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Typewriter Keyboard
Typewriter Keyboard
I have long held a fascination with typewriters. The mechanics and design of the old machines have a very romantic quality to them, the sounds are a symphony, and the tactile response of the weight of the keys makes one feel particularly conneceted to their writing. No wonder, then, that there are many younger people these days who are discovering this magic as a sort of release away form the dull, plastic keyboards and touch screens that fill our lives in the 21st century.
I am by no means the first to come up with the idea of making a modern computer keyboard look and feel like a typewriter keyboard, but my approach (at the time, the summer of 2008) was different. I wanted a keyboard that was not so "over the top" with extra bits glued on, or re-creating a complex and bulky case. I wanted a slim, practical keyboard that would stand up to daily use, not be a nuisance to use, be simple to maintain, and not look completely out of place on the modern desktop.
As a starting point, I chose a Dell slim-line keyboard with a number pad. The board is compact and comfortable with a large space bar, and does not have extraneous buttons, wheels, and keys to clutter the design and inhibit function.
The keys I liberated from two Royal typewriters, and one Underwood typewriter. I collected a number of Underwood machines to restore and use in my own collection, and with them picked up parts of other machines and pieces to use for restoration and other projects. I was able to use the standard QWERTY letter keys and number keys from the Royals, along with the tabular, shift, and return, but needed to make my own key labels for the F keys, specialty finction keys, and a few others here and there that were not the same on antique typewriters as they are on modern keyboards.
The whole process was very labor intensive, and I probably put in close to 80 hours on the keyboard, including grinding the key backs, replacing labels, trimming all the Dell keys down to stalks (removing the key "skirts"), felt lining the space under the keys, and getting all the key tops leveled. The keyboard has 105 keys (not including the space bar) which took around 30 minutes of work each to transform (maybe a bit less once I got a rhythm down), which is over 52 hours right there.
In the end, however, time didn't matter; it was a total labor of love, and I am very happy with the finished keyboard. Of all the work I have done, it has probably garnered more attention, notoriety, and acclaim over the years than any other piece I've made. It has served me faithfully since the fall of 2008 up to today, and all the text of this website was written on it. In that time, the only issues I have ever had to fix were a couple of key touches getting dislodged during residence moves, or by accidentally smacking the number pad with a coffee cup. Otherwise, it remains a faithful and functional piece. I would very much enjoy making another, if the opportunity arose.
I have long held a fascination with typewriters. The mechanics and design of the old machines have a very romantic quality to them, the sounds are a symphony, and the tactile response of the weight of the keys makes one feel particularly conneceted to their writing. No wonder, then, that there are many younger people these days who are discovering this magic as a sort of release away form the dull, plastic keyboards and touch screens that fill our lives in the 21st century.
I am by no means the first to come up with the idea of making a modern computer keyboard look and feel like a typewriter keyboard, but my approach (at the time, the summer of 2008) was different. I wanted a keyboard that was not so "over the top" with extra bits glued on, or re-creating a complex and bulky case. I wanted a slim, practical keyboard that would stand up to daily use, not be a nuisance to use, be simple to maintain, and not look completely out of place on the modern desktop.
As a starting point, I chose a Dell slim-line keyboard with a number pad. The board is compact and comfortable with a large space bar, and does not have extraneous buttons, wheels, and keys to clutter the design and inhibit function.
The keys I liberated from two Royal typewriters, and one Underwood typewriter. I collected a number of Underwood machines to restore and use in my own collection, and with them picked up parts of other machines and pieces to use for restoration and other projects. I was able to use the standard QWERTY letter keys and number keys from the Royals, along with the tabular, shift, and return, but needed to make my own key labels for the F keys, specialty finction keys, and a few others here and there that were not the same on antique typewriters as they are on modern keyboards.
The whole process was very labor intensive, and I probably put in close to 80 hours on the keyboard, including grinding the key backs, replacing labels, trimming all the Dell keys down to stalks (removing the key "skirts"), felt lining the space under the keys, and getting all the key tops leveled. The keyboard has 105 keys (not including the space bar) which took around 30 minutes of work each to transform (maybe a bit less once I got a rhythm down), which is over 52 hours right there.
In the end, however, time didn't matter; it was a total labor of love, and I am very happy with the finished keyboard. Of all the work I have done, it has probably garnered more attention, notoriety, and acclaim over the years than any other piece I've made. It has served me faithfully since the fall of 2008 up to today, and all the text of this website was written on it. In that time, the only issues I have ever had to fix were a couple of key touches getting dislodged during residence moves, or by accidentally smacking the number pad with a coffee cup. Otherwise, it remains a faithful and functional piece. I would very much enjoy making another, if the opportunity arose.
Click picture for more detail
Click picture for more detail