u/Joebobb22

I need to tune the typing experience on my Royal Futura 800. I know some of you love this machine, but my Futura is almost unusable. I have to get violent with the keys and really stomp on them to get any imprint on the page. I’ve cleaned it thoroughly, replaced the ribbon, and searched online extensively for further adjustments, but none have made much difference. It feels like a labor to use it, and I really want it to function after working so hard on it.

(I also completed a major repair using a product called SteelStik. Through considerable trial and error, I managed to build two new teeth on the starwheel to replace two that had broken off. Doing the detailed surgery deep in the machine was challenging, but very satisfying now that the escapement works again.)

SO -- can you suggest any further fixes or ways to tune it, or other resources, videos, etc. that might make my Futura easier to use?

I've just finished a challenging metal repair on my Futura 800 vintage typewriter that I thought would be an interesting post for this sub. I bought the machine on Ebay, but probably due to damage in shipping, two teeth were missing from the escapement starwheel when it arrived. The escapement is the heart of all vintage mechanical typewriters and controls the movement of the carriage when typing and keeps all other functions synchronized. The starwheel is supposed to have twelve teeth for an internal pawl to catch as it’s typing, so it skipped two spaces for every twelve. Imagine typing on any machine that inserts two blank spaces after every ten you type - that would make the device pretty useless.

Using the SteelStik product and through considerable trial and error, I managed to build two new replacement teeth on the starwheel. The teeth are tiny and the escapement and starwheel are buried deep in the machine. I chose to not try to remove the escapement, as I'd heard what a fiddly mess that could be. With an old, complex, mechanical typewriter like this, minute deviations from its designed geometries can render it inoperable, in many ways. I wasn’t confident that even if I got it apart that I’d be able to get back together precisely enough to ever work again. And a professional repair would have far exceeded what I paid for the typewriter. Doing the tiny, detailed surgery deep in the machine was challenging, but it’s very satisfying that the escapement and the typewriter work again.

I've just finished a challenging repair on my Futura 800. I bought it on Ebay. Probably due to damage in shipping, two teeth were missing from the escapement starwheel when it arrived (the carriage was not locked and was sold 'as is for parts or repair'). So it skipped two spaces for every twelve.

Using a product called SteelStik and considerable trial and error, I managed to build two new teeth on the starwheel. I chose to not try to remove the escapement, as I'd heard what a fiddly mess that could be. And a professional repair would have far exceeded the price of the typewriter. Doing the detailed surgery deep in the machine was challenging, but very satisfying now that the escapement works again.

My next challenge: now that I've had that typewriter MacGyver triumph, I need to tune the typing experience. I know some of you love this machine, but my Futura is almost unusable. I have to get violent with the keys and really stomp on them to get any imprint on the page. I’ve cleaned it thoroughly, replaced the ribbon, and searched online extensively for further adjustments, but none have made much difference. It feels like a labor to use it, and I really want it to function after working so hard on it.

SO -- can you suggest any further fixes or ways to tune it, or other resources, videos, etc. that might make my Futura easier to use?

Don’t you hate it when you’re innocently typing along on a newly restored vintage machine, and a screw just falls off? (Newly restored Royal KHM).

My Royal Mercury carriage (still) won’t consistently advance via keys or the space bar. But I can advance the carriage easily by manipulating various points in the internal mechanisms up to and including the escapement, for both the space bar mechanisms and the key mechanisms. The carriage moves freely with the carriage release. I have a few of Duane’s Phoenix Typewriter videos for this specific model and escapement and I’ve scrutinized them extensively.

I know from experience cleaning, restoring, and tuning old typewriters that there must be some part of the mechanical geometry that is just not right. I’ve tried tweaking a few things gently, and I might get the space bar or keys to move the carriage part way, then it stops again.

I’ve thoroughly cleaned and blown out the machine three times. I’ve dialed the tension on the return spring up and down. I’ve traced all the linkages and mechanisms to the escapement and culprit dog and found nothing suspicious. The machine is otherwise in excellent condition, no rust or corrosion.

This video from Wayne at Phoenix Typewriter shows the exact mechanism, his working correctly. https://youtu.be/\_oZliA-gtGw?si=x0XiMzzDo9u\_ywNy

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