Typewriter Platens, Feed Rollers, Bail Rollers, Finger Rollers
and Power Rollers

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Strange as it may sound the recoating of typewriter platens and related office equipment platens and rollers has become a new service for J.J. Short Associates, Inc. In May of 2012, Ames Supply Company, who serviced the typewriter and office equipment industry for over 100 years abruptly closed its doors. Soon after our email inbox filled and our phones rang with inquiries from typewriter users, repair shops and restoration buffs, asking is we might recoat their aged and worn platens and feed rollers.

Our immediate reaction was of course we could help. Being a small family owned custom manufacturer of rubber products including rubber rollers, we generally deal with lower volume custom work. However, over our history we had had inquires for recoating platens and generally our pricing could not compete with that of Ames Supply, so our familiarity with typewriter platens was limited. We had those customers willing to have us give it a try, send us their platens and feed rollers to evaluate. With some learning trial and error we were successful in our initial recoating of platens to the outright joy of our initial group of customers who thought they would no longer have a source, let alone an American company, to restore their typewriter platens and feed, bail and finger rollers.

Since then we have learned that there is a larger than expected and dedicated group not only in the United States but worldwide who have not let the typewriter go the way of the buggy-whip, and we are pleased to offer our services in recoating their typewriter platens and restoring their feed rollers, bail rollers, finger rollers and power rollers. .

Over time rubber will become hardened and brittle through use, sanding efforts to rejuvenate the rubber, contact with solvents and fluids, including rubber rejuvenators, storage and temperature fluctuations. For a typewriter platen and related feed rollers this results in poor paper feeding and holding the paper in place. Also, repeated key striking will also impact the platen coating over time and print quality and ribbon longevity can suffer. For a power roller, a hard surface means lack of grip for the cams rendering the machine useless.

On YouTube® you will find some very clever DIYers that use tape, heat shrink tubing and rubber rejuvenators to prolong the life of their machine. These may work for the short-term but the only way to get back to the original feel of typing on the right rubber and the right hardness is to strip and recoat your platen with the proper rubber type and hardness. We have found the right compounds and hardnesses for both the older model ribbon typewriters as well as the later model electric typewriters and the power rollers. After stripping off the old coating, we apply a new rubber covering and precision grind the face of the rubber surface to your required specifications. The result is a ''like-new'' roller ready for years of additional service to its typist!

A selection of makes models we have serviced to date includes:

Whether an individual or a repair shop please contact us with your typewriter platens and feed roller repair needs. Platens are priced by the tube size (ID, OD and length of the rubber) and multiple platen repairs using a similar sized tubes will receive discounted pricing! Currently feed rollers, bail rollers, finger rollers and power rollers are quoted after we evaluate the particular rollers. For shops that can aggregate repairs of similar type feed rollers, bail rollers and finger rollers it works to everyone's advantage in bringing costs per unit down.

Please contact us to discuss your specific needs. FOR YOUR FASTEST QUOTE SEND US A PICTURE OF THE PLATENS AND ROLLERS YOU NEED RESTORED! We accept major credit cards and PayPal and can ship US Priority Mail, UPS or Fedex based on your preference. Typical turnaround time is 2 weeks or less after receipt of your platens and rollers.

If it's made from rubber, contact us!