How To Adjust Ink Flow On A Vintage Aurora 88?

[christof]

I have a very nice vintage Aurora 88. The nib is great and a pleasure to write with. The only problem is that sometimes, the feeder completey fills with ink.

The disassembled section shows a tiny spiral shaped plug at the end of the feeder. Is this part for ink flow regulation, and how do I manage to reduce the flow on my pen? Your help is very appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7336/9891467946_d7fd1548ed_b.jpg

 

Christof

Edited September 23, 2013 by christof

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

The first thing I would check is to make sure that the grip section is sealed to the barrel properly since that sometimes affects this. The next thing I would do is to see if the piston is leaking since that can also cause this. If none of these is the case, then I would make sure to turn the filling knob counter-clockwise bleed out five drops when filling the pen and make sure to point the nib up and slowly retract the piston. The last one solved the problem on my pen.

 

Dillon

[christof]

Hi,

 

The first thing I would check is to make sure that the grip section is sealed to the barrel properly since that sometimes affects this. The next thing I would do is to see if the piston is leaking since that can also cause this. If none of these is the case, then I would make sure to turn the filling knob counter-clockwise bleed out five drops when filling the pen and make sure to point the nib up and slowly retract the piston. The last one solved the problem on my pen.

 

Dillon

Thanks for your help Dillon. But I have tested all three points before.

The piston seal is new, the section threads are sealed with silicone grease...and letting out some drops of ink immediately after filling didn't help either.

I think that this little spiral has something to do with the flow control, I just don't know how...

 

Christof

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Don't use the silicone grease, since it doesn't often produce adequate sealing. It doesn't work in my 88 for instance. You would want a proper section sealant (not shellac).

 

Dillon

[christof]

Never had problems with this on lots of pens I did restore. Also here, it's tight when vacuum tested...

 

As written in the OP, I really am interested in learning about the function of the HR spirale.

 

Thanks.

 

Christof

[farmersmums]

I am also standing by hoping to hear some useful replies to this topic. Several beautiful 88's I own are afflicted by this same condition. The nibs are marvelous and the pens themselves are beautiful, but the ink flow is spotty- always seems to either gush or dry out.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

The spiral is there for air/ink exchange. To adjust flow, one does not generally touch the spiral. You should also check to see if the feed fits snugly in the section since this can also lead to this happening. From my experience, many of the older 88 pens before the 88P, where an improved feed was introduced, have this kind of problem. As long as it doesn't spit ink, I think it should be ok.

 

Dillon

[christof]

Hi,

 

The spiral is there for air/ink exchange. To adjust flow, one does not generally touch the spiral. You should also check to see if the feed fits snugly in the section since this can also lead to this happening. From my experience, many of the older 88 pens before the 88P, where an improved feed was introduced, have this kind of problem. As long as it doesn't spit ink, I think it should be ok.

 

Dillon

 

 

This problem has been discussed before. Seems that here could be described a possible solution. Will try this:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/216838-1950s-parker-51-vs-1950s-aurora-hooded-88/?p=2328289

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Christof

[christof]

 

 

This problem has been discussed before. Seems that here could be described a possible solution. Will try this:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/216838-1950s-parker-51-vs-1950s-aurora-hooded-88/?p=2328289

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Christof

 

After reading this therad, I disassembled my Auroran again, to check how this spiral works. The parts are to small to photograph properly, that's why I did a sketch:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7382/9928407335_813624affb_b.jpg

As you can see is there a valve like Connection from the cylindric bore at the and of the Feeder and the ink slot. This opening can be closed or opened by turning the spiral.

Now, I will have to check if this really works and may solve my Problem. We will see....

 

Christof

[zanio]

Very much interesting.

Thanks Christof.

[Dillo]

This is interesting. Keep us updated with your findings. It looks like someone had some success with this. I think the spiral was a feature on the older feeds since none of the pens I currently own have it, but I've seen it on the original 88 and one 88K if I remember correctly.

 

Dillon

[christof]

I really would love to say here, that I was right and my theorie confirmed as correct now....

 

But reality is different. I did try every possible position of the spiral to control inkflow without any success!

Every time when the nib came to the paper, the collector filled with ink, and as a great final, the pen filled its cap with ink....

 

I never had this kind of Problems with any of my Pelikan or Parker. In all the cases in wich it was necessary to adjust the inkflow, I was able to do this with success. These have been lots of pens.

 

The pen is now cleaned and stored away in a drawer. Nice pen. Nice to look at....

 

Christof

[hari317]

I feel, perhaps some component is missing from the adjuster or the feed. Since with a circular aperture in the feed as shown in sketch, even in theory, the adjuster could have done nothing but provide a fixed restriction, only the orientation of restriction was being changed.

 

One idea: fashion a squat cylinder with a wedge removed lengthwise. Insert it inside the feed aperture. Now install the adjuster over it, as the adjuster is rotated, the effective aperture will go from zero to max(max size of the wedge)

Edited September 27, 2013 by hari317

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

So here we are, back to square one. Hari is correct, although I don't think there is anything missing, having seen a good number of these feeds. (I have seen 20, maybe more of these since I used to repair a lot of Aurora 88 pens). I think you may need the pen looked at by someone who specializes in these. I recommend Labeo on this forum. He is very skilled at working on these.

 

Dillon

Edited September 27, 2013 by Dillo