@Spaz then that is a problem with the carriage rails or mainspring. Try tightning the mainspring and see if it works.

Finally got this solved, enough for me at least.  I took it to the typewriter meeting and it was great to have a horde of typewriter entusiaststs poke and prod it.  They agreed with the assessment of where the problem was and were able to tell me what I needed to bend to get it working again.  It was essentially a problem in the linkages connecting back to the space bar. By bending one of the internal parts of the escapement and one of the space bar link rods I was able to get it typing again once I got home.  Something is stll not quite right, since when I put the space bar stop back in, it doesn't work.  So the linkages are not tuned like they would have been originally, but I don't think I really need the space bar stop in there.  It seems to work fine without it.  I may continue tinkering with it to see if I can get them to work with it in, but I'm glad to have it typing again.  It has a nice typeface and it is good to finally be able to see it!

Here is some terminology I learned in Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia's 1958 edition back in 1981 (when I was 13 years old with a grand total of three typewriters):  The star wheel is also known as the Escapement Wheel.  A is the Loose Dog, and B is the Rigid Dog.  I had a similar problem in a Royal Safari when the dogs weren't contacting the escapement wheel properly.  What you have to do is to put your machine on its back again and when you press a key or the space bar, pay attention to the rigid dog (on this typewriter and even on the upright machines, there is a little wheel on the end.  Royal is the only one I know with this feature) and how it contacts the escapement wheel.  It should contact solid.  Meanwhile, the loose dog should spring forward.  If it doesn't or if it moves sluggishly, it may need a dose of machine oil (tranny fluid works very well in typewriters).  It could also be a spring issue, but while possible, it is rare.  When you release the space bar, the rigid dog should drop down and the loose dog should contact the wheel and at the same time move backward as the escapement wheel advances.  Also, when the little wheel on the rigid dog contacts the escapement wheel, it should be able to do so without pushing the wheel back.  If it doesn't, there is a little tab the loose and rigid dogs rest on.  Pay attention to how both dogs catch the wheel before you bend this tab.  I hope this helped.

I'd forgotten all about this thread.  So as it ends up, I didn't get it fixed. It worked for a bit and then quit.  I was adjusting the right doohickey, but I couldn't get enough of a grip on it to form it enough.  I finally just took it to Richard Polt and he had the correct tools to get it working reliably. 

Mech wrote:

I fixed the QDL that I was working on.  More dumb luck than anything.  I compared the functional Royal Aristocrat to the nonfunctional QDL and observed what was happening in the escapement on key strike. What I noticed was that in the QDL, a pawl (?) or dog(?) in the escapement's workings wasn't darting in and out to engage the escapement wheel like it did on the Aristocrat.


I very carefully (but unscientifically) probed with one of my dental tools around the escapement wheel and dog (pawl?) and then *BOING* the little pawl (dog?) bounced into sight.  Suddenly the escapement was tripping and the wheel was turning and the typewriter was typing. Dumb luck.

Perhaps the QDL had taken a hard knock and the pawl (dog?) had shifted out of postition - perhaps due to a loose spring. In any case, the QDL is now typing just fine.

I also have the same exact problem as you! I imagine that this is a recurring theme amongst Royals (I'ms starting to regret my purchase TBH).
Here is a picture of the escapement on my Aristocrat. Any guidance (besides what's posted) would greatly be appreciated. Also, I found a small toy and an actual lens in my machine! Removed them carefully and are now out of the equation. Same symptoms as yours @Mech.
I hope that this can be functioning again =)

-Alberto