1 of 1- JeffMo74
- Platen Punisher
Offline - Registered: 29-12-2017
- Posts: 78
Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
I recently acquired a 1951(?) Royal De Luxe in pretty decent shape. Aside from a broken right platen knob, the only real issue is the spacebar doesn't seem to advance the carriage with a normal push. If I "slap" the spacebar with a good deal of force, the carriage advances, but not if I push it in the normal course of typing. Keys seem to advance the carriage just fine. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Jeff
- beak
- Key Master
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- From: Qld Australia
- Registered: 24-3-2013
- Posts: 912
Re: Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
The first thing to look at may be to check if the space bar is able to travel sufficiently far downwards when tapped. Either the supporting brackets may be bent, or there may be gunk under the bar or on the top of the pads it is supposed to hit.
Sincerely,
beak.
- JeffMo74
- Platen Punisher
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- Registered: 29-12-2017
- Posts: 78
Re: Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
Space bar is moving fine, no gunk under the pads. I did notice if I follow the connection up and push on one of the levers, it takes some effort but the Starwheel (?) gets moved. I think the roller is misaligned to the starwheel (if I"m using those terms correctly). I don't know if that's right or how to fix it.
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Thread Starter- teeritz
- Novice Typer
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- Registered: 20-3-2013
- Posts: 37
Re: Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
The QDLs are known for this issue. My '47 model also has this 'word-joiner' function, whereby the space bar doesn't seem to advance the carriage every time. Slowing down my typing speed seems to solve the problem.
My blog, about typewriters,wristwatches, fountain pens, Bond, and whatever else happens to be polluting my mind at any given time;
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- JeffMo74
- Platen Punisher
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- Posts: 78
Re: Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
update: I found a couple of things: part of the frame was bent upwards which didn't allow the spacebar to go down all the way. Still requires a good deal of force to get the spacebar to advance the carriage, very "clunky". What I noticed it the roller on the escapement lines up directly with the teeth on the starwheel. As you push on the spacebar it's not moving the starwheel until it eventually slips underneath it and advances the carriage with a clunk. Is it supposed to be lined up like that? is there an adjustment that needs to be made? Thanks, Jeff
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Thread Starter- JeffMo74
- Platen Punisher
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- Registered: 29-12-2017
- Posts: 78
Re: Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
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Thread Starter- JeffMo74
- Platen Punisher
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- Registered: 29-12-2017
- Posts: 78
Re: Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
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Thread Starter- JeffMo74
- Platen Punisher
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- Registered: 29-12-2017
- Posts: 78
Re: Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
I'm really kind of stumped on this one. Really got some degreaser in there, put a drop of gun oil on the mechanism and it helps a bit but still doesn't work right. I'm still not sure this is aligned right. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm frustrated that I can't seem to figure this out...I might have to shelf it and work on something easier for a while!
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Thread Starter- JeffMo74
- Platen Punisher
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- Registered: 29-12-2017
- Posts: 78
Re: Royal QDL spacebar not always advancing carriage
Update: Fixed...someone pointed me in the right direction. The metal tab under the roller needed to be formed towards the back of the machine. Once I did that, it started working better! Thanks!
PS Am I the only person who gets excited when my name changes on this forum? I've been upgraded to "Platen Punisher"
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Thread Starter