Monotype Ribbon Feed Mechanism Animation

Well, I managed to fool WordPress into accepting an animated GIF so here’s the one I made of the ribbon feed mechanism being operated manually. It’s a little rough because the original pictures were taken with the tower lying on the table, free to move around a bit. Nevertheless the basic steps can be seen:

1. The drive pawl engages the ratchet wheel.
2. The locking pawl clears the ratchet wheel.
3. The pawl ring rotates counterclockwise, turning the ratchet wheel with it.
4. The locking pawl engages the ratchet wheel.
5. The drive pawl clears the ratchet wheel.
6. The pawl ring rotates clockwise, with the ratchet wheel stationary.