Installing the missing paper feed parts and levers - part 4

BOUGHT SNAP-RING (CIRCLIP) PLIERS WITH SMALL DIAMETER PIN TO REMOVE PARTS

I measured the holes in the circlips IBM uses on the Selectric - they were 0.050" diameter. My existing pliers are either .58" or .76" diameter thus they won't fit into the hole of the ring/clip. 

I looked for pliers that had a small enough pin to fit into the clips and open them. I found a set at a local home improvement store that include 0.039" pins and purchased them. They worked well and I removed all the clips and remaining parts for the paper feed mechanism. 

INSTALLED MISSING PARTS ONTO 1053

The rubber feed roller shafts install into the missing parts and push up against the bottom of the platen to hold the paper in position. A lever on the right will rotate part of the missing parts to pull the rollers away from the paper path. This is used to install a new sheet of paper or to adjust its position. Another lever selects the single/dual line feed position for how far the platen turns on an index (line feed) operation.

I threaded all the parts on the release rod first, inserting it from the side through each part and then secured with its circlip. These turn with the rod, moving the spring loaded levers down and away from the platen. The levers and springs were added as well, some with their own circlips, which were very challenging to reinstall because of their small size and the position in the machine.

I spent several hours fighting to get parts threaded together - such as 79 and 80 from the diagram above - and trying to put on the circlips like 78 which was a moderate size and 63 which was tinier. Several times the parts fell into the machine, requiring substantial time looking inside to locate and retrieve them for the next try. 

The tiny circlips were my undoing for today. They fell into the machine as I tried to position them and force them on. My luck ran out when one of them fell into the machine but didn't fall through. No amount of tilting and shaking of the 1053 would cause that clip to drop out. I have no spares of that clip. 

I had to stop work and measure the groove that the clip fits into, so that I can buy a replacement at a hardware store when I head back to the shop tomorrow. I was trying to hard to complete the main feed assembly before I left but the missing part made that impossible.