I have an old Monroe mechanical calculator, model IQ-213. It is jammed
so the motor drive pulley slips on the drive belt. Where in the
Cincinnati, Ohio area can this machine be taken for repair?

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Clarification of Question by michelangelo2-ga on 25 Feb 2004 17:14 PST

This is directed to clouseau-ga.

I just returned from several trips so I have not yet been able to
implement your suggestions. I had hoped to find someone in the
Cincinnati area I could take the machine to, but I guess that won't
happen. I'll try talking to some of the suggested people and see what
they have to say. This calculator is quite heavy and I'm concerned
about its safety if I have to ship it somewhere to have the jam freed
up. I'll keep you informed when I have some updated info.

Thanks for asking. I hope this gets to you. I can't figure out how to
get more info to someone who posts a comment vs. someone who provides
an answer.

Michelangelo

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 25 Feb 2004 17:32 PST

Message received :) And posting a clarification is an appropriate way
to do that, michelangelo. Normally, I would have posted my comments as
clarifications (and therefore would be notified when you replied in
another clarification), but as I began the research for you, I was
unsure I would turn up anything useful and posted them as comments.
Since I could not find anyone close to Cincinnati as you requested, I
did not post as an official answer.

As you can see, there is little in the way of repair for machines this
old, including the original manufacturer. I feel reasonably confident
that the leads I have posted are your best bets, and it may be
possible that one of them will know of someone closer to you or can
suggest ways to pack and secure the calculator for its journey if need
be.

Good luck and let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

Hello michelangelo2,

Monroe is in Pennsylvania and closed for the day but I spoke with
their California representative. He says there are no parts for any
models older than 1980 and doubted this could be repaired anywhere,
but he would double check and call me back in the morning after
talking to the factory repair team.

My searching turned up no independent repair companies that claim to
repair these, so this may indeed be the best bet. If another
researcher is unable to provide an answer, I shall post as soon as I
hear in the morning.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

Hello again michelangelo2,

You also might have luck with some of the following:

John Leweis antique mechanical repair
Business phone: (505) 884-0600
Business Fax: (505) 884-0929
EMail : bussys@nmia.com or djanteks@nmia.com

http://www.johnlewismechanicalantiques.com/

Quite a few sites speak well of him.

Foothill Office Equipment, 5805 Manzanita Ave., Carmichael, CA 95608
(Sacramento area). Phone 916-338-5955. Owner: Michael Schwartz,
OMRS2000@aol.com.

"Michael Schwartz, 2nd generation office machine technician, for more
than 4 decades, sells and repairs office equipment. He also collects
antique typewriters, adding machines, stenographs and ribbon tins. He
owns 200 plus machines and many of them are on display. He sells some
antique typewriters and also rents them to filmmakers. We help people
from anywhere with assistance on the value of their old machines. We
do simple repairs to full restorations from early collectables to
modern machines. We carry a wide variety of ribbons for all makes and
models. We recover platens and chemically clean machines for
collectors. We receive and ship machines & ribbons anywhere in the
world. We also repair/sell modern equipment and are factory-authorized
for many brands of typewriters, word processors, printers, fax
machines, shredders, computers, dictating equipment, and stenographs.
We are one of the few dealers still selling new manual typewriters!"


Accurate Office Machine Company, 804 W. Newport Pike, Wilmington, DE
19804, phone 302-994-2501, fax 302-998-9984. E-mail aomde@aol.com.

"I have a good supply of old typewriters, a 67 year old (former) Royal
Typewriter mechanic ( 35 years with the company) and personally 30
years of typewriter and calculator repair."


Benny DeFazio, 11 Seneca Road, Danbury, CT 06810. Phone 203-748-7429. 

Has been repairing typewriters and adding machines for nearly 50
years. The shop he worked at straight from high school closed a few
years ago, obviously from dwindling typewriter use. He has set up shop
in his basement with an abundance of machines used for parts. You may
e-mail his son, Ben DeFazio Jr., at katem@snet.net.


Farmer Office Products, 3725 Reveille, Houston, TX 77087. Phone
713-645-5666, e-mail farmerop@swbell.net.

"We have been in the typewriter business since 1954 and still have one
technican that has is factory trained on many different models of
mechanical typewriter, adding machines, and cash registers. We still
have many parts and transfers for old machines. We do repairs and
restorations."


There are more on this page,  but these looked most promising.
http://xavier.xu.edu:8000/~polt/tw-repair.html

Unfortunately, the Ohio listings were sparse. Do let me know if this
is helpful and I would be happy to post as an official answer if this
has been helpful and leads to your repair.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

Hello again,

Monroe has just returned my call and remarks that they would be
surprised if anyone can be found with the repair skills required as
this model is from the '60s - much less finding parts. They wished us
luck.

Personally, I think the situation may not be that dire since it
appears you have a jam and perhaps a slipping belt. Custom belts can
be crafted somewhat easily and jams can be cleared by someone skilled.
I think a call or email or two to the leads listed above may have
positive results for you and I suggest you contact a few of the
"antique" and "vintage" repair and restorers listed.

Do let me know if this leads to success for you.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

Just checking in.

Did any of those links prove helpful for you?

-=clouseau=-

Hello Michelangelo2,

Shipping the unit should be straight forward with a little
preparation. For delicate items, I suggest a "box in a box". The inner
box should be a close or tight fit for the calculator. Then put the
small box into a much larger box filled with foam. I have seen foam
filling over one foot thick for particularly delicate items. A few
inches should be adequate for the mechanical calculator.

Good luck.
  --Maniac