Parts & AccessoriesTypewriter Cases: Original, Reproduction, and When to ReplaceThe case is the part of the typewriter that takes the most abuse and gets the least attention. Original cases crack, lose their lining, and shed their latches. Here is how to evaluate, repair, and replace a case without degrading the machine it protects.Department
Parts & Accessories
Sourcing rare parts, evaluating aftermarket ribbons, restoring hard rubber platens, and keeping the small consumables that separate a writer from a paperweight.
7 articles in this department
Parts & AccessoriesTypewriter Cases: Original, Reproduction, and When to ReplaceThe case is the part of the typewriter that takes the most abuse and gets the least attention. Original cases crack, lose their lining, and shed their latches. Here is how to evaluate, repair, and replace a case without degrading the machine it protects.
Parts & AccessoriesCarbon Paper Is Not Dead: A Practical Guide for Typewriter UsersBefore the photocopier, every carbon-copied letter passed through a sheet of pigmented paper thinner than a magazine page. It is still manufactured, still useful, and worth learning to use well.
Parts & AccessoriesRubber Feet and Grommets: The Small Parts That Determine FeelHardened feet turn a quiet portable into a jackhammer. Replacing them is a one-hour job that changes how the machine sounds and how it walks on the desk.
Parts & AccessoriesRibbon Spools Are Not Interchangeable: A Field GuideThere are at least a dozen incompatible spool designs in common circulation. Buying the wrong size means a ribbon that will not feed. Here is how to identify what your machine actually takes.
Parts & AccessoriesChoosing a Ribbon: Cotton, Nylon, Silk, and What Each One Costs YouThe label just says 'universal typewriter ribbon'. In practice, the material — cotton, nylon, silk — changes the impression, the lifespan, and whether you can re-ink at home.
Parts & AccessoriesSourcing Rare Parts: The Donor-Machine StrategyNew parts for a 1955 Olympia SM3 do not exist. Old parts do, and the cheapest way to acquire them is to buy an incomplete machine of the same model and quietly harvest what you need.
Parts & AccessoriesHome Care for a Hard Platen: What Works and What Does NotYou cannot re-vulcanise a platen in your kitchen. You can, however, buy meaningful improvement in feel and print quality with three simple treatments — and avoid the three internet remedies that will destroy the rubber outright.