Vintage Typewriter Find - Royal HH

[didjamatic]

Found this at a thrift store the other day.



Those keys are bakelite, not plastic and are double shot so there is no printing to wear off.  Mine is just like this photo but also has a base that it is mounted on to help make it quieter.

This model was rare anyway, Royal only made them from 1954-1957 (Some sources say only 1954) but the serial number on the one I got indicates it is a 1951-52 model.  They didn't make the HH that year, but this one is clearly an HH.  They were the only models with the green keys and the large lever-looking button on the far right.  It also has a magic margin system which made it more complex than some of it's same vintage.

I know very little about vintage typewriters, just gathered this information on the net (like most "experts" do

It works but some keys are a bit stiff.  It's a little dusty on the inside but no real corrosion or signs of problems, just need to blow it out with some compressed air and figure out how to oil it without gumming things up.

[didjamatic]

Thanks, will do!

[pikapika]

i'd love to do something like that : http://www.instructables.com/id/Typewriter-Computer-Keyboard/

[lowpoly]

Those keys are bakelite, not plastic and are double shot so there is no printing to wear off.

Bakelite is brown or black, this should be some early plastic.

[didjamatic]

From what I have read it was made in many colors.  Most were darker colors due to the fillers added for strength.

[lowpoly]

Interesting. I even checked German Wikipedia. :-(

[pikapika]

i'm not much into electronics, but i understand what you mean, it's more the idea of it all that i found great

[ak_nala]

Bakelite is brown or black, this should be some early plastic.

Well, Bakelite IS an early plastic. In fact it is the first synthetic plastic (celluloid is earlier, but it is organically based), dating from around 1910 for commercial production. Of course sawdust, cotton, paper, linen or carbon black were often used as a filler, so only the resin part of it is always truly synthetic.

Because of the fillers used, most real Bakelite (made using the original process) is opaque black or brown, but other colors like white, yellow, red and green could be made; however, an essentially identical phenolic resin that was made by a different process not needing binders was made under the brand name Catalin. Most of the really colorful "Bakelite" was actually Catalin as it was made without fillers and was essentially transparent to begin with, so could be dyed in manufacturing into almost any color, even translucent and marbled.

Bakelite, however, has become the generic name for all phenol-formaldehyde plastics despite it originally being a brand name, like Kleenex for tissues, etc.

Most very early typewriter keys were either wood or celluloid, often with surrounding rings and mountings of metal and tops of glass or early translucent plastic. In the 40s and 50s they started making the high-profile double-shot keys like those on the HH, probably out of "Bakelite", but not positive. If it is VERY heat resistant, it's "Bakelite". If it melts anywhere near the temp of boiling water it is one of the newer plastics developed during or after WWII (PVC, Styrene, etc.) There are ways of testing other than heating, however.

I make no warranty about the following test for "Bakelite", so use at your own risk:

"Formula 409 - Test on a small area, preferably on the back side of a piece or the inside of a bracelet. Put a small amount on a swab and rub on the test area for a few seconds. If it is bakelite, the swab develops a yellowish residue no matter what color the plastic is. After testing, be sure to immediately wash the area with a mild dishwashing soap and warm water and towel dry immediately. Formula 409 is superior to other methods, as it does not strip the finish."

[didjamatic]

WOW, I just became a bakelite nerd.  I'll have to give the 409 a try, I think I have some.

[ak_nala]

Great find, btw.

If you use an oil, like Marvel Mystery Oil, do so VERY sparingly. What you really want to do, ideally, is thoroughly clean it of any and all dust, previous oil and grime first. Barring a complete disassembly and putting the moving parts in a solvent tank, lots of q-tips and some alcohol can be very helpful here (but keep the alcohol off the plastic parts and the outer finish, as depending on what they are made of any solvent, even alcohol, can cause problems).

Once completely clean, drop a little oil VERY sparingly into all the pivot points. Ideal would be a high quality sewing machine oil as it is a very light high quality oil that is less likely to gum up with age.

Reason you want to use as little oil as possible is that despite the housing it really is essentially an open system with fairly tight tolerances and any dust that gets in there (including carbon dust from the ribbon) will be attracted like a magnet to any excess oil and re-gum the works in no time.

Another good idea is to keep it covered when not in use.

If alcohol & swab cleaning and single drops of sewing machine oil don't work, a small amount of Marvel Mystery Oil in the joints might be usable in a VERY controlled flushing action, but don't over-do it, and sop up and swab off all excess oil off of all reachable surfaces.

Haven't done the "Marvel method" myself, but just got my own little find at the local recycling center that will definitely need something like this once I fix everything on it others have screwed up. It's a 1916 Royal Number 10 in desperate need of a lot of mechanical TLC (after I strip off all the 3-in-1 oil some schmuck doused it with to try to get it moving) - but the four panes of beveled glass, a good 80% of the finish and all the glass covered keys are intact

[didjamatic]

Too bad they don't have cleaning baths that are friendly to both electronics and mechanical parts.  I could throw my dirty keyboard stockpile and the typewriter in there for a few.

[ak_nala]

BTW - Bakelite is still used industrially. There is really no other plastic out there that has it's combination of high heat tolerance, resistance to most oils & many solvents, and electrical non-conductivity. Still use it in electrical switches, insulators, brake cylinders, cooking pan handles and the like.

Shame it's such a pain to make (requires high pressure and high heat to set and can't be re-melted once it is set, unlike most modern plastics, so modern injection molding techniques utilizing pre-made pellets won't work) as it is also very, very tough and durable.

Edit: And did I mention it's made from carbolic acid and formaldehyde? With hight heat and pressure! It's an OSHA violation waiting to happen trying to make the stuff!

[ak_nala]

The key is making sure the oil doesn't gum up - typewriters don't do well unless periodically fired up and used.

Yes, especially when it is a grease like on the Selectrics.

Ripster, where did you get that oil pen? I'll have to keep on the lookout for one.

As to oils, yes, many will work just fine. You are looking for a light weight, high quality one that won't break down or dry out with age. One of the best I've found is actually paraffin based with a nice long applicator nozzle/dropper that telescopes out from the clear plastic bottle (IIRC, got it at Ace Hardware). A little goes a long way.