Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Underwod No. 3 with a Serial Number Not to be Found

Styling like the later models, and my No. 5 and similar to my No. 6


Check it out. A number not of file that I can determine.
 I used some lumber chalk to fill in the numerals to be sure I did not miss anything. This number is not found until the Underwood No. 4 and No.5, and the number states 1916 a full 11 years before the 11 inch No. 3 was released.  This No. 3 also has the newer mainspring with the thumb knob tension adjustment like my No. 6 rather than the crank like my No. 5.

I'll be posting more on this when I get to cleaning and repairing it.   My first task is to read on how to remove the carriage to get the vibrator working and free the stuck ribbon selector.  Then I may take the front and margin bar apart to fix the bell.  The margin release works on this typewriter, but the bell does not.

Seems a bit of PB Blaster and a cleaning with carb cleaner has gotten all the keys working, and a bit of Liquid Wrench on the margin rail and some lube on the carriage rail has all of that working ok.

For now though I'm more curious when this was made since the number is 115894 higher than the last number made.  Looks like 14000 were made in the final year of production if the chart shows the final year of production.

It could be made in 1929, but that would then be a wide carriage.

Will Davis has a nice review of the differences in the No. 4 and 5 with one picture showing a No3 variant of the No. 5 but only with a 12 inch to 18 inch carriage, but with Underwood Standard Typewriter on the carriage which is different than my carriage and the Underwood Standard Typewriter below the space bar.

Does anyone know the URL for the mirror of Wills site that used to be on Alan Seaver's site because Will's link does not work and there is nothing on Alan's site.  I searched the Wayback Machine, but nothing was found there either.

10 comments:

  1. possibilities:
    1) all of our No. 3-11 lists are incomplete. seems unlikely because there are multiple mostly agreeing sources at TWDB, and I would have noticed if any had more data than we were using, but possible.
    2) your machine is mislabeled. also unlikely, for reasons you've covered.

    if you find more numbers, let me know. (:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At first I thought a rebuild, but then why change the model no. on it, and it looks all original.

      Delete
  2. Gosh you have yourself a real mystery here Bill, my guess is that it is around 1920/30, don't ask me why, I just feel it ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm thinking by some of the things on this one it is one of the last made, but even then by the production rates it would be made sometime in the mid-40s and production supposedly ended about 1931.

      Delete
  3. based on the fact of the newer frame design and decals I would say its after 1923.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too. The production of the No. 3 with an 11 inch carriage from what I found started in 1927, but the SN on this No.3 is way past the end of production for all but the No.6 with SNs beginning way higher. Those for the No. 4 and No. 5 match, but predate production of a NO.3 11 inch by 11 years.

      Delete
  4. Will is on Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20091028022546/http://www.geocities.com/wbd641/Quick.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Richard.

    I searched on Will Davis and Underwood, but the search returned everything but what I entered, or it said no archive or some such dialog. I wonder where Will got his information vs, where Ted did.

    Seems the 1929 date for mine may be correct since that is given in the first group of serial numbers where the date for the start of the 11" is stated as 1927.

    I also found from Will's information that my No. 5 is a series H.

    I like Will's last paragraph about the model is more important than the date. True. I'm always curious though to find out to the nearest year to get the age of my typewriters.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've Got A Underwood with The Letters wu 20061 On It I Can't Find Out Anything About Can you Please Give Me Any Help You Can ... Thank you So Much..

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is a typewriter made by Underwood for Western Union. all Upper case but no slashed zero like the military Mills. Serial number may or may not be on the Typewriter Database as I found with mine.

    ReplyDelete