The purpose of this page is to help identify trouble spots on typewriters. Why would you need this? Lets say a typewriter is being offered to you but you're fairly unfamiliar with it. How would you know what questions to ask?
This page is a conglomeration of the tips we've received from typewriter collectors near and far. It's by no means all-inclusive, and it'll be added to regularly as new information comes in, but we hope it's a useful resource. Each typewriter named below is followed by things that you should look for or ask about.
Click here for a good general typewriter rating form! Feel free to print this page out then just click 'back' on your browser to return here.
American Index
*Rubber type strip generally missing
*Index applied poorly and often chipping
Bennett
*Have any of the keys dropped down? This may indicate missing
hair springs. If you press a key and a key above it goes down as
well, it's probably a missing hair spring
*Check for platen knobs (fairly common to have them missing)
Blickensderfer
*If mounted on a base and the keys and typeball work but the
carriage doesn't, check for carriage locks that are mounted to
the board at either end of the carriage
*Press the far right key on the top row. The ball should spin
about 1/2 way around and bow to the carriage. Press the far left
key on the top row and the same should happen with the spin in
the opposite direction. This will indicate that the gearing in
the head is operating properly. When doing this test if any other
key goes down when you press a key, there are probably hair
springs missing underneath the typebars
*Be sure ball elevates when caps and figs keys are used.
*Is the inking mechanism there?
*Inferior plating often resulting in bubbling, peeling or rust.
Commercial Visible
*Plating was bad quality- expect bubbling and/or peeling
*Ribbon spool covers and pen holder often missing
Franklin
*Has the arm that holds the ribbon spools been broken/repaired?
Hall
*Rubber type generally broken or missing
Hammond
*Are the ends of the carriage broken?
*Missing spools/nuts or ribbon cup covers?
*Missing ribbon shield?
*Celluloid card(s) chipped/cracked?
*Language card clips missing/bent?
*Does the shuttle swing freely when key are pressed and does it
return to the home position?
*Are carriage locks present? They should be either screws that go
through the rail on newer machines or clips screwed down on each
end of the carriage on older machines.
Lambert
*There should be a small spring in an adjustable holder on a rod
in front of the scale. This is for tripping a ball bearing that
rings the bell
*Has the dial been cracked or broken and repaired?
*Are the platen knobs and bell present?
Merritt
*Are the type slugs in their channel below the carriage?
*Platen made with inferior rubber- generally distorted or cracked
*Index applied poorly- generally worn or flaked off
Mignon
*Are the ribbon spools original? Near the center hole, they
should have a small hole to receive the pin on the spindle
*Is the type sleeve chipped or broken?
*Has the indicator arm been repaired? i.e.- on the #2, there's a
piece of spring steel that is occasionally cracked/repaired
National 1889
*Has the frame supporting the carriage been broken/repaired?
*Are the ribbon spools original? They should be fiberboard-like
with a wooden core
*Is the spacebar present?
Odell
*Is there a type slide? Is the strip of type on the bottom of it
one unbroken strip
*Is the ink roller and frame there?
*Is the bell there?
Oliver
*Are the wood cores for the ribbon there?
*Are the covers for the ribbon cups there?
*Nickel plating generally bad quality
Peoples
*Is there either an ink roller on a frame or a ribbon holder cap
for the typewheel
*Are the 4 button tops there for the indicator, shift, space and
print levers
*Index is often worn
Postal
*Are the ribbon spools original? Near the center hole, they
should have a small hole to receive the pin on the spindle (that
hole is rectangular with rounded ends)
Rofa
*#1 model type segment made of pot metal and succeptable to
swlling thereby freezing the typebars
Sun (index model)
*Is the ink frame and roller there?
Sun (keyboard machine)
*Is there a small ink roller that pivots to a larger one for
re-inking when struck by the typebars
Victor Index
*Finger cup on indicator often snapped off and missing
*Type on daisy wheel was individual fingers of rubber glued to
segmented metal wheel- some may be missing.
Virotyp
*Are all the type slugs present (should be only one empty spot
which is for the space key
Williams
*Are the ink pads there?
*Are all of the type slugs there?
*If the carriage doesn't move, are the carriage locks screwed up
into the ends of the carriage
World
*Rubber on platen generally distorted
*Rubber type generally missing
*Index usually well worn
*Finger cup on indicator sometimes broken off and/or missing
Yost
*Composition keytops on the #1 often found swelled and/or cracked
*#10 model keytops (celluloid) often found split or broken
*All models including frontstrike succeptable to having slugs
stuck to ink pad from gummed ink
Remember that the climate a machine comes from can affect its "as found" state. For example- machines from England may exhibit more climate induced rust than others.