Friday, May 4, 2018

New Shoes for an Underwood No. 5


One of the original feet and one missing.

Both feet on the right side were very squashed.

Parts from McMaster-Carr

The one on the right matched the foot shown in the first image.

Better view of the bar that connects the back space key and the back space mechanism.

Not sure if this was original.  I was able to get exact replacements.

Comparing the new with the old. The old is just a bit shorter and thicker by .065" It may have been the same as what I installed and over years of holding the typewriter it squashed a bit.

Four new shoes (feet)

I wanted to check for level because I did try 1 long bumpers on the left and 2 short on the right, but the typewriter sat visibly tilted to the right.

Close enough for a match. Difference between left and right may be about 1/32"
My goal was to get new feet on this typewriter before the Type-In. Mission Accomplished.  I thought about the expensive ones on Ebay, but they'd be more than I paid for the typewriter and not add anything to it like a recovered platen.
When I get to the Royal 10 I will be ordering from Steve Dade for those and may add some Underwood feet as well as another set for my other Corona 3.

Here is the link to the rubber bumpers part number 9540K781

I did a bit of searching on line to see if I could find an original photo of an Underwood No. 5.  No luck.  I did find several advertisements though and they all show the taller feet like the one original tall one and the ones I just installed.
My thinking was I could put a small spacer between the shorter ones I got and the typewriter and create just enough space for the back space bar to not touch the table surface.  Since it looks like these typewriters sat a bit high and used the taller feet, I'll leave this No. 5 as it is.

After the Type-In this typewriter will be getting a recovered platen from J.J. Short and it should be good for another 100 years.


6 comments:

  1. You really do get so much enjoyment from getting these old beauties up and running again Bill. It's a pleasure to see the care you put into them. Enjoyed last post also. Have you decided definitely which machine will go with you to the Type In?

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    1. Hermes family from 1966, Underwood No5, and whatever else may fit into our tinycar.

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    2. Looking forward to hearing all about it!

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  2. I can't believe it's a 100-aged working typewriter! :D

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  3. WOW! so happy to see such a old typewriter in working condition:)

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  4. Solution: now you need enough No. 5's to use up all them feet :D

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