The Best Compact IBM Selectric Typewriter?
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- Опубліковано 5 лип 2024
- #typewriter #ibmselectric
In Typewriter Video Series Episode 357, Joe and Kevin Kittle compare the IBM Selectric 721 against the Personal Selectric. Both were the smallest body styles of Selectric made, but they do have significant differences. Which one would be best for your needs?
I absolutely love the denim cover and the new paint job by Kevin. According to the US inflation calculator $650 in 1983 is the equivalent to $1,979.78c today. Great video, always enjoy seeing Kevin in the videos. If you don't have a fancy truck you could always use one of those Jackery power units for your desert typing trip.
I basically only collect Selectrics and Wheelwriters, also learned to service them. If you're mechanically minded it's not bad and there are tons of resources out there. Have fixed a few for other people now too. The Selectric III is easily my favorite, dual pitch and I love the lights on the pitch scale. The keys are also a better plastic than the IIs and feel better to me. You can swap over the carriage from the 210 to the older cartridge style fairly easily too. The 210 cartridges had a lot of moving parts and the NOS ones are pretty unreliable. I've got IIIs with each style.
PS: if you want a computer keyboard that feels like an IBM typewriter look at a Model M or F, IBM made them back in the day and Unicomp still makes a Model M today. Uses the same buckling spring mechanism from the WheelWriter.
Hey EJ22. That change would make a great video! Have you considered that? Have you posted anything, here on UA-cam or elsewhere? I'm asking because I myself would like to try it.
The Selectric 1 is what I learned to type on way back in high school. Used a Selectric 2 -3 in college and definitely a 3 in the military. Great stuff for conventional typewriters until the advent of the word processor and computers. We have it so easy these days with computers, word processing apps, laser printers and all that. I do recall that in high school, an IBM tech would be out on occasion to service the machines. The typing teacher always reminded us that typewriters are going away and that "soon" everyone will have a computer on their desk. Her emphasis was to know how to type for the future.
love it
I ❤ only God and myself. Indeed.
It was a pleasure to look at you both. You have so much fun, i love it!
Hilarious and informative! Great job, Joe and Kevin.
I have to say that when a Selectric works well, it's a fantastic machine. Making them work well is hard work.
Daniel
That is a very beautiful cloth bag!
Thanks for the excellent videos!
Thank you!
Congratulations.
If you get a chance, look at the Brother Correct-O-Ball XL-1 typewriter-- it was made in 1983 and was marketed as the portable alternative to the IBM SELECTRIC
I wrote histories in the USAF from 1961 through 1964 and used a Selectric for the last 2½ years. It was like writing about a 50-page college term paper in 3 copies each month, complete with footnotes. The italic typeface came in handy for Latin terms in those. Everything had to look perfect, so I couldn't do erasures. Any error and the page had to be retyped. The Selectric was great, but I think now how much easier it would have been if computers, word processors and laser printers had existed back then.
My favorite all time typewriters. I have a 1980 (I believe) Correcting Selectric II. Doesn’t look as handsome as the Selectric I you have, Joe. But I love and use the correcting feature. Great video. Keep up the excellent work.
Thank you. You're both awesome.
I really enjoy my IBM Correcting Selectric II. Got it for $100 and it only cost $45 to fix.
Very nice! Mine cost me $5 but about $130 to fix (when you count all of the tools and parts) so we broke even, lol.
3:35: Well, unzip that thing and let's take a look at it.
Me: Giiggidy. 😁
I've got two Selectric II typewriters. One though is a "thumper" and needs the Central Pulley replaced but I'm not at that level of repair capability. The other one, my favorite, is my 1975 Model Selectric II dual pitch and correcting that is not a "thumper". I acquired them one for $5 and the other $20 at yard sales. Both needed degreasing and lubing, which I had the capability to do 🙂
Never gave much respect for these Selectric typewriters when I was a young man as I was heavily into computers at the time. I acquired my Selectrics well into retirement and I am totally impressed with the mechanical design and the ergonomics of typing on them.
Very enjoyable video and comparison. Great information as always. Thanks Joe (and Kevin).
Great video, thank you. Can you make a video on Kevin's personal selectric? There's precious little footage on those machines.
I love Selectrics. I have one but needs repair and there is no one in my state (South Australia) who can repair. Sad 😢
The old IBM Correcting Selectric was the best for typing feel and correcting on the fly. Learned on the old manual Underwood in school. Brings back memories.
These typewriters are just so fascinating. Also love these videos with both Joe and Kevin!
The fact that something so technologically advanced is considered antique, is in itself an indication of ... I don't know what... kerboom?
Kerboom is a good term! With the advance of global capitalism, mechanical complexity is superseded by technologies designed to be efficiently manufactured and quickly obsoleted - the “technology treadmill.”
I love this video and recently purchased an IBM personal electric myself that was restored by a retired IBM technician who serviced them. He said that you can reload the Selectric III cartridge with the ribbon from a Selectric II and that it was fairly easy. I have not done it yet but will give it a try in the future.
Really enjoyed this video. Recently came across a Selectric II in a 7-11 parking lot that was totally functional and just needed a new ink cartridge. I'm convinced that it belonged to a writer who couldn't get anything published and thought the typewriter was cursed.
That was fun! My take on the Selectrics is, it was a fantastic typewriter that was never meant to be used in the home. As you said, if you don’t use it the lubricants inside will harden, and if you do use it the parts will wear out. In either cases you need the parts and a repairman with specialized training to fix it. It’s a shame because there is nothing quite like the silky smooth touch of a well sorted IBM Selectric. 😏
There will never be a typewriter like the CORRECTING Selecting II.
I serviced 10s of thousands of the Selectric in 10 years in the field in highly urban areas. Dense territories as we called them.
I later worked on the national call center to solve service issues that field service reps could not. Working over the phone with nothing more than the sound over the phone and an IBM Customer Service Engineer describing the problem.
I was later hired by the US Department of State to go into Eastern Europe as described in the NSA paper called ” The Gunman Project”.
Little known fact. I'm 74 now and just found out this year that the key buttons are made out of ASBESTOS. Remember the powder that collected on the foam in the base?
In terms of reliability, the CST II was made in Lexington, KY and keyboards in Austin and Bolder. Reliability plunged in the CST III when Montreal started building the keyboard and other parts.
Great video!
That sound brings back memories
Nice vid. Didn't know about this reduced version. Did you know that in "Columbo" TV series almost every villain who's office is somehow involved into the scene does have an IBM Selectric? This work up to season 6. From round shape Selectric I to Selectric II with noise cover all can be seen in Columbo. With season 7 the Selectrics have been replaced by Computer Terminals and Personal Computers.
I have the Personal IBM in white. Love it! Although, I did find myself always reaching for the non-existent carriage return lever a lot
Thank you for your video! I heard you talk about the adjustment for the thickness of paper. Do you know which other typewriters (mechanical or electric) have this feature? Thank you!
BLUE AHHH The small Selectric 1 is the best typewriter out there in my opinion. I absolutely adore mine.
How did I miss this? Great machines, great discussion!
These two machines are lovely!
The machine I use is a Selectric III with a Selectric II cartridge. The III is pretty much a necessity for me as the language I type usually (Croatian) has more characters than the older type balls have, which is unfortunate. On the bright side, correction is a really useful feature, and I love the light up pitch scale.
Ah! The Selectric II resembles K-9 from the early Dr. Who series! The Selectric I resembles a beautiful river stone. . .
The IBM Selectric has been my best and favorite typewriter. Its keys have the best touch for typists with every touch.
Excellent video.
Wonderfull machine IBM
20 years ago. I always changed the place of the tape to the S2 type.
I still miss my red Finnish IBM Selectric which had a very peculiar layout, there was no number one, it had to be typed as a small letter L and scandinavian letters Å, Ä and Ö also were on a different keys than on a modern keyboards. I wrote many school papers on that device.
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We can call these typewriters of ELECTRIC or ELETRONIC?
I only use mechanical typewriters or machines as you say on your videos.
If it’s has just a motor, it’s “electric” but if it has digital logic like a daisywheel or thermal machine it’s electronic. IBM Selectrics use a motor plus complex mechanics, so they are electric.
Prefer the Olivetti Lexikon 94C -better quality output - and doesn't smell of overheating !
These machines have risen in value in recent years but those who seek to purchase one should be wary of the fact that they are over 40 years old and even if they're currently functioning, they may have major problems awaiting to present themselves. One particular issue these aging machines can have is that the main hub bearing (which was made with a plastic material) through which all motorized movement of the machine is facilitated is very likely to have hairline cracks in it which can suddenly cause the component to split in half during operation and render the machine completely inoperable. It is a VERY expensive repair (about $400) because it's a labor intensive effort to replace it. These machines were originally manufactured to have a 20 year life cycle and are truly only valuable for more than $50 IF they have been maintained and/or repaired to address any age-related degradation.
Thank you! I’ve heard that someone is manufacturing all-metal replacements for those bearings.
@@Joe_VanCleave Yes, it is true that there are all-metal replacement bearings being made--in fact, the typewriter repair shop I use (in New York, just outside NYC) is owned/operated by a gentleman who was involved in the development of the replacement bearings. My Selectric 711 has a metal replacement in it and I've been assured it will never crack.
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no typing?