1 of 1- richard750
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Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
I just bought an Underwood 150 from an eBay seller. It was said to be in working order before sending. It arrived with no evident damage except that the draw band was disconnected. Now I've put it back on, and the main spring feels strong enough, yet the carriage doesn't advance. What can I try next?
- snodgrjl
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
Hi,
I encountered that problem on two separate occasions with two separate machines. Once,one of the card holder fingers behind the ribbon vibrator was pressing against the platen roller. On another occasion, the carriage lock lever rod was pressing against the bottom, inner rail of the carriage. If you haven't already done so, I would look for any obvious impediment to motion, like an out-of-adjustment part pressing on the carriage.
Good luck.
- Fleetwing
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
Does the carriage slide back and forth freely when you push the carriage release or the tabulator? Do the keys strike when you type, or are they blocked from making contact with the ribbon/platen? Does the space bar work, or does it feel like it's impeded in some way?
- richard750
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
Thanks for the two replies. A flashlight search inside reveals no debris, nor any sign of loose, or damaged bits.
When I push the carriage release, the carriage moves freely. The keys strike normally, but the carriage remains still. Same with the space bar. I can see various levers moving viewed from the back, but again the carriage won't move.
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Thread Starter- JoeV
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
Perhaps the spring motor isn’t wound tight enough. When you do a carriage return, do you feel increasing tension as the carriage nears the left margin position? If that’s the issue, give the drawband another turn around the spring motor and test again.
- richard750
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
I can't say i feel a significant increase in the tension as it nears the left margin, but there is a fairly good pull from the spring. I tightened an extra turn (makes 6 and is near the limit). But that makes no difference at all. The keys and space bar seem (?) disconnected to any advancing mechanism.
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Thread Starter- JoeV
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
Look at the universal bar, the common bar that all the character keys activate. The U-bar in turn should raise the ribbon vibrator, move the ribbon spools and also Trip the escapement to move the carriage. You should find the linkage where the U-bar activates the escapement. There should also be a similar linkage where the space bar also activates the escapement. Look at what the escapement is doing, that might provide a clue.
On some machines the carriage lock might also disable the keys from moving the carriage, so maybe something is wonky there.
There carriage release lever pivots the linear rack gear out of engagement with the escapement star gear. So release the carriage, while holding it from moving, then with your third hand try typing a letter and see if the escapement tries to move. I’m thinking something in the escapement isn’t right.
- richard750
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
Believe I more or less identified the U-bar and escapement star gear. When the carriage is released, and I type a letter or space bar there is no movement at all, feels completely free. When it is engaged, the keys and space bar seem to be pushing against resistance and the escapement tries to move... there is slight movement in the carriage. But something blocks the gear from ratcheting forward.
Hitting a key does raise the ribbon, but the ribbon does not advance .
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Thread Starter- richard750
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
I finally took the underwood to Berkeley Typewriter. A professional cleaning seems to have done the job.
Bill didn't mention any further repairs needed.
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Thread Starter- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
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Re: Underwood 150 carriage won't advance
Hi Richard
Sounds like it was a simple case of everything inside the machine being dirty. Glad it turned out to be a relatively simple fix. Now you know you have a machine that's ready to work for you for the next 10 years or more. All the best,
Sky
We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
