1 of 1- mutty
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Offline - Registered: 07-1-2022
- Posts: 3
Royal Safari 1968 issue: Carriage not engaging
Hello all, I have an issue with a Royal Safari that I recently acquired. I've been trying to find a solution and I feel like this is hopefully an easy fix, but so far I've had no luck.
I'm very new to typewriters and their maintenance, so I don't yet know all the terms and names of parts, etc.I'll do my best to describe what's happening, and any assistance is very gratefully accepted and appreciated!
The issue: the carriage runs all the way to the right, to the right margin and bell. It doesn't engage at all. However, If i manually hold the carriage back and press a key, like the space bar, it engages and holds. But when I let up the key, it doesn't advance one step, but shoots to the right margin.
Setting or clearing the magic margins restrict the possible movement of the carriage, but do not change the issue.
My guess (or hope?) is that I'm just missing a spring or minor part... everything else on this machine looks to be in very good condition. I've searched for a detailed parts diagram online, but no luck.
Thank you for any info or help! _mutty
- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
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Re: Royal Safari 1968 issue: Carriage not engaging
Hi Mutty
Welcome to Typewriter Talk. The problem you describe sounds like an escapement issue, please see attached illustrated parts list for reference. It sounds like the escapement plate (#19) is not engaging with the escapement or star wheel (#29) with all keys in the home position. The escapement pinion (#30) is evidently engaging both the rack and the star wheel as the carriage will stay still when a key is held down. This may be something as simple as the screw (#31) having come loose or the escapement plate may be out of adjustment. One quick question, does the carriage stay still if the backspace key is held down?
The problem could also be something major like the fixed dog or pawl on the escapement plate (the one with the roller) being broken off during transit or if the machine was dropped at some time. Hope this gives you a couple of ideas and somewhere to start. 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)
- mutty
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Re: Royal Safari 1968 issue: Carriage not engaging
Hello Sky,
Thank you for the response, and the diagram - this will really help me troubleshoot this.
Yes, the backspace does stop the carriage when pressed. It even backs it one tick, as expected. Carriage slides as soon as released, as with all other keys.
This is the resting status of the escapement plate and star wheel. the smaller escapement lever (ticker?) is aligned with the star wheel, and merrily ticks its way to the right margin. When a key is pressed the roller lever is engaged with the star wheel. Is it correct to understand that, normally, this should be the resting state?
I didn't notice this until I uploaded this image, but the metal bar at the bottom looks torn - if it was whole, I think it might push the escapement plate roller lever into place...
Thanks once again! _mutty
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Thread Starter- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 712
Re: Royal Safari 1968 issue: Carriage not engaging
Hi Again Mutty
Great picture with some fantastic detail. I'd say that the piece of broken/torn metal you indicate is most likely the root of your problems. The carriage evidently received a hefty bump which forced the floating dog (ticker) over center and tore the stop. Although my picture isn't quite as close-up as yours, you can see how the floating dog rests against the stop when the escapement is not engaged.
Once the escapement is engaged by pressing a key or the space bar, the fixed dog with the roller moves against the star wheel and the floating dog springs ahead ready to catch the next tooth of the star wheel. I somehow doubt this part is repairable, and it looks like replacing it with a good used one will involve some typewriter surgery. 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)
