Lubing The Piston Of My 149

[WestLothian]

I would avoid any soap or detergent in a piston filler pen. This would tend to wash away any lubricant from the dynamic seal.

I have been through about thirty fills and flushes with water since the last time that I lubricated my 149 and it still feels very smooth with just a tiny wipe of grease.

There is some great advice on the tools and safe techniques here.

[hari317]

I'm very greatful for hari317's post w/photos of the lubing of the 149. After having use far to long a time to empty my 149 i found that the piston was very reluctant to move up/down. I flushed the pen with luke-warm soap water, but for som odd reason the barrel was easy to flush but became even more reluctant to fill. I can think of no logical reason for this, but maybe some of the other contributers can?

 

Anyway, afraid to damage the machanism I decided to disassemble it and came across this excellent thread which proved most helpful!! I have now dissasembled it, are ready to lube it (using TWSBI silicone oil) and assemble it. I feel quite confident it will run OK, and am actually very proud (!!!) as this is my first (almost complede) teardown

 

So, lots of thanks for this exellent thread!!!

 

Regards,

LBj

-- above the arctic circle

 

 

I am glad you found this thread useful and could get your 149 working fine again.

 

Best

Hari

[viclip]

It's indicated in this thread that 149's made from 2000 onwards don't use the famous MB pink sealant due to the transition to precision threading between the nib/feed collar & the barrel. I recently ordered a brand new 149 with the O3B nib option. My thinking was that I could keep an eye out for banged up 149's sporting other nib sizes, such that I could remove their nib/feed collar assemblies for transplantation into my "good" 149.

 

So my question is, are the pre-2000 nib/feed collar assemblies physically interchangeable as a unit with those of the current models, or must I limit myself to the newer nib/feed collar assemblies?

 

And if the nib/feed collar assemblies aren't interchangeable, what about just the nibs/feeds themselves (i.e. leaving the collars in the respective barrels)?

[hari317]

It's indicated in this thread that 149's made from 2000 onwards don't use the famous MB pink sealant due to the transition to precision threading between the nib/feed collar & the barrel. I recently ordered a brand new 149 with the O3B nib option. My thinking was that I could keep an eye out for banged up 149's sporting other nib sizes, such that I could remove their nib/feed collar assemblies for transplantation into my "good" 149.

 

So my question is, are the pre-2000 nib/feed collar assemblies physically interchangeable as a unit with those of the current models, or must I limit myself to the newer nib/feed collar assemblies?

 

And if the nib/feed collar assemblies aren't interchangeable, what about just the nibs/feeds themselves (i.e. leaving the collars in the respective barrels)?

 

The older "case feeders"(the nib feed housing) will not screw in to the latest 149s.

 

My suggestion at your risk: You should retain the current feeder and switch just the nib. Knock out the current nib and feed and insert the other 149 nib with this feed.

 

Current feeds are really not a good fit to older nibs, IMO. If you see the tail of the latest nibs, it has a small vertex at the middle. This engages with a triangular projection on the feed. This ensures relative position of nib and feed is constant regardless of operator.

 

As far as i have seen, the older feed will not fit the very latest case feeder, since the latest case feeder has no slot/depression for the nib and the feed has the depression instead to accomodate the nib.

 

HTH

 

Hari

[viclip]

It's indicated in this thread that 149's made from 2000 onwards don't use the famous MB pink sealant due to the transition to precision threading between the nib/feed collar & the barrel. I recently ordered a brand new 149 with the O3B nib option. My thinking was that I could keep an eye out for banged up 149's sporting other nib sizes, such that I could remove their nib/feed collar assemblies for transplantation into my "good" 149.

 

So my question is, are the pre-2000 nib/feed collar assemblies physically interchangeable as a unit with those of the current models, or must I limit myself to the newer nib/feed collar assemblies?

 

And if the nib/feed collar assemblies aren't interchangeable, what about just the nibs/feeds themselves (i.e. leaving the collars in the respective barrels)?

 

The older "case feeders"(the nib feed housing) will not screw in to the latest 149s.

 

My suggestion at your risk: You should retain the current feeder and switch just the nib. Knock out the current nib and feed and insert the other 149 nib with this feed.

 

Current feeds are really not a good fit to older nibs, IMO. If you see the tail of the latest nibs, it has a small vertex at the middle. This engages with a triangular projection on the feed. This ensures relative position of nib and feed is constant regardless of operator.

 

As far as i have seen, the older feed will not fit the very latest case feeder, since the latest case feeder has no slot/depression for the nib and the feed has the depression instead to accomodate the nib.

 

HTH

 

Hari

Great info Hari. I'll stay within the new 149 series for nib-swapping purposes. Thx!

[Derrik Waterbottle]

I recently won an auction for a 1970`s 146, when it turned up it had a stuck piston, a result no doubt of having been stored with ink in it for a number of years (the mind boggles!!!) Anyway it resisted all attempts to get it moving, multiple runs through the sonic cleaner, prolonged soaks in the sink (Sorry dear, you`ll have to use the downstairs loo !!!)

 

First problem.. I had no tool to remove the piston assy, this leads neatly on to problem 2... I dont have any patience !! so, not being prepared to wait whilst I bought a proper tool I managed to cobble together with the aid of a strong brass paper clip and my trusty gerber multitool a 2 pronged thingummy which opened it easily and without incident (phew!!) A swift further dunking in the sonic bath and it all came out beautifully.

 

Could I get it back together now it was gleamingly clean ? Errrr........No not a hope in hell

 

 

A quick search on here found this thread, 5 minutes later its inked up and working like a beauty

 

Thanks, Thanks and more Thanks.

 

P.S I certainly wouldn`t recommend doing it with a paperclip I just didn`t have the patience to wait !!

 

thingummy

[hari317]

...

Well done Derrik! I have once used a bent fruit fork myself.

[tenney]

Nice to hear about your success Derrik .So, did you just use your paperclip tool to get it all back together or did you have to use something else?

[Pen Nut]

I invested in the tools made by our very own Francis and was very impressed at the level of engineering put into them. They fit perfectly and on a personal note I would not go down the road of making my own because I know they would fail or slip out of the slots damaging the pen to some degree for which I would always blame myself.

 

I have no connection to my brother and business partner Francis other than being a very happy customer and fan of his work.

[Chi Town]

Hari, you are incredible! Thak you so much for the fantastic answer and pictures! I can't wait to get my tool and get to work......

[hari317]

Hari, you are incredible! Thak you so much for the fantastic answer and pictures! I can't wait to get my tool and get to work......

Hi Mike, you can fashion your own tool, look here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/218891-repairrefurbishment-of-a-70s-149/

 

Best

Hari

[jethrobrink]

Thanks, That was pretty interesting. I assume the same can be done with a 146?

[hari317]

Thanks, That was pretty interesting. I assume the same can be done with a 146?

yes.

[penhand]

Having used a recently acquired tool to disassemble and lube a number of 146 and 149 pistons, I never had to adjust one piston. Why? Because all I did was:

1. Clean the piston seal (rinse with water and wipe dry with a paper towel)
2. Clean the barrel inside (flush with water)
3. Flush the nib with water from the piston side with a syringe
4. Barely lube the piston seal edge with silicon grease
5. Wipe the piston flat surface (in case I got any grease on it)
6. Reassemble

I didn't remove the piston shaft from the knob and I did not lubricate the piston shaft.

 

The pistons all now work much, much better. Since I didn't unscrew the piston shaft, I didn't have to adjust the piston.

 

Other than skipping the opportunity to lubricate the piston shaft (and mis-adjust the piston), what else am I missing by skipping the "disassemble the piston" step?

[Pen Nut]

Not a lot really. You can remove the nib and feed unit, with the correct tool, but this is normally done to cure leaks, piston lubing wise you have nailed it !

[hari317]

Having used a recently acquired tool to disassemble and lube a number of 146 and 149 pistons, I never had to adjust one piston. Why? Because all I did was:

1. Clean the piston seal (rinse with water and wipe dry with a paper towel)
2. Clean the barrel inside (flush with water)
3. Flush the nib with water from the piston side with a syringe
4. Barely lube the piston seal edge with silicon grease
5. Wipe the piston flat surface (in case I got any grease on it)
6. Reassemble

I didn't remove the piston shaft from the knob and I did not lubricate the piston shaft.

 

The pistons all now work much, much better. Since I didn't unscrew the piston shaft, I didn't have to adjust the piston.

 

Other than skipping the opportunity to lubricate the piston shaft (and mis-adjust the piston), what else am I missing by skipping the "disassemble the piston" step?

 

The answer depends on the condition of the pen and how ham fisted the one doing the "repair" is.

 

BTW there is a chance some water enters the piston mechanism when you rinse the piston seal with everything assembled together.

 

For me taking the piston assembly apart and putting back is very simple nd gives me a chance to inspect and see everything is alright(esp with an ebay pen) so I rarely skip it and it will be simple for anybody who reads the procedure that i have outlined.

 

On many pens, for some reasons the ink has got behind the piston seal and then mucks up the mechanism, in such cases disassembly cannot be avoided.

 

I hope this helps. Take judgment on a case to case basis.

 

Hari

Edited July 25, 2013 by hari317