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It is unlikely that the carriage is supposed to just lift off.
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I agree, especially since it was sold as a "portable" typewriter.
Stan
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Yes, the carriage is supposed to lift off on these models, provided the catches are released first. I am pretty sure from the photo that the hole in the spring catch does indeed engage with the peg. I have seen very few of these machines so cannot give any specific advice on why the lower case writing line is sitting too high. I can only suggest looking over the machine very carefully with the carriage both on and off whilst operating the shift keys. You might be able to work out how the shift mechanism works and what is wrong with it.
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OK, I'm going to start a detailed analysis of every part's movement when the shift keys are pressed.
I'm starting to wonder however how many of these little wonders are out there? There have been numerous statements like "haven't seen many of these but....". Is there any way on this forum to take a poll of how many members have an Everest Mod 90?
Stan
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You might look here, too:
... and here for a wider view:
The typosphere is not very cohesive, with many people on here, reddit/r/typewriters, the database, and FaceBook not having any idea that the other forums exist. A poll here will not be all that complete. In fact, it'll be amusing to see how many posters here will chime in with places that I do not know about---I mean forums, not blogs.
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OK, here's what has transpired in the last couple of hours.
I took all the excellent advice found on this forum, propped "up" the shift keys so they were in their "proper" position with respect to their neighbouring keys and started reverse engineering the myriad levers down in the bowels of the machine.
I found the shift lever arm on one side was ever so slightly bent jamming the carriage so it wouldn't "settle" down in it's proper position.
As a side note, that springy thing on each side did indeed need to have a peg in it's hole. It is what fixes the carriage in place so that when you turn the machine upside down the carriage doesn't fall on your toes. To take the carriage off you must bend the springy thing out and move it aside on both the left and right sides of the machine. Then and only then can the carriage be removed. They were already in the open position when I got the machine so it took a bit to figure that out.
Now on to cleaning the keys and spiffing it up for use. Note to self, spend some time squeezing the hand muscle exercisers so I'll be able to type more than one sentence without taking a rest. It's been 52 years since I joined all those cute girls in the typing class and quite by accident learned skills that allowed me to be a successful computer programmer in my future.
Stan
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OOps, the third picture is wrong. Here's the correct one.
One day I must learn how to edit my postings???
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PERSEVERANDO-VINCES
Great going Stan!! When one puts one's mind to something and doesn't quit until the problem at hand has been conquered, one gets a tremendous feeling of satisfaction. 85% of mechanicing is diagnostics, the other 15% is actually fixing the problem. This seems to be as true in typewriter repair as it is in other disciplines of mechanicing. Glad you got to the bottom of this one, I believe we all learned from this thread. Thanks Stan and Tom,
Sky
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Thanks for the kind words Sky, It's still a work in progress, ie: the ribbon still sits a tad high, and the red/black key doesn't work (I only have a black ribbon so that's on the list for later) etc. But what's an old typewriter supposed to be but a work in progress. Keeps a guy out of trouble.
Stan