clean up great, as there is no rust what-so-ever; just a very sludgy layer of grime all around. The real task at hand will be the repair of the broken up pot metal. That shall, indeed, prove a daunting task. But nothing that a blowtorch, some solder, and some grinding shouldnt be able to fix

The Type-Writer

Bringing machines back to life, one part at a time.

Happy Typewriter Day, everyone.

Speed Restoration

If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 WPM, you're going to see some serious shit.

I fully expected it to take at least a solid week, based on my usual habits regarding time spent in the workshop. But for reasons not to be explained, I decided to see just how quickly I could get one of these turned around (especially due to them being my specialty).

The results were positive, though the expediency of the cleaning efforts was certainly helped by the fact that the machine actually worked with me, whereas most seem to actively resist my cleaning and restorative attempts. Save for the one thin rod not wanting to come out, all other screws and parts came apart properly, the rust was only a real problem on the topside of the carriage, and  by golly even without oil the cleaned pieces worked right.

Behold, El Zorro Espanol!

 Yes yes, I know I'm terrible at taking pictures. But it should be easy to tell how much cleaner this Fox is now. The paint is a bit iffy, and there is evidence that it was actually repainted previously, but I decided to just give it a layer of protective wax rather than really try to buff it up or anything. Apparently having sat in a Texas storefront for the better part of a few decades, I like to think it has a "Texas Sun-baked" sort of look.

Line 'em up, Knock 'em down

Welcome back to FNN, the Fox News Network, bringing you round the clock information and pictures about everyone's favorite typewriter brand.

I decided to crack open the Typewriter Repair Bible just for the heck of it as I worked on the Fox 24.

But there were no sections on Fox. A wonderful resource for the sane individual who doesn't completely dissect his or her machines for cleaning and repair without hesitation. I am not sane. Still, at some point I will most likely look for helpful tips within this magnificent tome; for now, I know Fox well enough I suppose.

The finished No. 24 in all its glory. I was able to find quite a few small changes that the company made by this point, outside of the obvious ones like the keytops. Most of the changes seemed to be aimed at making it cheaper to manufacture.

Typesample, complete with little accent markings so that the machine can be used for a multitude of languages I presume. Cool little curly F which I assume is some country's currency symbol.

Cash Register: Check

Fox 24: Check

Fox Sterling: Entering Restoration Stage 1

You were introduced to this wonderful little Fox Sterling a few posts ago. It is special due to its spanish keyboard, of which I know of no other Fox portables to possess.

Everything is set for the operation. For once, I decided to time myself to see how long it takes to disassemble the machine.

It took a whopping 4 minutes for me to get to this stage.

Carriages are cleaned last in this workshop, so here we have the main body of the machine.

And roughly 34 mintues later, here's what we have. I was slowed down quite a bit by the thin rod that runs along the back of the frame (holding in a part of the keylever system) which refused all attempts to come out. I had to be a little unorthodox in my methods, but I eventually got it out.

It may look like a mess, but beleive you me; This is a well organized disaster zone. I've done this enough times, after all.

I was thrilled to find that what I thought was rust was really just a dirty, old oil coating. There is still some rust, by all means, but nowhere near what I had expected. Here, you can see how nicely the keylevers will clean up.

 This episode of the Fox News Network brought to you by Purple Power industrial strength degreaser; when steel wool just isn't as efficient as it should be, cut through the dirt with highly corrosive chemicals.