5 Sep
2011
5 Sep
'11
10:08 a.m.
At 06:16 PM 9/4/2011, you wrote:
I have a pair of Olivetti Underwood 288s (10-key
7 digit input, 8 digit output adding machines),
one of which I got from list member Patrick
Finnegan a couple of years ago, and one which I
found in a local thrift store this summer.
Finding the second one inspired me to try to get
them working... and I am rather out of my depth.
I worked for an office equipment store back in
the 80's. They had a concrete laundry tub filled
with kerosene or some similar solvent, with some
metal racks in them. Any major repairs to
typewriters or mechanical calculators was
proceeded by a dunk in the solvent, perhaps over
night. I think they used the other half of the
sink for a second dunk. Might have been more
kerosene or maybe kerosene with a small amount of
light machine oil dissolved in it. They only
dunked the metal parts. I'm not sure if the
removed each plastic key first or not-- maybe they did.
The two guys that did this stuff, Joe and Carlos,
were really good at what they did. They were also
both 60-something, and are probably gone from
this earth by now. Too bad; my boss was a crook
but these two guys were the salt of the earth,
and were a pleasure to work with.
-T
811 . [Voting] The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear.
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