Vintage Mechanical Devices
restoration of fascinating devices from when mechanical engineers ruled the earth. The repairs are chronicled on the CuriousMarc YouTube channel. Here you will find more in-depth material related to the videos. Mechanical calculators, typewriters, teletypes, flip-clocks, everything goes as long as it is devilishly complicated and mostly mechanical.
This section is under construction and most projects don't link to anything yet. The ones that do are at the top of the list. If you need some info about a particular item, just let me know , that's usually a good incentive for me to write up the page in question.
This has been my most difficult mechanical device restoration to date. But once repaired, what a machine! Then it got famous on the 'net for dividing by zero.
This one counts as both mechanical and computing. This will redirect you to the page in the computing section.
The second edition of the famous "golf ball" Selectric typewriter that took over the market in the 1960's. This one even has the erase button.
From 1957, this is the ultimate Italian flip clock, used in railway stations, airports and banks.
The predecessor of the digital Soyuz clock. This one is mostly mechanical, and maybe even better, except for the noise!
Conceived in the 1930's and in use until the 1980's, these mechanical marvels are the first form of digital communication equipment. So they double count as computer and mechanical restoration.
The ASR 33 is an 8-bit ASCII Teletype that was meant to be used mostly as a terminal for the nascent computer industry. The ASR version is 5 instruments in one: a sender keyboard, a receiving printer, a tape punch, a tape reader, and a modem. This also double counts as a computer and mechanical restoration
The following pages have not been completed yet. In the meantime, they just link to the corresponding video or playlist. Contact me if you need more info about the following restorations, that might give me enough incentive to complete the page!
A 1936 small calculator design that pioneered serial entry and would endure for 30 years.