Typewriter Talk / What is this and what should I do with it. (Royal KMM 26" platen).

**Posted by ferulebezel** 24-8-2023 13:29:37

It seems every problem resolved reveals another one. I got the carriage un-jammed, as explained in a previous post, Only to discover it is hanging on a piece of metal behind the bell and tab clear mechanisms.

The non-greyed out thing, in the first two pictures, is blocking the rightmost (in the picture) circled thing in the third picture, a guide that went to the extra long support rail for the carriage, preventing the carriage moving to the left as far as it should (less than halfway).

What is it?

Should I bend it in or out?

How about removing it entirely?

Here are a few pictures.

https://imgur.com/a/M8AWjNa

**Posted by robmck** 24-8-2023 17:09:18

The assembly that this piece is in is the tabulator. In your original post, you mentioned that the tab set key wasn't working. I wonder if this is it (either the other end of the tab set or clear keys, which reach up and push the little tabs in the tab rack on the carriage up or down, or the tab finger itself which stops the carriage when it hits one of those tabs). If so, the key and this thing might be part of the same problem. You might want to trace the tab controls from the front to the back and see if any lead to this rogue bit of metal. Once you know if it's connected to one of these, the next step should be clearer.

Typewriter restoration, like old house restoration, seems to be the art of peeling onions.

Unfortunately, my KMM is in storage at the moment so I can't look at it for reference.