the typewriter mechanic.

Use the contact form. Tell me what the machine is (make, model, decade if you know it), what's wrong, and where you're shipping from. When you hear back from me, have a couple of photos ready to share — at minimum, the front of the machine and a close-up of the nameplate or serial number. I'll tell you whether the machine is worth restoring, give you a rough cost range, and confirm I have bench time.

Don't ship a machine without hearing back first. A typewriter that arrives unannounced sits on a shelf until I can sort it out, and I'd rather not have your machine on a shelf.

I reserve the right to decline. Some machines aren't worth the cost to restore — parts may not exist, or the repair total exceeds what the machine is worth. I'll tell you honestly. (And honesty doesn't cost extra.)

Full packing instructions are in the FAQ ("How do I properly pack my typewriter to send to you?"). The short version: lock the carriage, pad the platen and ribbon vibrator, double-box with at least two inches of cushioning between the inner and outer box, and tape every seam. The single most common cause of shipping damage is an unlocked carriage. Please do not skip this step.

Use a carrier that lets you insure for full replacement value. UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail with insurance are both fine. Get tracking. Photograph the packed box from a few angles before it leaves your hands.

Shipping damage is between you and the carrier, not between you and me. If a machine arrives damaged, I'll document the condition with photos and help you with the claim — but the claim is yours to file. This is why insurance matters.

Return shipping is paid by you. I'll quote it before the machine goes back.

The diagnosis fee is $40, paid up front when the machine arrives. It covers my time to inspect the machine, identify what it needs, and send you a written estimate. If you go ahead with the repair, the $40 is applied to the final cost. If you decide not to proceed, the fee covers the inspection time and the machine ships back at your cost.

Once you've approved the estimate, I do the work. If something unexpected comes up mid-repair, I stop and check in before pushing past the estimate. You shouldn't be surprised by the final invoice.

It's a queue. Most repairs go out four to eight weeks after the machine arrives, depending on what's on the bench and on parts availability. Some take longer when a part has to be sourced from a donor machine or an overseas supplier. I'll give you a realistic window once I have the machine in hand, and I'll update you if it shifts. I won't promise a date I can't hit.

Stripe (credit and debit cards) and PayPal. Payment is due before the machine ships back. I'll send an invoice with payment links when the repair is complete.

If a machine sits here unclaimed and unpaid for ninety days after I've sent the completion notice, and you've stopped responding to email, I'll treat it as abandoned. I'd rather not — say something if life gets in the way and we'll work it out.

Usually, yes. Manual portables, even though they may contain thousands of individal parts, are mechanically simple and remarkably durable. A machine that's been stored dry and undisturbed almost always responds to a standard service — clean the segment, fresh lubrication in a few specific spots, a new ribbon, verify the platen and drawband.

The exceptions: machines stored in damp basements (rust on the segment is difficult to come back from), machines that were dropped badly at some point (bent typebars, misaligned escapement), and certain late-model plastic-shell typewriters whose housings have gone brittle. If you're not sure what you've got, email a photo and I'll tell you straight.

A restoration brings a typewriter to museum condition — repaint, rechrome, every screw polished. That's expensive, careful work, and it's appropriate for a small subset of machines. What I do is the very next tier down: clean, lubricate, repair, and return it typing. The cosmetics stay as they are unless you specifically ask. For most owners and most machines, this is the work that actually matters.

Almost always old grease and dust packed into the segment slots. Decades of it, in some cases. A thorough degreasing and cleaning of the segment is the standard fix, and it's what I do — the snappy feel comes back. If a single key sticks while the rest are fine, that's usually a bent typebar, which is also fixable.

Usually a slipped or broken drawband, or a gummed-up escapement. Both are common and neither requires hard-to-find parts in most cases. A drawband replacement is $50 flat. Escapement cleaning falls under the standard service. Skipping — where the carriage advances too far or unreliably — is also typically an escapement issue and treatable the same way.

Two different problems with overlapping symptoms. If the ribbon reverse mechanism is jammed, I'll clear it. If the ribbon itself is just dried out — common on machines that haven't been used in a while — I keep universal black, black/red, and blue ribbons in stock for most portables and swap one in as part of the standard service.

Classic sign of a well-loved machine. The closed letters fill in first because they have the most surface area to catch ink and paper fiber. A thorough type-slug cleaning is part of every standard service — your print comes back crisp.

Send a photo of the machine from the front and a close-up of any nameplate or badge — usually on the paper table, the ribbon cover, or the back of the carriage. If there's a serial number visible (typically stamped into the frame near the carriage on one side), include that too. Between the badge and the serial, I can almost always identify the machine and tell you roughly when it was made. The Typewriter Database (typewriterdatabase.com) is a great public resource if you want to look it up yourself.

Whatever it came with: case, cover, original instruction booklet, spare ribbon spools, brushes, oil bottle. The case especially matters — it protects the machine in storage on my end, and the original paperwork helps me verify completeness on intake. If the case is missing or the zipper's broken (very common on Olivettis), bring the machine in whatever you've got. We'll work it out.

Use it. That's the short answer. A typewriter is a working tool, and the mechanisms inside it are designed to move — machines that sit in closets for years develop sticky type bars and dried-out ribbons faster than machines that get typed on regularly.

A few specifics. Keep it covered when you're not using it; a cotton dust cover or a clean pillowcase works fine. The original hard case is great for transport but traps humidity over long stretches, so don't seal a machine away in its case for years. Avoid damp basements and unheated garages — temperature swings and humidity are what age a typewriter fastest.

Don't oil the segment. The segment is the slotted block at the base of the type bars, and it should be clean and dry. Oil there attracts dust, gums up, and recreates the sluggish-keys problem I just fixed. If a single key starts to stick, a drop of naphtha — lighter fluid, sold as Ronsonol or Zippo at any drugstore — on a Q-tip at the typebar pivot usually frees it. It evaporates clean and leaves no residue. Don't substitute WD-40; it leaves a film and makes things worse over time.

Replace the ribbon when print starts to fade. Universal ribbons fit most portables and run a few dollars apiece online, or I can sell you a fresh one. If you want me to take a look at the machine once a year for a quick once-over, that's a thing I'm happy to do — most machines don't need it, but it's there if you want the reassurance.

Packing is the part most people get wrong, and a typewriter that arrives damaged is heartbreaking for both of us. The short version: lock the carriage, pad everything, and double-box it.

Lock the carriage before anything else. Every machine has a carriage lock — usually a small lever or button near the carriage release. An unlocked carriage that bounces during shipping can bend the escapement, snap the drawband, or worse. If you can't find the lock on your specific machine, email me a photo and I'll point it out before you pack. Wrap the platen (the rubber roller) in a soft cloth or bubble wrap to keep it from rubbing against the type bars in transit. Pad the ribbon vibrator and any loose levers with a folded index card or a small wad of bubble wrap so nothing rattles.

Put the machine in its original case if you have one. If not, find a box snug to the machine, with newspaper, foam, or air pillows filling every gap until the machine doesn't move when you shake the box gently. That's the inner box.

Now put the inner box inside a larger outer box, with at least two inches of cushioning between them on all sides. This is the part most people skip and it's the part that matters most. Crumpled paper, foam peanuts, or air pillows all work. Tape every seam and corner — twice. UPS and USPS handlers are not gentle.

Use a carrier that lets you insure for full replacement value, and get tracking. UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail with insurance are both fine. Photograph the packed box from a few angles before it leaves your hands — if it arrives damaged, those photos are what the carrier's claim department wants to see. Email me the tracking number once it ships. Full mail-in rules — the rest of the workflow, the estimate process, payment — are in the "process" section above. Email me before you ship.