IBM Typewriter - should I buy it ??

[Snade]

Local garage sale is selling a black IBM selectric typewriter, looks like a selectric II in good shape.

I have no reason to buy this.

But I always thought they were cool back in the day and my typing skills are very good.

What do you think ? Crazy ?

I'd probably offer 20 bucks.

(update: photo below)

Snade

[spartanmanor]

impulse buy

[Bogframe]

I would, I already have a 1930s Royal manual.

[Snade]

impulse buy

Yes, it would be.

I'm still mulling it over, but something is telling me to grab it. Trying to resist.

[mhardy6647]

I have several in the basement; dump finds. I used to collect Selectric IIs and up for Gary Kaufman's (www.the-planet.org ) father. Gary's dad restored and sold them until he finally retired. http://www.the-planet.org/danfords.html

Also some pre WWII manual typewriters downstairs :-)

So... sure, why not?

[Snade]

Picked it up for $10 without testing it at the garage sale.

Got it home and it works. :banana:

Brings back some great memories. The solid feel of this keyboard is amazing.

Here it is:

IBM Correcting Selectric II (circa late 1970's) with Letter Gothic 12 point typing element.

http://www.gallagher.com/photos/2008/ibm_selectric.jpg


I'm thinking all mancaves should have one. :yes:

Cheers, Snade

[75Center]

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs.

Ahhhhh memories of high school.

Hope you can find ribbon for it when you need it.

[Brian]

I was given a II wide carriage in need of ball so after surfing the 'Bay for a few months I got a hit of 28 balls for about a dollar a ball. Sadly the typewrite is frozen up but there is a guy in the city who does repair work on them so I'll probably have him look at it. A couple of weeks ago at the local thrift there were 3 regulars sitting on the shelf but did not have time to check to see if they worked or the price. Some muscle person put them on a top shelf about 8 foot up. They are not collectibles so can not figure out why someone would want to make them hard to get to.

[Snade]

Came with an IBM cover and new-in-box ribbon. The owner said their father used it almost every day to type letters to family until he passed away last December.

Found the user manual online and used it to replace the ribbon and tweak some of the settings.

This thing is cool.

[pioneervato]

The Selectrics were nice. I had the old standard gray unit. A heavy beast as I remember. I see them from time to time at the thrifts. Nice score.

[Fred Sanford]

My old one sounded cool starting up, too- almost ominous.

Rrrrn rrrrrrn rrrn rrn rnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN...

I wish you fun & no hernias.

je, 1930s Underwood Noiseless 77 here.

[Doctordirt]

Snade I'm sending you a telegraph.................:D

[Snade]

Snade I'm sending you a telegraph.................:D

That made me laugh. :D

Thanks.

[Robie]

Very cool piece of equipment, my friend. Now you gotta get a mimeograph machine too for those Xmas card newsletters.

I was always mesmerized with how that ball would move so quickly and rotate to the appropriate tangent so that only one letter would be typed. They are very heavy but a beautiful piece of design. The correcting feature was cool.

A typewriter still comes in handy for filling out the occasional form that isn't on line. Now you can start that book you always wanted to write on ..............................

[wajobu]

Those Selectrics are built like a tank. I think that you'll find that there's a parallel or serial connection somewhere on it. We used to use one of those as a "teletype" with our high school's Wang computer in 1974-7.

[wajobu]

Those Selectrics are built like a tank. I think that you'll find that there's a parallel or serial connection somewhere on it. We used to use one of those as a "teletype" with our high school's Wang computer in 1974-7.

[mhardy6647]

We used even earlier Selectrics as printers on liquid scintillation beta (radioactivity) counters when I was in grad school. Neither IBM nor Packard (who made beta counters) wanted to own the interface when we had printing problems :-)

Some here may remember the "20 mA current loop" interface... :-P And you might remember teletypes, too...

[Snade]

The use of Selectric typewriters as printers connected to a computer is discussed in this Wikipedia report on the IBM Selectric (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric_typewriter#The_Selectric_as_computer _terminal).

Interesting stuff, for example the keyboard is not "electric", it is mechanical. No electrical signal is sent when you strike a key on a selectric typewriter.

[Strawman]

I started working on Selectrics in 1984. The only "electric" part in them is the motor. The keys are activated my springs and cams. If the motor makes a heavy ticking sound, their is a smal plastic shim that needs to be replaced by the clutch. Don't forget to lube the motor, the carrier rail and bearings, and remove the ball and put a few drops in the "top hat" and pivot points.

[Scorpion8]

Those Selectrics are built like a tank.

They were, and Snade is correct in saying every mancave needs one. Very cool grab.

[mhardy6647]

The earlier Selectrics, with very fluid, 1960s styling, are even cooler IMNSHO.
Gary Kaufman has one of the small carriage Selectrics in a coral color that's ueber-cool.

EDIT: This one is like Gary's... the image is big, so I'll just paste the link.

http://www.stat.pitt.edu/stoffer/redsel.jpg

[Snade]

EDIT: This one is like Gary's... the image is big, so I'll just paste the link.

http://www.stat.pitt.edu/stoffer/redsel.jpg

Very nice looking selectric. I researched pricing on Ebay and the red ones seem to go for higher prices.

I associate the most common gray colored selectrics with work, so I was very happy to snag a black one.

[vinyldavid]

My mother threw OUT a Remington 5...........in MINT condition, and a few Smith-Corona's on the grounds of "You never USED them......." :tears:

Great find, Snade!

[Fedallah]

I've been wanting one of the smaller Selectric I's for a while. I have a thing for typewriters, that model in particular. Big, heavy, durable, expensive. Industrial construction.

The IBM Model M computer keyboard was designed to have the same key feel of the Selectrics. They've also become a bit of a collector's item.

[sleddogman]

I've got an old beige one out in the garage that I keep meaning to bring inside if I can find a table for it. Those interchangeable golf ball fonts are nifty.

[Snade]

The IBM Model M computer keyboard was designed to have the same key feel of the Selectrics. They've also become a bit of a collector's item.

Hey, I've got a Model M keyboard in my computer parts closet. I guess I should hang on to it. Thanks.

[Snade]

Replacement ribbons for the Selectric II are available online for about 5 bucks, but the "correcting tape" that lifts the type off the paper, it sells for about 30 bucks a roll in the online stores. If they still sell white out, that's probably a cheaper way to go.

[onepixel]

Find yourself a good old Remington.

:)

[Fred Sanford]

My Underwood was made by Remington, I believe it's nearly identical to the Remington Noiseless 7.

je

[stereodctr]

Snade, I have to agree, no other typewriter has the solid feed of an IBM. Back in the day, I was a fairly good typist on a Selectric II. We still have a couple of them at work and I attempted to type a label last week. For a three line address I had to use the correct function three times. I don't know if it's just me or not, but for some reason typing on a typewriter is nothing like typing on a computer.

[Fedallah]

Hey, I've got a Model M keyboard in my computer parts closet. I guess I should hang on to it. Thanks.
http://clickykeyboards.com/

[x_25]

Hey, I've got a Model M keyboard in my computer parts closet. I guess I should hang on to it. Thanks.

I have one. my dad has one, my mom has one (only keyboard we have found that she can't destroy. she actually wore divots into the keys of her last one). They are great keyboards.

[poohsan]

The owner said their father used it almost every day to type letters to family until he passed away last December.

hopefully not *caused* by the typewriter...

[Snade]

Love this selectric II. Replacement ribbons and correcting tape available searching on the net.

I picked up some "correcting tape" on Ebay for $8.

The correcting tape pulls the type off the page - an innovation over the old white out method. Simple, fast and effective.

http://www.gallagher.com/photos/2008/ibm_selectric_II_correcting_tape.jpg


http://www.gallagher.com/photos/2008/ibm_selectric_II_open.jpg


http://www.gallagher.com/photos/2008/ibm_selectric_II_a.jpg

Cheers, Snade

[pmsummer]

Very nice. Imagine how much that puppy'd cost to manufacture TODAY!

[dokblues]

Nice score Slade I have the same one and it`s still working great. You know every once in a while you find something you just need to do on a typewriter.

[philcib]

I'm thinking all mancaves should have one. :yes:

Cheers, Snade



Especially if you have to fill out forms in triplicate.

[spartanmanor]

Picked it up for $10 without testing it at the garage sale.

Got it home and it works. :banana:

Brings back some great memories. The solid feel of this keyboard is amazing.

Here it is:

IBM Correcting Selectric II (circa late 1970's) with Letter Gothic 12 point typing element.

http://www.gallagher.com/photos/2008/ibm_selectric.jpg


I'm thinking all mancaves should have one. :yes:

Cheers, Snade

Ok so I have not come back to this thread since you posted the photo. The Selectric was a great machine. Probably the pentacle of typewritters. It looks like you got one in great shape so at $10 no loss there. Now the real story is if you will ever use it or will it just take up space in the closet?

[Snade]

Now the real story is if you will ever use it or will it just take up space in the closet?

True, it has very little utility at home.

It is in my basement family room on a nice vintage typewriter stand. Right now I "exercise" it once a week and I'm thinking of using it on a daily basis to type a quick "to do" list for the day. True, I can do that on my computer, but I dig the sound, feel and look of this puppy.

I always show it to visitors to the house, and I get mostly silence as a response. One friend, my age, thought it was very cool.

[stuartk]

I always show it to visitors to the house, and I get mostly silence as a response. One friend, my age, thought it was very cool.

If you had an Executive and knew how to use it, that would be cool. :)

[stuartk]

Those Selectrics are built like a tank. I think that you'll find that there's a parallel or serial connection somewhere on it. We used to use one of those as a "teletype" with our high school's Wang computer in 1974-7.

That was probably an Anderson-Jacobs terminal.

I've poked around a lot inside regular Selectrics, and they don't have any kind of data connection.

[stuartk]

Interesting stuff, for example the keyboard is not "electric", it is mechanical. No electrical signal is sent when you strike a key on a selectric typewriter.

That's actually true of all electric typewriters AFAIK.

If it has keyswitches, it's an electronic typewriter or some other variant.

[Snade]

That was probably an Anderson-Jacobs terminal.

I've poked around a lot inside regular Selectrics, and they don't have any kind of data connection.

Detailed information on how the selectric was modified to print from a computer terminal in the 70's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric_typewriter#The_Selectric_as_computer _terminal).

[Patriot1776]

I have a Selectric II as well like yours Snade, but mine's blue. An office upgrading its equipment had just donated it to the REACH store here in my hometown, and I picked it up before they had even put it on display in there while helping an uncle take some chairs over to the same place. Your gonna hate me for this Snade, but I paid just $2 for it!!

It actually gets considerable use from me as I like to write as a hobby, and I've found myself writing a lot more after getting it for two reasons:

1) Its so fun to use! Listening to the all mechanical innards do their work while hitting the keys and watching the golfball whirl as it strikes the page makes me, as a writer, want to keep writing just to keep seeing that.

2) Pulls me away from the computer and the Internet for doing first-drafts and brainstorming. One big problem I have is that I can easily get distracted and sidetracked when doing some things, writing being one of the biggest. Before I bought the Selectric, I was going weeks without writing because I was dreading having to really work hard to stay focused on what I was doing while working in OpenOffice's Word Processor. The Selectric's changed that. Now, when it comes to my writing, I'm worrying about what I should be worrying over as a writer, what I want to have happen next in the various stories I write and where the story may possibly go if I have this happen vs that, instead of worrying over how much I'll get written before I get sidetracked.

My big limitation now in using it as I don't have that many places to set it while using that provide good ergonomics, so I'm having to stop now because my hands or back start to hurt.

Mine came with a 12-point Letter Gothic golfball, but I've since ordered and installed a used 12-point Courier golfball so the pages I type look more the way they should look when coming out of a typewriter. :D I've also gotten myself 18 rolls of correcting tape too as I find myself doing a lot of editing while doing first drafts, and I go through correcting tape rather quickly.

EDIT - I don't know if you've seen the sites Snade, but there are ways to buy these things fully professionally refurbished, but be ready open your wallet up, as a professionally refurbished Selectric II fetches $500+, which I think is close to how much these things sold for brand new way back when.

[Snade]

It actually gets considerable use from me as I like to write as a hobby, and I've found myself writing a lot more after getting it for two reasons:

1) Its so fun to use! Listening to the all mechanical innards do their work while hitting the keys and watching the golfball whirl as it strikes the page makes me, as a writer, want to keep writing just to keep seeing that.

2) Pulls me away from the computer and the Internet for doing first-drafts and brainstorming.

<snip>



That is a great looking Selectric. I agree with you regarding writing with the selectric, how it helps you focus and provides a subtle but constant motivation to continue writing.

A computer does too many things. Too many distractions. When using the Selectric, the focus is on writing.

It just feels right writing new material on this machine.

Great feedback. Thanks. Snade

[Fedallah]

One time on the Bay I found an IBM typewriter-ball keychain. I wish I would have bought it, it would have been pretty cool.