I repaired my first machine
I'm quite proud of myself. Yesterday I picked up a #typewriter that someone was giving away because it wasn't working anymore… and after a little over an hour of working on it, it types again! It's still very dirty, and there are some bars to straighten and other minor adjustments to make, but it works. I've cleaned and adjusted working machines before, but this is the first time I've brought a typewriter “back to life,” and it's really enjoyable.
Actually, the repair was simple; an experienced amateur could have done it in a few minutes, but I learned a lot about ribbon vibrators along the way.
It's (in my opinion) a #Japy P68 (also known by its Swiss name, Patria), sold under license from #Manufrance Typo. If it is indeed originally a P68, then according to the wonderful website https://typewriterdatabase.com/ and its serial number, it dates from 1953.
My only concern is the keyboard; the plastic keycaps are in very poor condition and hurt my fingers when I use them. Otherwise, it's a beautiful little machine, without any extras (there aren't even tabs), very responsive, and it takes almost as much force to type as on a PC keyboard, which is to say, really not much at all!
In the wooden case, whose handle was ingeniously repaired by the previous owner, I found two packs of carbon paper, which alone are worth the trip, and surprisingly, the ribbon is still very moist, almost new.
@Libb @typewriters Thanks! Here, on Le Bon Coin at least, the prices are generally between 20€ and 80€, with exceptions of course (like a Brother CE-25 sold 625€ or an extremely rusted and unsalvageable Triumph sold 175€, and the price was lowered recently…). I have a notification when a new machine appears around me, and since the Spring it's the third time someone gave a machine (I seized two of those three opportunities). I also have an eye in Germany, as I live near the border, but I see less things and of course most of them have QWERTZ keyboards.
Certainly, Leboncoin (French closest equivalent to Craigslist/Facebook marketplace, real huge around here) is a good place to look. But even there, I've noticed an increase in the "decoration" considerations. Maybe it's just me getting paranoid?
BTW, leboncoin is also interesting to find books... if anyone is interested in getting what is obviously an other type old & completely useless analog tech, but a great dust magnet ;)