Kentucky Typer Refurbishing Process Summary

Often times people mean different things when they use the word "refurbish."  Because we want happy customers, we wanted to give a short summary of exactly what we do at Kentucky Typer when we refurbish a machine.

We look for the right machine.

It really starts here.  Not every machine that is for sale necessarily makes a good candidate for us.  We want to make sure we're providing the very best machine that we can for the money.  

We clean the machine by hand.

From top to bottom the machine is cleaned thoroughly with special attention paid to the different mechanisms in the machine that could malfunction by old grease or lubricant.  We often spend 4-6 hours cleaning a machine, depending on its condition.

We carefully scrutinize the machine to see what repairs need to be made.

We extensively test all the functions of the machine and determine what needs to be done. 

We make the needed repairs.

Often times that means we need to repair things like a margin release that is not working, a feed roller that needs to be replaced, a ribbon reverse that isn't working properly.  Whatever it is, we repair or replace the problem items.  At this point in the refurbishing process, we also check the typewriter for needed adjustments.  We check things like line spacing, type alignment, and ribbon throw and then make any needed adjustments.  We have a long list of items that we check.

We make cosmetic improvements.

Once the machine has been tested, cleaned, and adjusted, we begin working on any cosmetic improvements that we can make.  We clean every key top carefully, we wax things like the return carriage lever and other chrome pieces.  We may touch up small paint chips if it seems appropriate.  We want the machine to really sparkle, much like it did when it first rolled off the factory assembly line.

We perform final testing.

We perform final testing of the machine by both of our typewriter technicians.  We feel it's valuable to have a second set of eyes on the machine to make sure nothing has been overlooked.

We carefully photograph the typewriter.

Once the machine passes its final inspection, we carefully photograph it to provide as much information as we can for our customer who is considering investing in the typewriter.

We post the typewriter on our website.

Finally, once the machine is finished and photographed, we post it on our website for sale.

Beyond all those things, we do go even further for some machines and have the platen and feed rollers recovered with new rubber to make the machine quieter and to improve character impression and clarity.  It's an expensive process but worth it, in our opinion.  No more holes punched in the paper due to a hard platen!