May 1, 2011

Today's tinker....


I'm working on an old Hammond "Multiplex" typewriter restoration at the moment.  I bought this machine on EBAY awhile back and it's getting close to completion.  When I first bought it, I had no idea what a project it would turn out to be.  When I first started on it, I couldn't figure out how the thing worked.  It looked like some "Steam-Punk" robotic crab.  It's like no typewriter that I've seen.  My first goal was just to figure out how the thing worked.  Little by little, it came to life!  Maybe that's why I like working on these old machines....it's kind of like Dr. Frankenstein....."IT'S ALIVE!!!!!"  I basically finished up cleaning and oiling the mechanical parts, now I turn wood worker and try to salvage a chewed-up, splintered, broken wooden base and lid.  Here's what it looked like to start....

ENGLISH TALL CASE CLOCK

My friend David and I recently purchased a 19th century tall case clock from a estate sale. It is a 30 hour clock with one weight.  David did some research and found it to be from the early 1800's built by Thomas Hartnall in Cirencester England.  I overhauled the movement and plan on sending the hand painted dial to a painter in England to restore for us.

OLIVER #5

THE SINGER "66 RED EYE"

My interest in sewing machines began when my wife purchased A "SINGER MODEL 66 RED EYE" from our neighbor's estate sale last year.  They call it a "Red Eye" because of the red eye shaped decals on the decals. 
It sat in our garage, alone, forgotten for several months.  One day my daughter and I hauled it into the house just to make room in the garage.  I knew nothing nor really cared much for sewing machines.  I Never used one and they seemed mysterious and complicated as well.  
For fun, I tried to move the hand wheel and nothing moved......that was it!  The ancient iron beast sucked me in.  I just had to figure out why it's frozen up.  I polished it a bit, tinkered, studied it and began to be impressed by the beauty and engineering of this old lady.  I removed the "head" (the machine part,)  from the oak table, and carried the hernia maker to my workbench.  Slowly I began to "reverse-engineer" the apparatus, and slowly began to unravel the mystery of the sewing machine.  Like all my tinker projects, I quickly became obsessed with it.  I just had to bring it back to life.  I discovered broken old parts that are surely unobtainable in these high tech times we live in.  But behold....the power of EBAY!!  Searching Ebay turned up everything I need to bring the 66 back to full operation.  I spent many ours of fun and frustration working on this machine, and it brought such a sense of satisfaction when it started to clickety clack again, good as new like the day it was manufactured. The Singer not only looks great, it also does a fantastic job of sewing.  My daughter prefers foot power to electric, she claims that it's much easier to control the speed. I wouldn't know,  I'm no seamstress, just a Tinkerer.

The SINGER "66 REDEYE" sewing machine

THE HERMES 3000

HAMMOND MULTIPLEX

Today's tinker....


I'm working on an old Hammond "Multiplex" typewriter restoration at the moment.  Hammond Multiplex....what a great name to name a typewriter. I bought this machine on EBAY awhile back and it's getting close to completion.  When I first bought it, I had no idea what a project it would turn out to be.  When I first started on it, I couldn't figure out how the thing worked.  It looked like some "Steam-Punk" robotic crab.  It's like no typewriter that I've seen.  My first goal was just to figure out how the thing worked.  Little by little, it came to life!  Maybe that's why I like working on these old machines....it's kind of like Dr. Frankenstein....."IT'S ALIVE!!!!!"  I basically finished up cleaning, polishing and oiling the mechanical parts, now I turn wood worker, (which I don't know much about,) and try to salvage a chewed-up, splintered, broken wooden base and lid.  Here's what the base and typewriter looked like to start....

Before.....

and after

I'm working on the final piece now which is the wooden lid.  Like a relic from King Tut's tomb, It is so shattered, crushed and mutilated, that it can hardly hold itself together. Actually, the stuff in Tut's tomb was in better shape! It is really messed up!  It's made of steam bent oak veneer on a thin wood.  When I first laid eyes on it, I nearly tossed it out. But, I hate to throw away something without at least trying to save it.  I'm now in the process of trying to glue it back together piece by piece. It's like archaeology work.

Well, I'm down to the final steps of this project.  I'm adjusting the type, trying to make the end result the best it can be.  It's a finicky typewriter, seems you tweak one thing and it throws off something else.  As soon as I am satisfied, I'll try my first "Typecast" and post it.