Typewriter Video Series - Episode 111: Rooy Portable

Joe reviews the ultra-portable Rooy Portable typewriter.

[@travistaylor3186]

Such a cool typewriter. Could imagine the look on people’s faces when you sit down and open that thing up.

[@mikequinlan9585]

I have never seen anything like this portable typewriter! Just amazing

[@pramlochanadhara]

I dropped my jaw when you flipped up the machine. Wow!🤯

[@godrilla5549]

It's voodoo

[@DthBakesh]

Wow. I couldn't imagine, that so tiny typewriter ever existed! Thank you for sharing that discovery!

[@v1ncepupp1o7]

Joe!!! I was so happy to see you on this video. Clicked without knowing it was your channel! You taught me how to make a pinhole camera! You are the man, thank you from your friend in SE PA

[@MohammadImranImu]

I just wanted one but found an online one which price is jaw-dropping over 600 US dollars. It was the Macbook Air Laptop at that time.

[@tylersheldon4140]

I love the dry humor in your videos! The cut to sipping coffee, then back to explaining the Rooy... And hey, what a very cool machine this is!

[@ovisergiu]

I now watched this video after our talk the other day. Very nice and interesting typewriter. Thank you for this video, Joe.

[@papadelou3635]

Thanks for this great vidéo. As a french i never saw this typewritter in real but they are easily foundable on the " french craig's liste" aka Leboncoin keep on your great job Joe 👍

[@mattrobinson47]

Found a 1951 Rooy through an estate sale website, it’s an amazing piece of engineering. I can’t really use it as a frequent typer, its platen & feed rollers are in need of servicing, but I take it out occasionally to show off. The action is loud and no-nonsense, but its keyboard is fun to pound on. Mine was owned by a Texas oil & cattle baron, and I can only imagine what he wrote on this machine. At the coffee shop now, it writes poetry. I love the way people’s faces light up when they see me open it up. It’s quite a surprise!

[@dahlbergt]

A very nice presentation of a magic trick of a typewriter!

[@IzzyOnTheMove]

I've never seen such a compact typewriter! Amazing 💚

[@copyrightfreevideobyttf]

Of course youtube... recommend "the little French maid" episode to me next! edit: mais j'ai bien aimé cette vidéo!

[@BokBarber]

I don't understand why they'd go do a 7/16" ribbon over 1/2". Did they really need that 1/16"? I mean, this machine is impressively small, but I don't see how that fraction of an inch would really make a difference.

[@meursault7030]

That's nuts! Such a cool typewriter

[@aphexteknol]

That Rooy is an awesome machine Joe! I’m not sure I could live with an AZERTY layout or the special 7/16” ribbon though, so I’ll be happy sticking with my Rockets.

[@av8bvma513]

"Hey Joe, where you goin' with that typewriter in your hand..." You may find a dot-matrix printer ribbon with a usable width

[@josephcusumano2885]

What a jewel! Thanks for bringing this amazing machine to us!

[@danmiller6890]

Now that is the coolest little machine I think I have ever seen! What a great video! Thanks for sharing with us Joe!

[@4355dcox]

Cool! A laptop typewriter! Nice machine Joe.

[@upsidedowntypist6799]

just bought one :) can't wait

[@thibaultbrugiere1622]

Hello Verry interesting tipewriter. Do you have the link for the instruction manual, I can't found it...

[@danlinder2249]

Great video, great machine!

[@adriansimmonds447]

Where can I get one of them. in the UK Please Joe...

[@BvsMAcosh]

Great job with the handle!

[@thombriggsccs]

Joe (or anyone else)...do you know how to open this machine up for cleaning? I just acquired a pretty nice Roxy, but it could use some cleaning. I can't find anything online about this machine, I think it's pretty rare. Thanks!

[@johnandrewmunroe]

What a cool design! Would love to find one of these.

[@buscanalgas]

Sand the roller to remove the external layer of rubber,so it will become softer,and make it less noisy,use compressor to remove the rubber dust

[@MegaAppleMan12]

Nice inserting the Bible verse in there brother! Stay shining and keep typing!

[@NicolasSaudemont]

Very nice ! It's definitely a french azerty keyboard (with all the éèàùç¨^) :-)

[@iLVCA]

not swiss made that's why Joe! Nice I thought only Hermes were really portable.

[@danrubin]

Got really lucky and found a Rooy with a QWERTY keyboard a few weeks ago - it's in pretty good condition, but as with yours the handle must have disintegrated long ago. I'd love to order a new handle from you if you have time to make one, as your brass replacement looks great (my alternate idea is to make one out of wood and stain it - just need to pick the right wood for strength at the required dimensions). Have you experimented with any added soundproofing materials yet? I've got some spare foam from some other projects (replaced the soundproofing on my Empire Aristocrat and an Olivetti Studio 45) so might see if it helps contain some of the echo on the Rooy… Really enjoyed this video, thanks Joe!

[@Joe_VanCleave]

I haven’t done much with sound proofing, though I’m not sure how well it would help. Let me know your results!

[@PriscaBosq]

Hello Joe, this is a beautifull find! In case you still ask yourself about that "dead key" with the two accents... in French terms they are: The one on the top is called "Tréma" (Used when vowels usually establishing a digraph must be separately pronounced) and the one under is called "Accent circonflexe" (Used in words to re-emplace a S letter used in the old french medieval language from the XVIème S. For example before "Grasce à toi" is now "Grâce à toi" (And signifies "Thanks of you"). In french secretarial typing you must know those accents as equal as the other keys, and include them in your time of typing! Thanks for this great video!

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Thank you for the information. French is a lovely language.

[@joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536]

👍

[@danieldasilvamoreira587]

Great video, Joe! Specially for me, because I have a mint condition Rooy waiting for me in Paris, a birthday gift from a friend that I'll get only by October, when I'm moving there. As your video is the first one to give a detailed description of this typewriter on the whole internet, this was my first almost real contact with this wonderful machine. Could you provide the link for the manual you mention in your video? Thank you very much and best regards from Brazil!

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Daniel, congrats on your Rooy, hope you like it as much as I like mine. Here's the link to the PDF of the user's manual, from Richard Polt's website: site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/Roxy.pdf

[@danieldasilvamoreira587]

Thank you!

[@JessicaFEREM]

I love hammertone paint, I wonder why it's not used much outside of stanley thermoses, it loosk nice.

[@BrentWigginsWords]

Could it be? The Skyriter's French archenemy! Another fantastic find.

[@mattrothermel4501]

Dude that’s cool

[@archivist17]

Remarkable!

[@andrewnicholls3730]

Loving the typewriter Joe. Not sure I could handle the slight variance in keyboard layout though!

[@chugg159]

Rare to find an Azerty typewriter.

[@drandallesq]

Well done for getting this fun machine Joe. I really like the elegant handle you made, and lead solder works fine. You might try a sheet of 1/16" neoprene in the cover/base to see if it helps attenuate the sound. If you use blue tape to test holding the neoprene in place, then it's easy to take it out in case it doesn't make any difference, or needs to be shaped to avoid fouling something like the ingenious opening hatch.

[@robertennor1143]

…..or stick it on the bottom of the machine, including the hatch, and leaving it a bit short of the edge so the hatch touched the bottom.

[@TypewriterMinutes]

Nice work on the handle.

[@avq1170]

The handle is beautiful and looks perfectly integrated. You couldn’t ratchet the mainspring for more tension? It looks like there’s a slotted screw for that purpose.

[@mindycobb1027]

Me:Smith Corona Sterling…portable Rooy :Paper-thin typewriter

[@yangliu4506]

Bonjour monsieur, je voudrais savoir c'est quoi le modèle de cette machine à écrire? merci beaucoup pour votre réponse. Cordialement

[@Joe_VanCleave]

I only know it as a Rooy Portable, same as the Roxy.

[@yangliu4506]

@@Joe_VanCleave d'accord, merci beaucoup monsieur. Cordialement

[@yangliu4506]

@@Joe_VanCleave J'aime beaucoup vos vidéos, impeccable, bon courage!!!

[@loveisall5520]

I"ve never seen one of these mythical machines person though I've known of them for a half century. Never really a priority to own one as I could out-type it and my Baby does just fine...

[@juankespitiasilva2859]

Thats an absolutely genially!

[@joaoalbertodosanjosgomes1536]

Very different.👍. Too slim to my taste but people need it.

[@CFM7]

wow that thing is brilliant!

[@trishklazek4180]

Old 1892s 1895s Jesus God did 🙏🙌 you will 😍🙏🙌

[@brendablomberg8483]

Awesome!

[@sheireland3737]

Would you not move the keys and typeslugs around to turn it into a qwerty machine? My typewriter man (86yrs old and in the game for nearly 70 years) is going to do that for me on a Hermes media 3 I bought for cheap from Germany. It’s qwertz so only the “z” and “y” need to be exchanged.

[@Joe_VanCleave]

If I used it more often then I’d consider doing that. But this is one of those pieces that are more of a curiosity than a practical writing tool.

[@tmunk]

oh, you lucky bastidge! :D

[@VintageTexas59]

Never seen a model like this before, are they rare Joe ?

[@Joe_VanCleave]

They aren't rare, but not common either. More commonly found in Europe.

[@VintageTexas59]

Interesting, looks like a smaller Hermes Rocket even with the keys and of course return lever that's very similar. Early 60's models or maybe 50's ?

[@GONZOFAM7]

Very cool ok machine. Joe you are feeding my GAS syndrome.

[@billogle4776]

The machine hs similarities with the old Empire

[@robertlittlelaw]

Where is serial number located?

[@Joe_VanCleave]

Under the right ribbon cover, just behind the spool.

[@shaneyshane0468]

😮😮❤❤

[@LoWsDominios]

Ain't that a really ultra portable.

[@Erick-fh5cs]

NO NO NO NO ULTRAPORTABLE!

[@godrilla5549]

A witch made this, this is some sort of black magic.