Early Skyriters had metal cases because they’re derivatives of the Zephyr. All Zephyr cases fit Skyriters!
Note the short carriage return lever.
I’ve tried to find out what “CEEE” might stand for, but all of it seems a bit too bogus for this typewriter. The ‘S’ has been smashed through, but this is fixable.
A look at the filthy internals. This typewriter was heavily used then heavily forgotten!
I found this interesting… The rubber feet are absent and instead cork is used.
Showing its heritage versus the other one which was made in England.
More filth… I tried to use compressed air to no avail. This stuff is the sticky, icky, grimy kind.
A small look at the platen and the state of the felt under the typebars. The original metal spools did not come with it. I have some proof it was used into the 80’s, so it makes sense.
I only cleaned the MR key here. Go between this one and the next to see the difference.
After the cleaning. Some of the keys appear to be gnawed on like by a cat or possibly someone was tapping a pointed object on the keys.
I decided to try something new on this guy. I pulled out a ‘secret weapon’ weapon and tried it on the keys. Made them reflective again! The keys on the left are done, the keys on the right (cloudy/hazy ones) aren’t. They’re clean though.
Fully finished keys. If this thing could speak, I wonder if it was thinking, “I’m in a spa!”
The icky bend. I fixed this already and is fully functional again. The ‘Skyriter’ plate was bent and dinged in some areas, those are gone/fixed as well.
UPDATE: I’ve actually done some work on this today, off and on. The platen is recovered and conditioned. The typebars, -heads, and -faces are cleaned. The margin sets are cleaned and polished, along with their bar. The paper rest is fully functional and unbent — along with the name plate. Miscellaneous things have been cleaned as well.
Just chugging along and enjoying my time with this. I’m learning new things this time around and using different techniques. Thankfully the new things are good and the techniques are giving excellent results.
Frankly, I’m really proud of the unbent paper rest. Such a simple thing, but for some reason, I have an inkling people would consider that part “dead”.
While I’m not in the fan club for these machines, they there’s certainly a lot worse out there. Nice little machine. Clean like the wind!
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Yeah. I’d like to get my paws on a Hermes Rocket and/or Baby to compare. There are a few good ultra portables out there. Cost-wise, these seem to hit the mark better in terms of quality-to-cost ratio.
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I took delivery of a similar model earlier this week! Serial number is 2Y 270950, which dates it to around 1954-55. The short carriage return lever takes a little getting used to. I’m tempted to repaint it in a different colour, but I’ll have to figure out the best method for removing the existing colour, which is the same military/industrial as yours. Great typing action on these machines. Best of luck with your refurbishment. I’ll be watching closely.
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It isn’t too hard to change the colors. đŸ™‚ The thing you have to worry about is the internal felt — which isnt the highest quality — and the fact that if you sand it, you may be releasing lead dust into the air. If you do go the sanding route, for the love of your own health, please wear a suitable mask. Clean-up is an annoyance as the true proceedure requires vacuuming with a HEPA equiped vacuum followed up with a wet mop of all surfaces.
From experience, there are primers that /do not/ require sanding. Instead, they just need a very clean surface. That can easily be acquired on these machines. đŸ™‚
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