Just Bought A Parker 45 Flighter...

July 9, 2015

and the plastic piece (tail cone/cabachon) that attaches to the butt end of the barrel was missing. My previous flighter didn't have one, but the way the barrel was formed it was stainless steel there not an open hole. But I think the barrel may have been slightly longer. Any ideas where I can find one to fit to it?

July 9, 2015

Hi,

Assuming that your 45 is one of the older ones with the end cap they are not quite that simple to replace if actually broken. Correctly the tail cap is a cone that screws onto the screw that sticks up off the barrel inner. If that screw is broken off (it usually does if someone tries to unscrew the end cap too hard) you cannot attach a new end cap and will need to replace the barrel inner as well as the end cap. Unfortunately the barrel inner is usually glued into the barrel making it very difficult to remove, even applying heat doesn't often work. If you ever do manage to get it all apart I have never seen barrel inner sleeves or end caps for sale.
http://pencollect.co.uk/images/45-stripped.jpg

So ... in the long run it is probably a lot easier and less frustrating to either make or find a little disk of metal that can be glued or screwed on the broken end - you see quite a few 45's with modified ends like this where the cap was broken off ... or find a cheap 45 going on Ebay and use it for spares

Mike

July 11, 2015

Thanks, Mike. The seller represented this pen as from 1960. It doesn't look like it has the barrel inner OR end cap. The barrel threads ARE brass.

I can take a standard length q-tip and put it through and have over 1/8 of an inch poking out both ends. With a Parker cartridge installed it goes basically right to the end. Very small gap - can't be more than a couple of millimeters or so.

July 11, 2015

Any chance of some photos ?

July 11, 2015

I only have one so will have to take some later today.

July 11, 2015

I have actually seen the tail pieces show up on Fleabay about every other 3rd Blue Moon.

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

July 11, 2015

I have actually seen the tail pieces show up on Fleabay about every other 3rd Blue Moon.

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

LOL - yep, that frequently!

I have a couple of black ones in my little box of spare parts but more often then not it is the inner sleeve that is damaged when people try to remove them as the screw part that sticks out tends to get ripped off.

July 11, 2015

Did anyone see the 45 on eBay a couple months back, missing the barrel, but with the plastic barrel liner? The seller seemed to be under the impression it wa supposed to be like that!

July 11, 2015

If it is a Deluxe Flighter (gold clip and tassie) the butt piece would be gold instead of black plastic.

July 11, 2015

Did anyone see the 45 on eBay a couple months back, missing the barrel, but with the plastic barrel liner? The seller seemed to be under the impression it wa supposed to be like that!

I've seen several on there recently with end caps missing or with "non-standard" end caps that have been glued on to cover the hole.

Thanks, Mike. The seller represented this pen as from 1960. It doesn't look like it has the barrel inner OR end cap. The barrel threads ARE brass.

I can take a standard length q-tip and put it through and have over 1/8 of an inch poking out both ends. With a Parker cartridge installed it goes basically right to the end. Very small gap - can't be more than a couple of millimeters or so.

You learn something every day Just having a look through my little hoard of 45 Flighters and it would seem that sometime in the later half of the 70's Parker simplified the design and instead of the plastic inner sleeve they started to use a threaded brass insert. Shortly after they started doing this they got rid of the end cap altogether, but there are a number of brass threaded end cap pens. The end caps look like they are screwed onto a small disk that is pushed to the end of the barrel then held in place by the end cap.

It's my guess that yours is one of these later end cap pens with the end cap and inner disk missing leaving a hole in the top of the barrel and a slightly shorter pen.

Pretty certain that it's not a 60's pen though ...

Edited July 11, 2015 by Spikey Mike