Heat Gun Vs Open Flame

[freddy77]

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've restored 191 Esties, nearly all of which required a soak, some for as long as a week. Only rarely do I need heat for an Estie, though a heated ultrasonic works, too. Sometimes I put one on a tray atop the lampshade over 2 150watt bulbs, a trick I learned on FPN. That works, especially if you shield the section with a bit of rubber gas-line tubing.

 

So, no you've done nothing wrong; water won't hurt an Estie, and not much else will either, except excessive force. The ultrasonic is very useful for cleaning the nib and feed--a drop of dishwashing liquid and a little more ammonia works very well. It will also clean the cap, removing ink residue from the inside.

 

Enjoy, but watch out, this is an addictive hobby. Jack

Thanks Jack. I'm feeling better about what I've done so far then.

[Ron Z]

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've restored 191 Esties, nearly all of which required a soak, some for as long as a week. Only rarely do I need heat for an Estie, though a heated ultrasonic works, too. Sometimes I put one on a tray atop the lampshade over 2 150watt bulbs, a trick I learned on FPN. That works, especially if you shield the section with a bit of rubber gas-line tubing.

 

So, no you've done nothing wrong; water won't hurt an Estie, and not much else will either, except excessive force. The ultrasonic is very useful for cleaning the nib and feed--a drop of dishwashing liquid and a little more ammonia works very well. It will also clean the cap, removing ink residue from the inside.

 

Enjoy, but watch out, this is an addictive hobby. Jack

 

The reason for using a heat gun is not only to loosen the section, but also to allow the barrel to flex a bit as the section goes back in. Esterbrooks often have a rather snug fit on the way in, and the barrel may crack if you don't warm the barrel on the way in. The sections on some will pop into position and then can be rotated so that the nib lines up with the lever.

 

The danger with soaking an Esterbrook is that if water gets up into the barrel, the J bar will rust. I do not routinely pull a J bar because there are risks involved with doing so. Much better to leave it in place if you can, especially if you have to pull a sac stabilizer as you often do with an Esterbrook J.

 

BTW, don't ever remove a section with the nib out. The nib and feed provide support to keep the section from being crushed.

[freddy77]

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've restored 191 Esties, nearly all of which required a soak, some for as long as a week. Only rarely do I need heat for an Estie, though a heated ultrasonic works, too. Sometimes I put one on a tray atop the lampshade over 2 150watt bulbs, a trick I learned on FPN. That works, especially if you shield the section with a bit of rubber gas-line tubing.

 

So, no you've done nothing wrong; water won't hurt an Estie, and not much else will either, except excessive force. The ultrasonic is very useful for cleaning the nib and feed--a drop of dishwashing liquid and a little more ammonia works very well. It will also clean the cap, removing ink residue from the inside.

 

Enjoy, but watch out, this is an addictive hobby. Jack

 

The reason for using a heat gun is not only to loosen the section, but also to allow the barrel to flex a bit as the section goes back in. Esterbrooks often have a rather snug fit on the way in, and the barrel may crack if you don't warm the barrel on the way in. The sections on some will pop into position and then can be rotated so that the nib lines up with the lever.

 

The danger with soaking an Esterbrook is that if water gets up into the barrel, the J bar will rust. I do not routinely pull a J bar because there are risks involved with doing so. Much better to leave it in place if you can, especially if you have to pull a sac stabilizer as you often do with an Esterbrook J.

BTW, don't ever remove a section with the nib out. The nib and feed provide support to keep the section from being crushed.

Thanks. I figured that and didn't remove the nib until the section was safely removed from the barrel. Looking at the nib closely, after cleaning it, I believe it will have to be replaced, anyway.

[FarmBoy]

In the battle of the heat gun vs. open flame, it has been my experience that heat gun blows out the flame every time.

[watch_art]

well water beats fire! in fact my aqua demon will beat your fire monster every time! :roflmho: i had a friend in jr. high who played magic the gathering...

[zermatt7]

Sears to the rescue, who'da thunk it !

(heat gun) And I bet the OLD ones are better than the newer ones. (heat guns again)

 

Not all open flames are created equal ie; alcohol lamp, lighter, propane torch, maap gas torch. The really bad combination is an open flame coupled with impatience.

 

Freddy I just got the exact same pen on ebay for $18.oo shipped / needs restored. An hour & half later same one (copper two jewels)went through at $12 restored... Oh well.

So i'm getting ready to do the exact same thing...Now that your is apart, on the ESTERBROOK FORUM some wonderful individual catagorized & listed every single Esterbrook Repair Thread in one post.

(they must be part librarian :ltcapd: )

 

Jack, you may not think your an expert after only 191 restorations but you might be mistaken, I read somewhere you get your expert badge at 175.

Edited April 19, 2011 by zermatt7

[Ron Z]

I read somewhere you get your expert badge at 175.

 

Repaired or broken?

[USMCMom]

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've restored 191 Esties, nearly all of which required a soak, some for as long as a week. Only rarely do I need heat for an Estie, though a heated ultrasonic works, too. Sometimes I put one on a tray atop the lampshade over 2 150watt bulbs, a trick I learned on FPN. That works, especially if you shield the section with a bit of rubber gas-line tubing.

 

So, no you've done nothing wrong; water won't hurt an Estie, and not much else will either, except excessive force. The ultrasonic is very useful for cleaning the nib and feed--a drop of dishwashing liquid and a little more ammonia works very well. It will also clean the cap, removing ink residue from the inside.

 

Enjoy, but watch out, this is an addictive hobby. Jack

 

The reason for using a heat gun is not only to loosen the section, but also to allow the barrel to flex a bit as the section goes back in. Esterbrooks often have a rather snug fit on the way in, and the barrel may crack if you don't warm the barrel on the way in. The sections on some will pop into position and then can be rotated so that the nib lines up with the lever.

 

The danger with soaking an Esterbrook is that if water gets up into the barrel, the J bar will rust. I do not routinely pull a J bar because there are risks involved with doing so. Much better to leave it in place if you can, especially if you have to pull a sac stabilizer as you often do with an Esterbrook J.

 

BTW, don't ever remove a section with the nib out. The nib and feed provide support to keep the section from being crushed.

 

Since you mentioned this, Ron, I thought I'd ask a question that I've had for quite some time. You mentioned lining the nib up with the lever. Why is this done? Is it for some other reason than appearance?

[USMCMom]

I read somewhere you get your expert badge at 175.

 

Repaired or broken?

 

ROFL!!!! That's a good one!

[Ron Z]

You mentioned lining the nib up with the lever. Why is this done? Is it for some other reason than appearance?

 

Here in the US, it is customary to line up the lever with the nib, and in some cases the imprint. Most people prefer to have it that way. It's my understanding that in the UK, the lever is set on the underside of the pen, 180 degrees out of rotation from the nib.

[viclip]

Besides just looking "smart", lining up the lever with the top of the nib may have a practical purpose. With the lever on the bottom, it would be easier to snag it against loose papers or whatever happens to be sharing the writing surface. In addition to spurting ink out, snagging a lever is a good way to damage it &/or the barrel.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I would like to offer a situation where IMO, open flame handled in a way not touched on yet

might be preferable to a heat gun.

 

Heat lifting (out) marks like teeth marks.

 

Here is why I think this.

 

-The main issue doing this type of repair (again, IMO) is that the line between hot enough for the mark to lift, is dangerously close to hot enough to cause noticeable deformation in the barrel or cap.

-IMO, the smaller of the area you get that hot, the better.

-The problem lies in that most heat guns Do Not allow you to focus the heat in a very small spot(say 1/4" diameter spot). This results in you heating up to dangerous levels, some area of the plastic you'd really rather not heat up.

-I will agree that using the top of the flame is certainly NOT the way to do it IF you're going to use the open flame. However, In.Perfectly.Still.Air the *SIDE* (down towards the bottom) of the flame IS very focusable and pretty stable heat and movement wise.

 

Now of course, The Pros, having melted as many pens learning to lift marks out as most of us will ever attempt, AND possibly having the high dollar focusable uber-heatguns I can see having no use for the flame idea.

 

But for us mortals, who don't have the best focusable, temp settable heat guns nor The Pros vast experience, I think we have at least as good of odds of lifting out marks with the open flame (USED FROM THE FLAME SIDE) as our usual heat guns, probably better odds.

 

I feel no matter what form of heat you use, lifting out marks for me anyway, is a high risk procedure. I feel marginally more able to focus the heat into a smaller area using the side of a flame than I do the heat gun I have.

 

Just my .02. Your mileage will most certainly differ.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[USMCMom]

You mentioned lining the nib up with the lever. Why is this done? Is it for some other reason than appearance?

 

Here in the US, it is customary to line up the lever with the nib, and in some cases the imprint. Most people prefer to have it that way. It's my understanding that in the UK, the lever is set on the underside of the pen, 180 degrees out of rotation from the nib.

 

Thank you, Ron.

[USMCMom]

Besides just looking "smart", lining up the lever with the top of the nib may have a practical purpose. With the lever on the bottom, it would be easier to snag it against loose papers or whatever happens to be sharing the writing surface. In addition to spurting ink out, snagging a lever is a good way to damage it &/or the barrel.

 

Hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

[Ron Z]

I will tell you Bruce that my one experience with open flame, as an advanced as I was with repairs at that point, was enough to convince me never to use it again. The follow up burning of the damaged section to see just how much flame you get out of a Vac Jr section was really exciting, even outside. I don't want to see it in my shop.

 

I have a fancy Steinel regulated temperature heat gun with digital readout.... that sits in my desk drawer. I rarely if ever use it. Most of us use a simple heat gun that you buy from a hobby shop or Michaels/AC Moore for about $20. I can name 5 or 6 professional repair guys who use the same basic heat gun. The opening is 1/2 inch, and it's a good workable temperature 3-4 inches away from the opening. I'm onto my second one because I wore the first one out. This one should be dead, but I keep gluing it back together. I'm of the opinion that mastering the heat gun is just another of the things that we need/ed to master to be good at pen repair.

[Inka]

I'd used heat guns for decades when doing Mil-spec electronic assembly.

They were perfect for shrink wrap tape & tubing for one, attachments made it easier to lift entire microchip-packs from solder-pasted PCB traces.

Now having found fountain pens, doing many of my own repairs/ restorations, I find the heat gun has one more purpose but alas I can't find my old one.

To substitute my lost heat gun I use my wifes' hair dryer with airflow concentrator tip, after using a candy thermometer to log temps [ a lot of work logging this stuff too] at different heat setting and different distances from the blower tip, works very well too even if not as nice as my variable heat gun would.

When I get some money [even $20 is more that I can afford to spend right now but that is cheap!], I like Rons' idea the best of the heat gun with the 1/2" opening. I'm like Ron in another way in that I fix everything that I can before ever buying anything new, even make my own tools, that just makes good sense to me having the skills & tools to do so even when I do have the money. Way to go, Ron, as always, I've admired the way you do things since the first time I'd seen your posts and Website tips & tricks!

[BorisB2009]

Does anyone have a preferred heat gun. I was looking at several and found adjustable ones. However, many of them were for temperatures of 250 degrees Fahrenheit and upwards. I am a complete rookie in pen repair and am currently trying to get the right tools. To my understanding (and please correct me if I am wrong), the optimal temperature is 120 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. I saw that tryphon.it sells one but it appears to be one with only one temperature setting.

 

Thanks,

 

Boris

[watch_art]

I think that Hobby Lobby has one that should work.

[LedZepGirl]

I suggest neither. I melted a celluloid pen with a heat gun and open flame- we should all know what could happen there. I use a hair dryer to open my pens because doesn't get hot enough to melt them. If they won't open after heating one time, soak the section and then try heating it later. Also heating the pen and letting it cool multiple times will sometimes help loosen up a stuck section.

[watch_art]

I melted a celluloid section with a hairdryer once. Had to heat it back up and sort of reshape it so I could put the cap back on the pen.

 

...poor pen.