Building a Royal O model


Mostly complete.  Time to install the body

 It is not an uncommon occurrence in the world of typewriter repair to be given a selection of parts and be asked to create a whole machine.  This month it has happened twice.  Since I love royals, I though I'd give a short overview in the work that is involved in such a project.

Dirty Dirty

One of the parts machines

The two subjects in question were two Royal Os in gloss black, the first of which was missing all feet, the spacebar, the entire constitution of the carriage besides the frame, and had (as I discovered) a bent rack.  The bent rack caused the carriage to bind on the escapement pawl.  The second O was missing the carriage entirely, which was situated off to the side in a heap.  It was also missing the bell striker and the rear carriage rail, as well as the shift bearings.


Post cleaning

Really clean



Picking and chosing.  I actually had three options including
the parts I picked from my own stock

New QDL rollers installed.  The 40s era rollers fit just fine

CLEANNN

Adjusting the shift rest

adjusting the rail spacing

My first assessment told me that the one with the intact rails would be easiest to fix, so after cleaning up the bulk of the machine, I began the cleaning and transfer of parts based on aesthetics, and selecting only the ones I felt looked the best.  This included a brand new set of feed rollers.  






All the panels were polished for both machines so I could judge which would be the nicest.  Then it got some shift alignment, as well as a sift seating alignment, rail alignment, etc etc.  It took a large amount of work to get this machine typing as well as it looked.

Little tip, a clamp can sometimes help install the rear panel.


Shift alignment 

SHINE


It was a taxing project, but not terribly difficult.  I have done worse for sure.  The carriage was all out of whack on this one, but it came out looking absolutely fantastic.  These lovely gloss black O models are quite stunning and handsome machines.  I have yet to own one for myself, but find myself taken away each and every time one falls into my hands.  Those body panels are a PITA to work with though.  If you've had to wrangle one, you know what I'm talking about.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

the Cyberdeck

Image
I can't be the only one to find myself lost in the internet rabbit holes in an age such as ours.  Sometimes it's an uninspiring frustration, and other times you find yourself on the path to discovering something truly cool.  A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a group of unique creators making what they called "cyberdecks."  The concept was a dystopian-esque or retro-futuristic portable computer, in part inspired by the cyberpunk movement, Blade Runner, and Fallout, though there are plenty of other sci-fi extravaganzas that employ similar devices.  The cool thing about cyberdecks is that they work, and there is no right way to create one.  There come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some in the traditional clamshell style, and others that their own entirely new concept. I had toyed around with the idea of creating a small portable computer, and decided I would give it a shot.  I've always been a fan of the aesthetic of old computers, so I decided to try and build on
Read more

The “Charming?” Yet awful Typecast Typewriter (updated)

Image
A couple of years ago, the Michaels craft store began to sell a machine made by “We Are Memory Keepers.”  It is the Typecast Typewriter, and it costs about $170. Let me cut to the chase: this machine is awful.  The construction is flimsy and cheap, the action is stiff, and the alignment is the worst ever.  So if you wanna buy it, click below!!! https://www.michaels.com/we-r-memory-keepers-typecast-typewriter-mint/10507749.html I am not alone in my views, as many other enthusiasts share my stance.  This machine gives the typewriter a bad reputation among many people, especially craft people, who enjoy bearing the name “key chopper” for cutting the keys off of machines a hundred years old just to make a piece of jewelry.  When they are done, the rest of the machine is thrown away.  I really truly despise the lack of respect given to these historical artifacts, and the Typecast only seems to mock them, by perpetuating the inaccurate stereotype of the inconvenient, bl
Read more

A Comprehensive History of the Royal Model P

Image
nothing like medium format film and typewriters  A number of years ago, I was perusing the Internet and looking at old typewriters.  I had been writing fiction for a while and was enjoying it a lot, and wanted to look into typewriters as I had seen one a couple days ago at a local antique shop.  I stumbled across a blog titled "Machines of Loving Grace," and saw two Royal Model Ps.  One in duotone red, and the other in duotone green.  I remembered from that moment on I knew I had to get my hands on one of them.  I'll skip all the lame details, because that isn't what I want to spend time talking about.  I want to discuss the history of the machine, and it's impact on the typewriter industry as a whole.  There are too few articles on the Internet, too few resources on typewriters, and I among many others wish to expand the available amount of knowledge.  So I'll present to you, a project a long time in the making, to the best of my poor grammatic
Read more