*Update*
Problem identified but more than I can tackle. However, this second little Remington portable in my collection will still be a writing machine one way or another!

There is a connection between the carriage lock mechanism and the teeth. When you release the lock, the teeth should drop down snugly to meet the catch, nice and tight. But this typewriter has lost tension in that mechanism, it's very loose, and feels like there is a spring or wire that needs to be replaced. As I can't for the life of me get at the inside of the carriage workings, I can't fix this or get in there to see exactly what needs to be replaced. The platen is well stuck in place, with the screw on the end the most recalcitrant screw I ever came across! So I'm leaving off fixing this bit for now. The Remington Portables are fascinating in design, I love them, but the carriage lock is perhaps a bit over-engineered compared to the locks on later, other makes of portables.
If I do manage to fix this at some point, I'll be taking photos for future reference and I'll post them here.
In the meantime, I'm polishing it up, de-rusting and getting it ready for a conversion to a USB machine. I'll post on that - sucess or failure, later on. Still waiting for the kit.

malole wrote:

But here is the rubber band fix. Crazy, huh? 

Crazy? Not at all: Here's one Rubber band fix, and another, more ingenious use of a rubber band.
 

I'd like to see someone replace each spring for all of the typebars with rubber bands! It would probably work, but also have the sloppiest type action you could ever imagine...