Hi I.den

​Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, but things went down hill very quickly for my Dad while I was in England and he lost the battle last Sunday morning October 23rd. We were able to put a memorial service together at the local church for Friday October 28th, so I feel his friends and neighbors had the chance to say a proper goodbye to Dad.

​Now, back to the typewriter, you were right about the knob just screwing off (right hand thread), but the problem ended up being more than I was able to tackle while I was over there. Therefore, I brought the machine back here to Canada with be so I can do a complete strip down in my workshop and get to the heart of the problem. I'll give progress reports as progress is made. Thanks again and all the best,

Sky

And Here's The Update

​Finally tied into the 32 on Sunday, and yes, got it fixed. It wasn't until I completely removed the carriage that I was able to finally get to the heart of the problem. There is a link that goes across the bottom of the carriage rail, just above the escapement pinion which disengages the escapement pawl assembly from the star wheel when the tab key is depressed. The spilled Gestetner stencil correction fluid had pooled in the bottom of the carriage rail trough and had effectively glued this link to the bottom of the carriage rail. The link was glued in the "tab-key-pressed" position thus holding the pawl assembly away from the star wheel. This is why the carriage had no movement control.

​In another post on this forum, a member was asking about toluene as a cleaner, this is one application where toluene was the answer to this mess, dissolving 30 year old solidified liquid wax in just a matter of a minute or so. Once all the dried correction was removed, the unit received my usual wash down with mineral spirits, drying with regulated compressed air and a careful oiling with Liquid Bearings® synthetic oil before being reassembled. A dab of silicone grease works wonders to hold the carriage rail balls and anti-creep wheels in place while reinstalling the carriage.

​Wound a length of new blue ribbon onto the one metal spool and replaced the broken plastic spool with another metal one. Gave the covers a quick once over with Scrubbing Bubbles® and hot water followed by an application of automotive wax polish. The little machine looks great and is a pleasure to type with, even though the space bar is rather skinny for my big thumbs. Now, I just have to find the most economical way to get the machine back to Aunt Celia in Birmingham, England. In other words, a happy ending to this little tale. All the best,

Sky