That sounds very unusual. Its not a dirt problem.  As soon as you switch from side C to A, does it instantly work better? Or is it a gradual change?

If I correctly recall from a previous thread of yours, you have had the platen out of the machine, correct? I'd suggest removing it again and verifying that the carriage moves freely without it in place, then examine the platen and it's mounting points to see what mechanical part is being twisted with it (and shouldn't be) and is fouling everything up.

Thanks for the help, everyone.

I cleaned up the platen again. The weird three side problem is now gone, and I am left with a single consistent problem.

When I type and get to the middle of the platen, the carriage will skip 3-4 places, and then return to normal.

Any suggestions? Thanks again!

Sounds more like a rack issue to me. If the skipping only happens at the same three spaces in the carriage travel, how could it possibly be a "worn tooth on the escapement"? To my knowledge the ratio of escapement wheel or pinion teeth to rack teeth is not one to one.

TypewriterGuy wrote:

How does a tooth on either get worn out anyways?

Take your pick: normal wear and tear, abuse, improperly adjusted components, and lack of maintenance are all possibilities that come to mind. And abuse isn't necessarily intentional; someone who doesn't know what they're doing with a typewriter, whether they're just using it or tyring to repair it, can certainaly damage to a machine. I've seen my share of people handling typewriters in a manner that indicates that they have absolutley no appreciation for how complex and fine-tuned the components that make up the machine are.