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I picked up a free adding machine today it weighs about 20lbs. What is in it that makes it weigh so much?
I don't know if it works or not and picked it up to scrap.

If its one of those old ones from 1930's You have to assume its metal causing all that weight.Likely steel, such items were probably complex and expensive. Their only option was steel, not need to use anything else. Steel wasnt as expensive to fabricate back then and cost of materials wasnt a factor in such 'high tech' items. I am sure no one cared how much gold was in the first computer, because it was the first computer!

This one has a paper roll with it so I'm assuming its electric but there is no cord. I'm guessing its from the 60's maybe 70's.

abe wrote:This one has a paper roll with it so I'm assuming its electric but there is no cord. I'm guessing its from the 60's maybe 70's.

is there a hole in the case on the right hand side? If yes, it was a manual one. It had an arm you pulled (like a slot machine) after every entry. At 10¢ a pound you got $2.00 almost a burger and soda at burger king

abe wrote:This one has a paper roll with it so I'm assuming its electric but there is no cord. I'm guessing its from the 60's maybe 70's.

Sounds even earlier. I'm guessing the keyboard is very like a modern machine? The earliest had a seperate column of keys for each digit to be entered. (If you could enter ##,###.## then it had seven columns of ten keys.)

If it's a manual machine, I'd try to find a crank for it and save it, or sell it to someone survival oriented.