1st restoration-the saga continues

[OcalaFlGuy]

Yall might get a chuckle out of this. Or not.

 

I went to resac "the Green Monster" this afternoon. Now remember, no one has ever seen me

with a tool in my hand that I didn't somehow manage to stick into my face...

 

I read all the tips on how to get the sac on. I even tried it as a dry run with no shellec. I used

a small set of needlenose to open and hold the sac open with. Of course, practice, no countsie dry

runs ALWAYS work first time every time now don't they?

 

And things went just as smooth once I got the shellac out right?

 

Ahh...well...not so much.

 

The first try, I had the sac half on before it flew off all the way. After the next couple tries, I

think I had shellec under my eyelids and inside my ears. :roflmho:

 

The one place I'm not totally sure there IS any shellac is between the sac and the nipple.

(Just a slight joking exaggeration. I think.)

 

I ran a couple successive beads of shellec around the sac/section junction just to be sure.

 

One thing does bother me and that's that the sac isn't quite as straight as I'd like. If you just

*look* at it, it looks perfectly straight. But if you turn the section around in your fingers, it is

off just a hair. Hopefully it isn't off enough to end up being any problem. (And hopefully, I'm

just being a little AR here too...)

 

In awhile, I'll put the nib back in and fill the sac with water and let it sit overnight to see if

there are any leaks.

 

Before I try this again, I definately need to make myself one of the DIY model of sac

spreader out of a coathanger.

 

I'm still waiting on the hemostats and talc from Tryphon so I can pull the j-bar out and

clean it up but other than that and reinserting the section, I'm about done. You can almost

see yourself in the outside of the pen. I do plan on trying to take some decent pics (I DO

have the before pic from Fleabay) when I finish.

 

Of course, that's assuming I don't snap the j-bar in half getting it out or putting it back in.

 

So believe me. If anyone is thinking about doing a resac and wonders if they can do it,

if *I* can, ANYONE can!

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

 

 

 

[The Write Pen]

Hilarious, thanks for the story. If the J-bar is working fine, not need to remove it. If it is an older pen, it very well may break. Just make sure it is clean of any sac reside and the lever is not loose and you should be good.

 

Regards,

 

danny

[wvbeetlebug]

:clap1:

 

I need to make a sac spreader too. I used some tweezers and that worked okay. Maybe I need the kind that look bent.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Hilarious, thanks for the story. If the J-bar is working fine, not need to remove it. If it is an older pen, it very well may break. Just make sure it is clean of any sac reside and the lever is not loose and you should be good.

 

Regards,

 

danny

 

Well, I'd say ALL of our Esties qualify as "an older pen" since they're all in the neighborhood of 50+ years old.

 

Believe me, I do delve into the j-bar situation with trepidation. There are however a couple points that are

"twisting my arm" here. First, I bought this pen for 2 main reasons, first that it had a 9788 nib I wanted, second

that since I really don't care that much for the green Esties (however, this one did polish out VERY nicely) if I

screwed something up with this one being my first effort, I wouldn't be that upset. When you see the before and

after pics, I think you'll agree (that at least so far) I did a pretty good job with it. However, there are a couple

rust spots on the j-bar. For this pen to be called "restored" those spots honestly should be addressed, at least

the rust polished off so it doesn't progress.

 

Yes, I'd really like to just button it up like it is now and hope the j-bar lasts a few years longer. But my "conscience"

just won't let me do a 1/2 ass*d job on what was purchased as a training exercise to start with.

 

All of the old sac is out of the barrel as is about 99% of the red ink it contained. Pulling the j-bar will also allow

me to get the last trace of red ink out.

 

If I DON'T pull this j-bar, when it comes time for me to work on a pen I Really DO Like, I'm going to be sweating

even *bigger* bullets for NOT having done it this time.

 

It's a lesson I need to learn. I just hope I don't hear the j-bar go "TINK!" in the middle of it.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

[CarolinaWriter]

:roflmho: Somehow, I can picture that...

[OcalaFlGuy]

:clap1:

 

I need to make a sac spreader too. I used some tweezers and that worked okay. Maybe I need the kind that look bent.

 

Cathy, here is a post that shows a homemade coat hanger one. Cursor down to Robert Hughes post. It's supposed

to strongly resemble the one Pendemonium gets $5 for.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...+spreader\

 

That's how I'm going to do mine.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

[OcalaFlGuy]

:roflmho: Somehow, I can picture that...

 

So very unfortunately, so can I...

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

[PaFitch]

I've enjoyed pulling j-bars several times now, some of which were broken before I pulled them. I have used a skinny forcep tool but also a tweezer to pull them out. With the J model, removing the saddle in the barrel made removing the j-bar easier. Remember to measure where it should be located in the barrel. A simple wire with a hook on the end has been enough to pull the saddle out. The biggest issue I experienced in replacing a j-bar (on a Sheaffer Balance--my very first attempt) was reinserting it to the proper depth in the barrel. Again, a measurement of how far in the j-bar is currently will help to know where to put it after restoring.

 

If you have already polished the pen--to me--you've done the hardest part of restoring the pen.

 

Working on pens is as much fun as writing with them.

[wvbeetlebug]

Cool deal. I remember seeing a diagram of that somewhere.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Well, even a blind squirrel finds a nut.

 

The Green Monster is finished. I'm just waiting for a cloudy day to take a couple pics of it.

 

That slightly rusted j-bar ended up being a little bird just pecking away in my brain. As decent a job

as I'd done on the rest of the pen, I couldn't just button it back up with that j-bar looking like that.

 

So, when my Tryphon order came in I grabben the pair of 7.5" hemos (they are almost too big, kinda

wish I had a 5" pair) and prepared for a j-bar-ectomy. Drew a sketch out of exactly how the j-bar

was placed and where, so I could get in back in correctly. Got the j-bar out fine, hit it with some WD40

(yes, I'm sure all the WD40 was gone before I reinstalled the j-bar) and 00 steel wool from my pistol

cleaning bag and got it looking all nice and clean. Talced the sac up good and had no problem getting

the section back in, and in the correct position for the fill lever to function correctly. It was almost too

good to be true. The section even side back in nice and tight but with no forcing necessary.

 

Pics to come soon.

 

Thanks to everyone here, (Most especially to Farmboy!) both in answering questions as they came up

for me, but also for all the past info that I read a zillion times in thread archives while I was doing this first

restoration.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Firefyter-Emt]

FYI... I personally think the sac spreaders are a waste of money. I have one, I tried it once and never used it again. It is much easier to place the sac on by hand than it is with one of those tools. Just hook one half of the sack on the nipple and slide the other half over the nipple. Easy as pie if you ask me. Here is a tip if you like, wrap the outside of the section with masking tape until you get good at it. This will keep the shellac off the outside of the section from your finger tips.

[johnboz]

Congrats on the successful repair! I would have to say that the sac spreaders are more trouble than they're worth. I find it's easier to just push the sac onto the section. As for the J-bar, I am not a pro, but I have removed and replaced quite a few J-bars and they seem pretty tough to me. I think if one breaks when you're taking it out, it was going to break very soon and should have been replaced anyway.