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1928 Remington portable

This machine is Remington’s follow up to its very successful Model 1 portable.  This example was made in May, 1928.  Differences from the Model 1 include a wider panel supporting the typebars, typebar guards, and a wider carriage.  The Model 1 was usually black, but the Model 2 came in at least six color combinations.  This one is Ivory and Green. Serial number is NX83021.When I got it, the typebars on the left side were firmly stuck in the down position. I was unable to raise them to operating position.

I spent several days carefully inspecting the operating mechanism and being sure that everything else seemed to work.  Then I went to work with penetrating oil – PB Blaster that I use on my cars.  I put the typewriter outside on the porch and sprayed it thoroughly for two days.  After that treatment, I was able to move some of the typebars with my finger, but the 2, q, a, and z typebars were still firmly stuck.  After again giving it a through inspection, pushing the keys, pulling the typebars, and thoroughly understanding how the mechanism was supposed to work, I sprayed again at the points that looked stuck.

After another two days of soaking, the typebars were still stuck, so I resorted to force.  I grabbed the typebars with needle nosed pliers in about the center of the parts shown in the photo below.  I had to pull hard, but pulled them free.  I sprayed more penetrating oil into the slots that the typebars travel in, and worked them back and forth by hand. They eventually freed, and I was able to raise the typebars to the working position.

The lever on the right side raises and lowers the typebars.

I rolled a sheet of paper into the machine and tried it out.  Everything works beautifully – I’m amazed at how solid a machine this is.  It’s much more firm than the later small machines, and seems as though it will be practical to type on.  Other problems I notice are flattened rollers that will need to be replaced, and a lot of dirt.  I doubt that it will be possible to match the paint, so I’ll probably leave the chips as they are.

Update – The rollers were replaced with tubing from an automotive store.  The dirt inside was easily removed by spraying liberally with electric motor cleaner from the hardware store.