This 1912 Royal no. 5 “flatbed” machine was one of a group of three typewriters I bought locally. The other two were a very nice green Lettera 22 and a Blick 7 that needed some serious disassembly and cleaning. They are all bringing funds to WordPlay Cincy.
I don’t have “before” pics, but I can tell you that this machine was dirty, rusty, and inoperable. Still, it seemed worth trying to restore, since it had fairly good paint and came with an uncommon wooden base and sheet-metal cover.
I soaked the frozen parts in mineral spirits and Blue Creeper. Even added some of that stinky standby, PB B’laster. Then I tapped and pulled until the parts started to move.
What a triumph when the starwheel and pawl finally budged and the carriage started to move along with a nice “zip”! (The mainspring and drawband are still in good shape.)
I managed to pull off the H keytop when trying to remove the key ring. Trevor Brumfield of TB Writers Plus kindly came to my rescue with a replacement key.
Greg Fudacz offers a reproduction user’s manual.
I used Turtle Wax to clean and polish the painted surfaces.
The bolts that connect the typewriter to the wooden base were missing. I had to make two trips to the hardware store to find some that worked. I ended up using some metric bolts, which certainly aren’t correct but are close enough.
These flatbeds have various features that were retained on the no. 10, the company’s big seller.
The paper table looked dull even after waxing. Finally I sprayed some Pledge on it, smeared it with my finger, and let it dry—then buffed. That left a nice shine.
The typewriter finally looks good, and it works. These flatbeds have a springy, easy touch, and you can see why they sold well. There is a slightly disconcerting feeling as the keys close to the typist tilt a little when you depress them. But someone will be able to use this Royal as an actual writing machine, if they want to. It is not only an ambassador from the world of 112 years ago, but it can tell new tales in the year 2024.
Nice work Richard! I restored one of these last winter – then it fell on the floor and the frame broke, ending its life by accident. So I hung the paper table on my front door. Welcome to WordPress by the way.
Thanks, Don! What a sad story! At least the paper table survives to be admired.