Upon losing my job earlier this year and deciding to take the early retirement route, I noted that I would be trying to seriously cut back on my typewriter purchases, Thus far l’ve been doing a good job of this, But then a short while back, I saw a listing for a machine that I had briefly owned in the past — a Torpedo 18b.
The first example that I owned was a 1961 model. Sadly, it didn’t live up to the owner’s description that spurred me on to buy it, Fortunately the
seller was a decent person and took that machine back. Based on my previous experience, I found the Torpedo to be an interesting though slightly underwhelming machine. Thus far, I’m finding this slightly older 1956 model to be more impressive.
Both machines feature the same very direct feel that results in the typebars moving with no lag to speak of between the moment a key is pressed and the corresponding type bar begins to move. That is probably the biggest selling point when it comes to these machines, at least in my opinion. This ’56 model looks nearly brand new, but it is going to need some attention.
As you can see, the “on feet” alignment matching the bottom of the uppercase and lowercase letters is in need of a slight adjustment. In addition, the platen is definitely in need of resurfacing. This platen is hard as a diamond and I’m sure that a freshened unit would make a noticeable difference. Lastly, the ribbon reversal mechanism was not working properly,
The ribbon reversal mechanism in these machines is slightly different than on any of the other typewriters that I one In the case of the 18b, a ribbon without eyelets is called for, but the key is to make sure that you are using the appropriate DIN 2103 spools. When I purchased this particular Torpedo and saw the metal spools, I assumed that they were original to the machine as it was in such clean condition it appeared to have not been used much in the paste It turned out that I was wrong.
I won’t try to describe the rather unique mechanical design of the automatic ribbon reversal mechanism found in the Torpedo 18b as I doubt that I could come up with the right words to do it justice., But it does appear that it is dependent upon having the correct spools installed, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, In the case of the 18b, those spools are the DIN 2103 models. Not only is the outer flange of the DIN 2103 larger in diameter than that of the standard spools (2,125″ vs 2″), but the inner barrel diameter appears to be smaller than that of the standard spoolso At any rate, after I removed the standard 2″ spools and replaced them with the DIN 2103 spools, everything worked as it should. You’ve got to love a nice, easy “fix”.
AFTERTHOUGHTS: I don’t mean to come across as speaking ill of the Torpedo 18 series. After all, as mentioned above, this is the second one I’ve owned and they do have a great typing feel. It’s just that I had such high expectations of this model after all of the wonderful things that I had read about it. It’s a bit of a shame that the first example I owned was a bit of a letdown. I do think it’s good to know as much about any typewriter model as you can if you are considering spending more than just a few dollars on one of these machines. One thing that I didn’t realize about these machines when buying the first example that I owned is that apparently a number of them have experienced problems with their key tops. In such cases, the tops of certain keys where the shape of the letter contains sharp peaks or valleys have deformed and begun to “curl up” (for lack of a better description) at the point of the peak or valley. This creates a small point sticking up, which feels abnormal (and isn’t something that I personally care to feel when typing). When pressing your fingertip against the V, W, A, K, Y, etc. keys, you can feel where the key has deformed over the years. You can easily check for this when looking at a machine in person. But if you’re buying remotely, the only way to determine whether or not the Torpedo 18 you might be contemplating purchasing has such problems is if detailed images of the keyboard have been provided.
Heh, well you’ve had 2 more than me. Torpedoes seem to miss me all the time 😀
Oh but all those other gems that haven’t missed you (or vice versa)!
By the way, I just received my fourth different Typewriter Repair Bible. Always thankful for all that you do for the rest of us in the typewriter community.
Thank you for your desire to learn more! 😀
I will admit to having quite a few gems handed to me on silver platters. It is a life of delight, to be sure! (:
Regarding my desire to learn more, you need not look any further than yourself when it comes to thanking someone. I appreciate both the motivation as well as the information that you’ve provided the rest of us with. At just over a year into this journey, I’m still really enjoying myself. It feels good to occasionally be able to help out these machines that I’ve already gained so much from.
As far as those gems are concerned, it seems only just. Those such as yourself, who were drawn to jump into the fray of typewriter collecting/restoration/salvage/evangelizing/what-have-you, are very deserving of all the gems they end up with in my opinion.