Online Typewriter Repair continued

BAILS are devices found often in typewriters from beginning to end, ie of all ages, and of all sizes and styles. A Bail is a rod that can be contacted by, and thus moved by, a large number of other rods or levers; it usually is perpendicular to them (ie across them.) Bails are used in operating things in typewriters that must move every time a key operates (or when most of the keys operate.) Here, we see a Consul 232 from another part of the site, torn down for inspection.

Note that on this fairly simple machine all the key levers are hinged at the front. Note the bail seen running horizontally in contact with many of the key levers; it's above the keyboard. On the right we see a closeup of the right side of the keyboard assembly. Note that the bail is hinged just outside the key lever for @ and /. It then runs up and contacts all the character keys. Note that the backspace, margin release and shift keys seen at right do not operate the bail. It is obvious then that the bail is used to operate things that only have to operate when a character is being typed.

A bail like this can actually be found anywhere in a machine; in front, or below, or inside a large assembly of key levers and mechanisms. A bail like this can be used to lift the ribbon, to operate ribbon spool advance, to trip the escapement, or any combination. Some machines have one bail for all these functions. Some have a bail for the ribbon functions, and another for escapement. Still others have a bail for ribbon functions and use a universal bar, behind the segment, that is tripped by the type bars themselves and which operates the escapement. Any combination is possible.

Just by nature of the design of most bails, it is possible that some part of the linkage between the bail and whatever it is designed to operate can become worn, loose, misaligned, broken, bent, sloppy, disconnected or any other such thing. On some machines, with multiple operations performed by a bail, one function might work (for example, ribbon advance) while another (for example, escapement trip) might not due to bending of the bail or to a separate non-functional linkage.

Anyone who finds that one of these features of a machine is not working properly should locate any bails in the machine and operate them individually by hand to see what functions are concerned. Many times some gentle forming or bending of parts is enough to bring the operative nature back -- things tend to wear, bend and stretch over time and must be brought back in line. Some machines had felt strips on their bails, which if disintegrated and missing will reduce travel of the bail -- and that means in such cases that the ribbon won't lift enough, the advance might work sporadically or not at all, and if the escapement is involved it may not work unless the keys are pounded. No machine should have to be absolutely pounded to get it to advance, or to get ribbons to move. Much of the time, a bail operated by hand --- pulled, pushed by HAND and not by the key levers --- will operate things properly, or close enough to it that the technician can tell how to get that full range of motion by re-forming parts or making adjustments (ie if travel stop screws are present) or else tell very quickly if a link, or a spring, is missing. Bails and associated linkages should move freely, should return at rest to a point nearly in contact with all operative levers and should snap back to rest as fast as the key lever / type bar mechanism does.

Do not confuse a bail issue with a key lever issue. Is / was the machine sitting on a felt pad or some other such fluffy thing that may have limited travel of the key levers? Are the feet on the machine worn or missing, limiting travel of key levers or bails that would otherwise have good clearance below the machine were they intact in the first place? Sitting a machine with worn feet on top of two pieces of wood, front and back, can help determine this easily. If stickiness is an issue, be sure to figure out if the key levers, type bars and bail stick individually (ie each by itself) and don't assume that all of them are all stuck. Limit your work, by prior inspection, only to those parts that are bad!

Normal wear and tear - replaceable parts.

The vast majority of the parts in most typewriters were designed to last for a long time - and some machines are approaching a hundred years old and still can be run as fast as they would run when new. However, there are two sets of parts that are often replaced; these are the DRAWBAND and sometimes the various RUBBER parts in the carriage.

The DRAWBAND is the band, or string, connecting the mainspring to the carriage. It is what applies the force of the mainspring to the carriage, and is the motivating power that pulls the carriage along at a rate controlled by the tripping of the precision-manufactured ESCAPEMENT. The drawband was often a custom made band, somewhat like an old, heavy shoe string but on newer machines it can be a nylon cord. This part was expected to break on occasion and is designed to be replaced. On many machines there is a custom drawband hook on the right end of the carriage while on others the drawband is clipped on, or sometimes tied on. This mounting is easier to work with than that on the mainspring drum, although both are relatively easy most of the time. The drawband can be fed under the carriage as necessary during replacement by use of a wire or a straightened coat hanger or any such thing that can pull the band through, under the carriage to get it to hook onto the carriage's right end. The new drawband may be attached to the drum first, after which the drum is spun in a direction to place tension on it. Then use the wire or coat hanger to pull the other end of the drawband under the carriage, and attach it to the right end (don't let go or the main spring will go WHIZZZZZ and you'll have to start over.)

Very few machines deviate from this style of motivation for the carriage. Some are directly driven, such as the Bar-Let seen here; another machine with the main spring actually inside the carriage would be the medium-range Maritsa machines from Bulgaria. However, the vast majority of machines that anyone will be using heavily will have a main spring mounted in the body of the typewriter and will have a cord or drawband connection to the right end of the carriage. In some cases a pulley is used, or a guiding slot; care must be used to determine the routing. However, removal of the carriage or mainspring drum is NEVER necessary unless something more is wrong -- for example, if the spring inside the mainspring drum is actually broken.

RUBBER ELEMENTS of the carriage, most notably the platen and the feed rollers, are sometimes found worn out, hardened, dried out, or in the case of feed or paper bail rollers flattened. In the case of extreme wear, or extreme flattening, the rollers and platen can be removed and replaced. AMES is a company that still refurbishes platens, for example; this is a more serious thing than a simple repair and today it must be farmed out to them. (Join the Portable Typewriter Forum and read all about AMES and their work.) Once again, removal of the carriage and/or disassembly of the whole carriage is almost NEVER necessary to get the platen out. Getting the feed rollers out can be another matter. However, far more people are nowadays removing the platen and rollers than in days past and while it's a necessity in some extreme cases we find that it's far more often possible to leave these alone, or provide some light refurbishment and use two sheets of paper. Clean type face, a good ribbon and a clean sharp blow on the keys which prevents shadowing, dragging and skipping will produce a good impression. More people worry about breaking off the type slugs than need to- this very rarely ever happens. (I have found about three typewriters in the wild with type slugs broken off. That's statistically ZERO compared to the number we have and the number I've seen but did not buy, added together.)

STOP NOW if you're considering disassembling your typewriter. Read this first.

-Are you sure you have a solid idea of what you're doing? What will be affected if you remove the parts you wish to remove? Are the parts protective (like the top cover, or an eraser shield on the carriage) or are they simple and easy to remove without affecting any critical alignments (like the paper table, or paper bail or platen on some machines) or are the parts going to affect the way the machine works? Make sure you have a REAL NEED to remove ANY part. If you do remove it, take care to pay enough attention that you can get it back where it goes. Work carefully, work slowly, work thoughtfully, work attentively -- work SMART!

-Is there a way to accomplish what you wish to accomplish without removing parts? If the machine is just dirty inside, can you blow out the dust, dirt and eraser crumbs with dry compressed air? Would a small computer vacuum be useful? Would a soft long brush, such as a paint brush, be useful? Most people don't notice that their car is dirty and immediately rip off the hood, all four doors, trunk lid, all four wheels, the vinyl roof and all the windows. Does that make sense with a typewriter? No, not if it's possible to clean it without total disassembly and chemical soaking. Remember our pointers too where we said that "Disassembly is NEVER the first step of any repair."

-Are you mechanically prepared? Do you have the right setup, the right tools, the right METHOD in place to make sure you can get it back together? Remember that it's very difficult for anyone to help you via the telephone, the internet or by mail. YOU are the one with the machine in front of you.

-If you get into trouble, can you communicate the problems? Have you read all of the material in this online operation and repair manual section? If you can't use the right terms, then it's double-hard for anyone to help you fix a machine that they also cannot see.

KEEP ALL THIS IN MIND before you disassemble a typewriter in any extent. As one friend of mine likes to say in some cases -- "You took it apart, and when you did you broke it. Throw it out." Don't put yourself in a situation where this applies!