Author Topic: What I got for $10 bucks...  (Read 2878 times)

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Offline 1391406

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What I got for $10 bucks...
« on: Fri, 27 June 2014, 22:55:04 »
I was looking on Bookoo.com last night and just for the heck of it I did a search for typewriters, since keyboards didn't turn up anything worthwhile. There were a few that came up, but the one that caught my eye was a lady who described the two she listed as old typewriters she was trying to get rid of from her mothers storage for $5 bucks each. From the ad, I couldn't tell exactly what they were, but I could see the IBM logo and originally thought they were probably Wheelwriter 1000's:

69325-0


I drove out to pick them up today and this is what one of them turned out to be:









______________________________________


And the other one?  This:





[img width=640 height=1139]http://i.imgur.com/HIEdOUs.jpg">>



____________________________________

Of the two, the Wheelwriter 30 Series II is fully functional and works well. The Wheelwriter 15 also works but isn't fully functional. Some of the keys don't actuate the hammer. But at $5 bucks each, I'm not crying over it. I have at least one fully functional Wheelwriter out of the deal.
« Last Edit: Fri, 27 June 2014, 22:59:29 by 1391406 »
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Offline rowdy

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 27 June 2014, 23:50:41 »
Nice :)

What are your plans for them?
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

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Offline 1391406

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 27 June 2014, 23:56:12 »
Nice :)

What are your plans for them?

I'm not really sure what to do with the semi-functional model(harvest the key caps?), but I may end up auctioning off the one that works. They're great vintage pieces and apparently some people still use them.
Unicomp Classic | Chicony KB-5181 (Monterey Blues) | IBM Model M (1391401) | IBM XT Model F | IBM AT Model F | Dell AT101W | 122-key IBM Model F
IBM Model M13 | Apple Extended Keyboard | Apple Extended Keyboard II | MTEK K104 | NTC KB-6251/2 | Realforce 87U | Realforce 104U | Type Heaven

Offline Elrick

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 28 June 2014, 00:26:09 »
They're great vintage pieces and apparently some people still use them.

You still have novelists that swear this IS still the only way to write a story  :thumb: .

Plus they're built like tanks to out last you in every way.  I wouldn't mind buying those oldies off you (despite being electric) but the shipping would be murder to my place here in Convict Town.

Offline 0100010

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #4 on: Sat, 28 June 2014, 10:07:22 »
Convert one to USB, keep the other as is.
  Quoting me causes a posting error that you need to ignore.

Offline Lammie

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 28 June 2014, 13:00:27 »
Very nice find! I'm also a typewriter collector. Made a video about these:


Your wheelwriter looks very clean and just new. Mostly, they are quiet beaten up through excessive use.
You can check if there are little plastic o-rings underneath the key-caps. I've put some on my Model M. It fits perfectly. Silences the keyboard a bit and softer landing! I'll open a topic. Share the knowledge.
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Offline babuinix

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 29 June 2014, 16:23:44 »
Could you take some phothos without the keys?

Whats the switches like? Buckling Springs?

Im bidding for some of those IBM typewritters models to harvest their keycaps to start dye experiments and feed my 2 Model M´s KB´s.

Feel a bit bad to just harvest the Typewritters if their working properly but their too big and i cant seem to be able to do much more with them.
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Offline dorkvader

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #7 on: Sun, 29 June 2014, 20:49:57 »
Whats the switches like? Buckling Springs?

the wheelwriters and some of the other keyboards at the time (most notably the actionwriter, I believe) are all buckling spring. Here's some pictures of my WW 10 series II that I shot when I was bolt-modding it
http://imgur.com/a/FOu89

Offline jacobolus

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 30 June 2014, 01:13:00 »
Im bidding for some of those IBM typewritters models to harvest their keycaps to start dye experiments and feed my 2 Model M´s KB´s.
Would you mind selling me a couple of "code" spacebar-ish keys for a few bucks, if you’re harvesting the rest of the parts (flippies, other keycaps) to use on Model Ms?

At some point in the future I want to see if I can make a custom layout buckling spring keyboard, and 2.5-unit spacebar-shaped keys would be sweet for it.

Offline dorkvader

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 30 June 2014, 01:27:01 »
If you remove the right alt, the code key and spacebar will fit on a normal M. (fun fact!)

That said, the IBM "code" key is one of my favourite keycaps. it's convex (as a thumb key should be) and very thick.

Offline False_Dmitry_II

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 30 June 2014, 01:53:13 »
Could you take some phothos without the keys?

Whats the switches like? Buckling Springs?

Im bidding for some of those IBM typewritters models to harvest their keycaps to start dye experiments and feed my 2 Model M´s KB´s.

Feel a bit bad to just harvest the Typewritters if their working properly but their too big and i cant seem to be able to do much more with them.

You could always get individual keys from ebay, clickykeyboards, or unicomp.
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Offline jacobolus

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 30 June 2014, 02:25:24 »
You could always get individual keys from ebay, clickykeyboards, or unicomp.
Does someone have these 2.5u spacebar-shape keys on offer? Can Unicomp still produce them?

Offline mougrim

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #12 on: Mon, 30 June 2014, 06:08:46 »
You can always ask. They won't bite you.
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Offline noisyturtle

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #13 on: Mon, 30 June 2014, 06:41:52 »
69451-0

Offline Lammie

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Re: What I got for $10 bucks...
« Reply #14 on: Mon, 30 June 2014, 08:39:25 »
I will sell all the keycaps from the IBM 6747 typewriter in the classifieds.

Mod Edit: Please refrain from selling outside the classifieds. ;)
« Last Edit: Wed, 02 July 2014, 05:57:14 by infiniti »
Topre Realforce 55g
Topre Leopold FC660C 45g
Matias Quiet Pro Mini
Cherry ML G84-4100LPAUS
Cherry MX Green QFTK
Model M Unicomp 103