Hi All, 

I can see that many  people read this message. I want to let you know I was able to fix this problem, simply by being quite methodical. 

Clearly the mechanism was getting jammed during start up, so I worked through all the movable parts that may have been causing the jam. 

In the end, it was a series of cogs that were slightly out of alignment, so I am very happy about that!

Thanks All!

 

P. S.:  I usually check out this part of the Forum the most.  I may not always get to it when I want to, but I'm usually somewhere on the Maintenance and Repairs section lurking about with my "Tow Truck," looking to see who needs help in servicing their machines.  Now there are brands I'm not familiar with, but I can pretty well guess from descriptions what needs to be checked because most all typewriters have a few things in common.  My forte is the domestic, which in my case, American-made typewriters, since I've seen them the most.  I've committed many models to memory there, and can tell you exactly where to go, say, if you have a 1946 Underwood upright typewriter with a frozen right hand margin (they get that way pretty much ALL THE TIME.

I would say probably a Q-tip (I've never heard them called cotton buds.  Cotton swabs I've heard.)  Yes, one of those is probably best to get in there.  Also, check out the gear teeth, as these gears are most likely going to be plastic.  Also, check for cracks and things like that.  Plastic doesn't seen to last very long, and, sadly, you have to look for these things.