Richs (Perc o Prince)'s Typewriter website

[perc-o-prince]

Well I just got back from VV and that old typewriter was gon

Hi Pete,

Sorry that the Remmington was gone. There will be others. Too bad that you didn't live closer. I'd give you my Hammond organ. I'm looking for a taker. I don't play as much as I used to and would love to give it to someone who would appreciate it.

Rich

 

[drmitch]

Typing 101

This is so cool, I didnt know anyone collected this stuff!My typwrite isn`t that old but my mom found this dropleaf typing table at an insurance company she worked for. It was probably one of my first antiques. I just found a 302 phome today that will look good with it. I also have some mechanical stamps another typriter like this one ,an older adding machine , a check writer and other office stuff in my shop. Thanks Pete for bringing up Richs site , and thank you rich for sharing with us.

 

[ironrite]

Check Sorters

Those pictures of the rotary calculators are a lot of fun! Who knew they too were collectable.

I found this pic at a website of one of the check sorters I used to run. An IBM 1419, a bigger version, called a 2956 was two of these things bolted together.

The numbers on the bottom of checks are printed with magnetic ink. When the bank first gets a check, a proof operator puts the amount of the check in the number field. The sorter is what will read that ink, by magnetizing it, then reading it. Much like a tape recorder. It's done at relatively high spead.

You would jog the checks to ensure all the edges were even, in an electric jogger. Then load the checks using two vacuum lifters, pictured on the right side of the illustration. They would zoom through the write/read heads, those two circular thing. Then a series of gates would open, and the checks would be propelled down the machine and into their respective pockets. Above those pockets were a series of lights and switchs which also could determine the type of sort pattern you would use.

It rather looks like something out of an old SciFi movie. And it was a blast to run the machine. Heaven forbid you put too many checks in the lifters and they all fell out. All this work was deposit slips and checks and the idea was it all balanced! Checks out of order didn't, and you'd catch Hell from the people that did the balancing. Also, get a stray staple in a check and you'd have a huge jam and mutilated checks. Ever get one back in a tissue carrier and wonder what the heck happened to this check?

http://www.beagle-ears.com/lars/engineer/comphist/c20-1684/fig003.jpg

 

[petek]

Wow some fun stuff. My first experiences on a rotary calculator was when I was a tyke and the odd time my dad would take me on a Saturday or Sunday to his office at the factory where he worked. He'd be working away and I absolutely fascinated with those things, didn't know how to work one so I'd just press the buttons and sometimes the thing would take off, wheels spinning and the carriage chugging along. Again when I got my first job at the r.r. some of those were still be used as well. It wasn't until the mid 70's that electronic calculators finally became mainstream on every desk, up till then they were pretty scarce even in large national, multinational companies. The comptometers were difficult enough to learn, the rotary calculators more of a specialty but I did finally learn how to use one from one of the older gents but would have some difficulty with one now. Not too many people around anymore who can work one, let alone fix them. Talk about tiny springs and gears and levers. And of course they need regular maintenance, meaning they do need to be oiled properly and now they don't get it anymore so they seize up. Drmitch..when was the last time you oiled that Royal?

To do calculations on the rotaries above is a somewhat complicated and finger gnarling exercise.
If you want to multiply numbers you would do this, though I'm not familiar with the Fridens they're similar,
i.e
562.06 x 1583.39

the first two columns represent your decimals .06 & .39
the next 3 columns in brown are your hundreds (0 to 999)
the next 3 columns in gray are you thousands (1 to 999k)
and then the millions.
BUT..you can shift everything over to the left if you want more decimal places by using the first brown row as 3 decimal places plus the 2 gray columns for a total of 5 decimal places.
Columns can be canceled shut off if you're not going to use them on some machines.

So to multiply the above move over to the fifth column, the brown ones (the hundreds), and press 5 in the fifth column, 6 in the 4 column, 2 in the 3rd, 0 or nothing in the 2nd, and 6 in the first column

I can't see if that machine has a multiply button on the right or not.. but if there is you press it, then repeat the above using the 158339 but now you'll be over the left one more colum because youre in the thousands columns now.
Then by hitting the totalizer button the wheels at the top should spin to your answer.

It's way more complicated than that when you start getting chains. I think you can also somehow store factors and subtotals to be added in at different points but I don't remember how
I'll have to find one myself and play with it.