Sunday 14 August 2016

Typewriter Case Replacement for a Remington Noiseless 7



Situation
The typewriter from eBay (Remington Rand Noiseless 7) arrived with its case, and was in pretty good shape...except for the smell.  Mold.  This was not a problem for the typewriter - a new ribbon and time in the open air cleared that.  The case was a different matter.  Even closed, it couldn’t stay in the house.

In the garage workshop I sprayed the case many times with mold control, and even Mother’s Upholstery Cleaner (heavy on the ammonia).  As soon as the spray dried, back came the smell.

The only solution was to strip the hardware from the case, build a new one from 3/16" Baltic birch plywood, and fit the hardware to the new case.

Stripping the hardware.
Most of the hardware on this case is held on with rivets and washers.  Some are obvious, but others, like the catch to close the lid, need you to remove the covering of the box with a utility knife to find the end to drill to release the rivet.



The latches that hold the typewriter in place also had filler over those drillable ends.  To find those, look on the other side where the catches are, then cut the case covering roughly to match on the other side, and the three round, filled holes appear.  The drilling point for those is dead center of the filled hole. These holes also have a re-inforcing tube that the rivet goes through.




The handle has four prongs, two on the plate at each end, that go through the wood of the case, through a square plate with two slots, and then the prongs are bent outwards to secure the handle.  These prongs have to be bent up to release them from the slotted plates and the case.  If you don't have a handy small crow bar, an old screwdriver might do, just keep your other hand well out the way in case it slips.



At the end of this work you'll have a bunch of hardware and an old, smelly case, full of holes, but don’t throw it away yet.



The old case is a handy set of templates to fit the hardware to your new case. I sized and cut the top, base and sides from a half sheet (4' by 2') of 3/16th Baltic birch plywood.



Setting a pair of dividers to the width of my 1/4" chisel, I marked the end of one of the plywood sides of the case to make finger joints.  With the slots cut, I used it as a template for the other seven ends.  Two important things. First, mark the waste parts you will cut out with a pencil "X". Second, the actual cuts should always be on the waste side of the line.  Even if you are using an Xacto Razor Saw, like me, this precaution will keep your joints tight.



Then came the base.  Easy enough to transfer the holes from the old case for fitting the hardware, but things can go too well. I marked it to have dovetails that would fit in slots cut in the bottom of each side, then cut them, and marked the sides where the tails would fit.  I then put the project down, neglecting to mark which was the waste to cut away from the sides.  Grabbing a spare moment, I cut out the slots with the razor saw and a coping saw.  Then I tried fitting the sides to the base.  From the photo you'll see the problem. I had cut away the wrong parts!  Never hurry, it's always a bad idea.



Luckily I had cut the sides a bit tall, so went around removing the "castellations", then re-marked and re-cut the slots in the right places.



I got it right with the top of the case, no dovetails there, then glued, nailed, and clamped it together.

To cut the base from the top, so I could open and close the case, I marked the line around, making the cut with a Ryoba style pull saw. This was a Shark saw with a replaceable blade, as it was handling plywood.



For parts like the securing latches that hold the typewriter in the case and the hinges, I tested the holes I had drilled using small nuts and bolts, then replaced these with pop rivets when I was happy with the fit.
With the latch that closes the lid I kept the small nuts and bolts in place in case it needed adjustment later.

Fitting the handle meant re-bending the handle prongs.





The case feet were not reusable, so I fitted speaker feet bought from eBay to the base, and to the side opposite the handle.

I cut strips of plywood to make a lip that would keep the top and base of the case together when it was closed, and glued them in place.



In time I may cover the case in fabric, but for the moment I used shellac for the finish.  I don't expect to use this case out of doors, so shellac will do.



This was one of those projects that took me a bunch of weekends, as I fitted it in between other projects that were more urgent.  I now use this case with a Remington Quiet Model 1.  This is because the final case was heavier than I had expected, and the Quiet Model 1 is a lighter typewriter, but with the same latching mechanism to secure it to the base.  The result is okay, but still weighs as much as a desktop typewriter. Another time I will buy an aluminium tool case, or use a laptop case, as I do with my Olympia SF.  Less work and a more satisfactory result.


Happy typing!

7 comments:

  1. Great work on the typewriter case.

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    1. Thanks Bill. It's fun fixing parts like this I feel comfortable working on, but it's great that typewriter repair shops are still going, and I'm glad to have one nearby.

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  2. A beautiful recreation of a typewritercase. Since you leaved it uncovered, the dovetailnotches make an aesthetic sense too, as it was the way to go back then.
    I found your blog in surch of an answer to my problem. Recently I bought an complete Corona no.4, with ribbonspoolcovers, for a reasonable price (not that easy in Germany). The pictures of the local advertisement displayed also a casebase under the body of the machine, why I presumed a case included. But when I picked up the beaut It was soon clear, that just the base survived the time. Now im surching for the lock and fabric to make a casetop that fits to the base. Maybe you have an Idea for that?

    Best regards from enthusiast to enthusiast

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    1. Thank you Unknown! I also bought a Corona 4 recently, and will need to make a case for it from scratch - there's not even a base with this one. I have had success making cardboard boxes into storage cases for typewriters. They are not pretty, or waterproof, but they do keep the dust off typewriters, and they are not heavy. If the cardboard is strong, you can make a handle from string or electrical ties for carrying the box, and a peg through an electrical tie loop makes a way to close the box.

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  3. Hello David, thanks for your reply and sorry for beeing unintended anonymous. My Name is Aaron and about one and a half years more and more obsessed with typewriters. It started with an hesistant buy of an ERIKA 9 at a fleamarket and evolved into a growing typomania, of researching, collecting and repairing. I don´t know how passionate or casual you live this hobby(maybe its more), but I would love to hear of your experience and storys about it, if you like to tell.
    The idea for the case you have sounds simple but captivating, maybe underlining a unpretentious useability of the machine. The typewritercases seem to be an interessting and yet little noticed topic. I sometimes think about the idea of a standardized casesystem in two sizes, for portable and ultra-portable machines, dissmissing their wide variaty of cases, concentrating a collection to its core. But on the other hand I think, that a case moreoften can not be separated from a Typewriter and its story. On one hand it´s just a necessary, clumsy piece of luggage, avoiding a look at its precious insides. On the other hand it is a mere inconspicious fellow, given to guard selflessly, while providing eased portability and storability. By the look on different cases, of different models and eras, its becoming obvious that the case was an inherent part of typewriter developement. A strongly worn case may dampen the appearance of a typewriter and the fact, that companys often assigned outside producers for their cases, can raise its image as an unrelated sibling. Despide of that, my project faces me with the question, if and how I should preserve the bottom of the case and therewith enable a further reception. I still don´t know if I should try to redesign the missing top, close as possible to the original, or intent it as an obvious rebuild. In my research for the type and source of the fabrics they used for the upholstering -it seems like a black cubewoven silkcloth-, I found a picture of a case for an Astoria Typewriter, diplaying a label saying: ,,AUSTRIA-Österreichiches Erzeugnis". Assuming that Smith Corona Co. produced their cases in America, this could be an evidence for the dimensions of international trading back then.
    I putted also a lot of time in the search for a original caselock, maybe someone has rescued from deterioation, but wasn´t lucky. As I want to put the attached half on the bottom to new use again, I will try to restore the lock with a half of a new lock, which I try to adjust.

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  4. Hello David,
    it seems that my last reply didn´t make to display, maybe I should have saved it to my computer before sending. Anyway, some time has passed and things have developed. The last time we´d talked, I surched for a way to restore the missing cover for my corona no.4 case. The fact that the bottom is still there, didn´t made it easier, as if not I also could´ve made something new. I spended a lot of time, to try to find the explicit same silkcloth, they used back than to line the inside. I made a small degree in cloth and weaving but couldnt find what i surched for. But I found a connection at some pictures of the blog of Robert Messenger, where an Italian made Astoria has a case with astoundingly similar looking lining, having a sticker on it saying ,,AUSTRIA KOFFER - Österreichisches Erzeugnis". Seems like a interessting research topic. But besides that, things developed in another direction. While I combed the internet for typewriters, I found a poorly placed offering (even containing some missspellings) of a squarish typewritercase for my Corona No.4 in worn condition, but better than nothing. When I picked it up, the seller also offered me a ORGA PRIVAT desktop machine, which was left of a collection, the seller once received from his neigbor when he moved away, selling them once a time at flea markets. There once the Corona No.4 was sold the case originaly belonged to. But for whatever reasons, the seller hadn´t the case with him back then, so it remained with him. He took the case from time to time to flea markets, hoping maybe to meet the buyer of the corona, or to sell it to anyone. I hope it´s not selfish if I say, that luckily he wasn´t able to do that. Besides the fortune I had to purchase an original case, the cherry on the cake was, when I inspected the offered ORGA PRIVAT for its condition, knowing not to buy it, talking besides with its owner.
    While I haven´t seen this model in nature before, I curiously did take a look at its all appearance, finding a sturdy, probably once intense used and pretty dusty machine. Often common with this unloved finds, is that they don´t reveal all the smaller and bigger problems they developed over time, plus improvised fixings and alterations they received over time by its users. Last thing should come to my benefit. After a first survey of the ORGA, I continued to chat with the seller, watching the other stuff he had in display, when my eyes suddenly stopped again at the ribbonspools of the ORGA Typewriter, not really knowing why. I did take a closer look at the right ribbon spool-cover that didn´t seem to fit there, having a rising premonition that turned to assurance. Mounted at the right spool was a black cloverleaf-holed metalcover of a CORONA No.4, surely belonging to the machine originaly the case was from. I showed the seller some pictures of the machine it belonged to, and he gave it to me on top. Now I am the lucky finder of a metallcover, maybe getting in surch for the machine that misses it. The only sad thing about it is, that a once intact and complete machine was seemingly torn by people who hadn´t sense of preservation. Thats my story to the case, I hope you liked it :)
    Aaron

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    1. Well done Aaron! An interesting and providential series of events leading to your success. I'm just at the stage of working out how to make new feet for my Corona 4. I may try wine bottle corks, and see how those work. The original rubber ones are like rock, and flat as a pancake. It feels good to clean up a typewriter and get it in working order, but if you have a typewriter repair shop nearby, please go there for help - we want them to stay in business for those technical tasks that are beyond our skills and tools!

      Regards,

      David

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