New Member, stuck in the middle of alignment

[Alison.Giallanza]

Hi, I’m Alison, 66, in Wethersfield, CT. I inherited a Royal Academy electric typewriter. I replaced the drive belt and it now types and does all the things, but the lower case type is set too high and the tops of the letters fade out. I have some idea what needs to be adjusted - there are two very small nuts on each end under the platen that need to be loosened in order to adjust the alignment screws, but I need to find a very small wrench to fit the nuts. What size do I need? Fractions of inches? Metric? I’m guessing perhaps 6mm, but would like a more professional opinion, please.

 

[Alan]

Welcome, Alison! Sounds like you’ve made great progress. That fading tops issue does point to alignment. Are you planning to use the machine for writing or is this more of a restoration project? Feel free to post this on the forum, a lot would be happy to help you out with this!

 

[Alison.Giallanza]

This machine was in my father’s attic for many years. He passed away recently, leaving me to act as executor. I thought the typewriter might be a great help to me in that capacity, but when I got it home, I discovered that it had issues, needing a new ribbon, new drive belt and an alignment. Thanks to YouTube, Google and this lovely forum, I managed to get it back in working condition. Honestly, the project of fixing it gave me a welcome distraction from the sadness, and I’m glad I took it on.

 

[Alan]

Welcome, and thank you for sharing such a personal story. It’s amazing how restoring something old can bring comfort. Happy that the community was able to help!