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Hi there everyone - Brand new to this so bear with me. I'm bringing a pretty well functioning Royal 10 back to life. Mainly through some cleaning. Steps taken so far are using lighter fluid on keys, white spirit to remove grime on working parts, and some penetrating oil (b'laster) to loosen up some of the rusty workings. I've repeated the white spirit and penetrating oil steps to try and flush out anything each step has dislodged, drying the machine out and getting rid of grime with cloths and air dusters.
So what's the problem?? Well, since I've cleaned it, most things have gotten better but a tendency for the carriage to stick just before the bell sounds has crept in. This results in letters being typed over one another in one place. Light pressure/tap/jiggle easily moves it on but obviously shouldn't be needed.
I've tried moving margins, and the carriage spring is nicely wound. I've put a little oil (the kind used for model railways) onto the bit where the bearings and gears slide the carriage along too. I've also tried adjusting the hooks that guide the carriage along so they are tighten and loosen the fit of the carriage but it hasn't made a difference (I was wondering if the play in the carriage meant when it got to the margin the weight of it shifted and caused something to resist its movement but maybe not).
Any and all help is much appreciated to help me diagnose and fix the issue. Huge apologies for any newbie mistakes in labelling parts etc. I'm getting there but far from having a level of understanding that I think most on this forum will.
Thanks.
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Here is a link to a video that gives an example of the problem:
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Does it behave this way no matter how far left you put the right margin?
Phil Forrest
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Hi Phil - Thanks for coming back to me. Yes, the problem followed the margin inwards when I set them closer together (i.e. less words per line). Not seen if it is exactly the same number of characters before the end of a line but very close if not perfect.
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You're just going to have to follow the train of moving parts from the margin all the way up to the keys. It may be a case of needing more cleaning. Your bar which establishes the proper alignment of the margins may be misadjusted. It needs to match the spacing of the escapement. Pay close attention to your line lock. How are the rubber feet of the machine? In many Royal desktops, the line lock linkage was right next to one of the back feet of the machine and over the course of many years, they deform, melt, collapse, and generally make the machine inoperable due to this one part. I'm not sure if Royal started this placement of the line lock as early as the 10.
Phil Forrest
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Thanks Phil. I'll try to trace the issue through. Feet are ok I think and line lock seems to be a regular issue reading around but since the clean, it seems to be working better and better. Hopefully the check through and some more cleaning will help solve whatever's wrong, as you say.
Is there a link to the parts of a Royal 10 to make sure I'm following your advice correctly?