Ah, the original Underwood Portable 3 and Four Bank typewriters, spectacular examples of great early American engineering in the typewriter industry. With gorgeous paint jobs that have generally endured well, gleaming nickel key rings encasing glass keytops, and a very sexy streamlined appearance for a 1920's typewriter. And they type well! In rounding up my 7 machines to make this design, it took 6 passes to find them all, I repeatedly dismissed the small cases as something else, how could the Underwood Four Bank be in *that* tiny case, perhaps the 3 Bank...well, they are indeed. What a marvel in their day, and one which the Typosphere appreciates well today. 

Unfortunately, if you have one of these splendid machines, the feet are likely hard as a rock, and you will need one of those unseemly pads to actually use it. A typewriter that walks across the table as you type is less than ideal, so I am offering here in this listing various sets of carefully engineered replacement feet for your early Underwood 3 or Four Bank. It was actually very tricky, but I designed a replacement foot that works well in all the 1920's machines, 3-Bank and Four-Bank. 

Pouring through the vast TWDB database, it appears that this early Underwood Portable foot design uses feet that were interchangeable across the 3-Bank and Four-Bank machines, until about 1930 when the 3-Bank ended production, and they changed-up the Four-Bank design a bit. From this point, there were at least 4 different foot designs! 

This listing is for 3 varieties of sets of 4 *round* replacement feet for the early, first-generation of Underwood portable 3-Bank and Four-Bank typewriters, made from about 1919 through about 1938. With the 3 Bank machines using a different and tight method to secure the machine to the case, the rear feet must fit into a metal retainer, and so I added a special feature to this design so that they would fit perfectly into that retainer, thereby creating one foot perfect for both machines. 

Like all typewriter manufacturers, Underwood evolved their product lines and models pretty rapidly, and with that came evolving foot designs too, often confusing to us almost 100 years later. For the Portables, as far as I can tell, the feet designs evolved as follows (you can refer to the comparison photo in this listing):

·         [THIS LISTING] 1926 ~ 1930: First-Generation, four identical small round feet that mount with screws, the machine slides into a prong at the back of the case bottom, and the feet drop into metal-reinforced round holes. Two screws secure the machine to the base. See my photos of the case, it is a black wooden box that I think will always have that same chrome hardware shape with a circular release button. These also fit all the Underwood 3-Bank machines, which were made from 1919 ~ 1929.

·         The difficult part is the 3-Bank--you may have noticed that your machine was initially glued to the case bottom in the back? This is because the rear feet must slide into a rather tight pair of slots that retain the machine in back. The original 100 year old feet (natural rubber is only meant to last 4-5 years), then, became glued into these slots when the rubber turned to stone. These new feet, then, must slide into these slots on the 3 Bank--and the dimensions were very sloppy between my 3 machines--and out again *easily*, and without cutting the feet on the sharp prongs. 

·         2A) [THIS LISTING] ~1930 ~ 1934 (approximate): Second-Generation (2A), most with ribbon covers, four round feet, but the front and rear are different. The front feet mount by pushing the top of the foot through a hole in the bottom of the frame. The rear are the same diameter as the front on the bottom, but mount with a screw. The rear feet then taper up and become more narrow where they meet the frame. Front and rear feet are also slightly different height, matching the frame having differing mounting height. 

·         2B) THIS LISTING] ~1930 ~ 1934 (approximate): Second-Generation (2B), most with ribbon covers, four round feet, but the front and rear are different. The front feet mount by pushing the top of the foot through a hole in the bottom of the frame. The rear have a larger diameter than the front on the bottom, but mount with a screw. The rear feet then taper up and become more narrow where they meet the frame. Front and rear feet are also slightly different height, matching the frame having differing mounting height. 

·         3A and 3B [DIFFERENT LISTING] ~1934 ~ 1950 (approximate): An assortment of Third-Generation machines, mostly labeled "Champion" or "Universal", evolving into beautiful covers for the ribbon, and more choices in colored body paint. You can buy these in my other listing here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/174935398546. 

These feet are rectangular, different front and rear feet, and again the rear feet screw in while the front feet push in. I think that at this point, screwing the machine to the base is in the past. 

I designed these to be nearly an identical replacement, but with the advantages of modern technology we can engineer materials that were previously impossible. They are made with NinjaFlex Midnight TPU (https://ninjatek.com/ninjaflex/), which is nearly indestructible in ordinary use (but a knife or scissors will cut it, just like any rubber!), flexible, and very gripping on most surfaces. I designed these with a complicated interior design for a balance between good friction on the table, a secure fit on the machine, installability, and shock absorption while you type. These look and function just like the original, but should last much longer and be far more durable. Some people may prefer the original dull rubber look, but I actually think these are a superior look to rubber, and the glossy sheen greatly complements the original paint on the machine. Rubber hardens within just a few years, these should not! 

Installation is pretty straightforward:

Aged typewriters originally had rubber feet that by now are hard as a rock--they may look reasonable, but they have no grip at all, and the metal hardware might scratch your furniture. This is the problem with using natural soft rubber (think old eraser), intended only for a few years of life. Luckily, today we can make much improved feet using modern 3D Printing techniques and synthetic materials, they look fantastic and function better than the original rubber ever could have, and will hopefully last a lot longer!

Note that 3D printed feet can indeed have tiny visible lines, but this is more noticeable in my close up photos than on the machine in real life. Feet are available lately from a number of vendors, which is great for all typewriter enthusiasts. What is not great is the disinformation being spread by some. Please ignore other's marketing claims that 3D printed feet have no grip, or that their feet are more "professional", "perfect shore hardness", or "rubber just like from the factory". I'm not sure anyone is using vintage rubber materials, nor should they, synthetic rubber is superior (kind of like oil for your car), and lower Shore Hardness only means they are weaker and easier to cut or puncture! My feet are optimized 3-dimensional objects, not just poured solid into a mold with air bubble defects. Look at my reviews, these are beautiful and amazing typewriter feet being bought by collectors and dealers alike, I'm regularly told my feet are the best.

PS: Ebay's volume discount display is a bit confusing, each purchase is a complete kit of parts for one typewriter, so picking "1" is one set of 4 feet; "2" is 2 sets, etc.

**PSS** Typewriters and mounting hardware shown in photos is for illustration and display only, and is NOT included in this listing!! This auction is for sets of 4 typewriter feet only **