Vintage 400 Repair

[watch_art]

got another busted up pen. the blind cap comes off so the whole piston mechanism is useless right now. gotta get it out.

 

first i figure i need to get the section off. heat and pull?

 

then to the piston. since obviously something here is broken, how should i go about doing this?

 

and yes, the nib is fairly jacked up looking, but it's a pretty sweet writer. and yes i know, it's not even a pelikan nib. oh well. that's life. maybe i'll find another nib for it down the road. i was told this was a double broad, not an italic. and it's very flexy. pretty cool. right now it's in my m200 getting lots of use. man it DRINKS some ink.

 

here are pics. advice about getting the works out and repaired greatly appreciated. especially since the one part is broken...

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4780795995_abf84784cd_b.jpg

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4780796217_eac047939d_b.jpg

 

 

i think the prints inside are just silicone grease. there was grease all over the nib and feed when i took it out. yuck.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4781431972_32f5f40984_b.jpg

 

 

a view of the greasy innards.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4781432366_e3d046638c_b.jpg

 

 

broken feed "fixed" with a dab of epoxy. it dripped ink out the nib first, but now it's just a very wet writer. no more drips. if i could get a replacement from one of you guys, trade some art, or just a link to where i could find one, that would be sweet.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4780797167_75a657e1b5_b.jpg

 

 

jacked up nib. don't know if 'they' did this to turn it into a sorta oblique nib, but there ya go...

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4781432876_5560e81782_b.jpg

 

 

warranted made in england. when i got it the tines crossed over each other really badly. just writing a few words would do it. i held the pen in my hands with the feed facing me, and pushed against the shoulders carefully with my thumbnails and now the problem is very minimal. almost doesn't do it at all anymore. again, any source for a nib would be very appreciated.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4780797647_6990ce6feb_b.jpg

[watch_art]

oh yeah, something else i learned when i got this, the old nib/feed fits the new pen, but the new nib/feed doesn't fit the old pen.

hmm.

 

edit: least that's how it seems. not real sure. maybe i'll try it again later...

Edited July 11, 2010 by watch_art

[watch_art]

nevermind, found it here:

http://www.caprafico.com/pens-88/pelikan-pen-restoration-275

 

Here is a common defect, occuring when ink dries inside the barrel: you find the turning knob came off the barrel.

 

this is a rather simple operation:

seems, the piston got glued to the barrel, by dried ink,

then, by forcing the turning knob, the piston got loose -

 

there is a friction fitting of the piston rod to the turning knob,

which breaks loose before all the rest breaks in pieces.

 

You need to knock out the remainders of the piston from the front (after screwing out the nib unit)

Having knocked it out, push back the piston rod into the turning knob,

re-assemble the mechanic and push it all back into the barrel.

Don´t forget to throroughly clean barrel and piston,

then - from the front, give a very thin layer of vaseline fat to the barrel.

After doing this, insert some tissue to take off any excess grease.

Make sure not to grease the part of barrel, where the piston is friction fit.

 

[watch_art]

wow. THAT WAS EASY. got it apart and the piston unit is soaking to get all the old blue ink out.

 

can't wait to get this baby rolling. but the fingerprints inside are permanent. some doofus must have used epoxy or some other glue to fasten the section to the barrel and they were SLOPPY while doing it.

 

but i was surprised how easy it came out.

 

i just made a knockout block from wood and used a metal rod with electric tape around it to make it fit perfectly and also to not scratch the insides. i heated up the barrel with my cheap hair dryer. used a regular nailing hammer to hit it, and boom. out. once it was loose, i was able to just push it out the rest of the way.

 

SO SIMPLE! i'll post pics and a drawing later for anybody who cares.

 

[eckiethump]

wow. THAT WAS EASY. got it apart and the piston unit is soaking to get all the old blue ink out.

 

can't wait to get this baby rolling. but the fingerprints inside are permanent. some doofus must have used epoxy or some other glue to fasten the section to the barrel and they were SLOPPY while doing it.

 

but i was surprised how easy it came out.

 

i just made a knockout block from wood and used a metal rod with electric tape around it to make it fit perfectly and also to not scratch the insides. i heated up the barrel with my cheap hair dryer. used a regular nailing hammer to hit it, and boom. out. once it was loose, i was able to just push it out the rest of the way.

 

SO SIMPLE! i'll post pics and a drawing later for anybody who cares.

 

They don't always come out that easy, at times the piston removal is not for the faint hearted,

 

If you soak in vinegar, eventually the epoxy, if that is what it is, will break down enough to clean up. You can then make a good job of re-fixing the section, which should never really have been separated from the barrel anyway.

 

You can spend a lot more time righting bad repairs, than most repairs themselves

 

et

 

 

[watch_art]

will vinegar not hurt the barrel or the section??

[watch_art]

ARG. something i did is bugging me. I need to drain the ink , open the knob up a bit, heat the barrel, and then push the knob in a bit so that the knob will screw down all the way. right now, tight isn't tight, it wiggles. darnit. the knob doesn't tighten against the barrel...

[eckiethump]

ARG. something i did is bugging me. I need to drain the ink , open the knob up a bit, heat the barrel, and then push the knob in a bit so that the knob will screw down all the way. right now, tight isn't tight, it wiggles. darnit. the knob doesn't tighten against the barrel...

 

Before re-installing the whole mechanism you have not had the turning knob screwed down far enough, when screwing down the piston is moving up and hitting the back end of the pen/unit before the turning knob is fully screwed down. Preference is for turning knob to be fully screwed home, before the piston is at it's barrel end limit

 

Vinegar is acidic so care must be taken in it's use, to date, I have had, and am not aware of any issues in it's use in the method I describe.

 

et

[watch_art]

ARG. something i did is bugging me. I need to drain the ink , open the knob up a bit, heat the barrel, and then push the knob in a bit so that the knob will screw down all the way. right now, tight isn't tight, it wiggles. darnit. the knob doesn't tighten against the barrel...

 

Before re-installing the whole mechanism you have not had the turning knob screwed down far enough, when screwing down the piston is moving up and hitting the back end of the pen/unit before the turning knob is fully screwed down. Preference is for turning knob to be fully screwed home, before the piston is at it's barrel end limit

 

Vinegar is acidic so care must be taken in it's use, to date, I have had, and am not aware of any issues in it's use in the method I describe.

 

et

 

 

thanks! i'll get on this soon and document my progress for others to refer to later on.

[watch_art]

got it. yay! that was easy. so with the filler mechanism all the way together, and the filler knob all the way down tight, you want there to be about a 3/16" gap between the piston sleeve and the back of the rubber seal on the piston. or maybe closer to 4mm...

 

very cool!

[watch_art]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4783331764_65fd5d3f25_b.jpg

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4783332668_1597913138_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4782699363_5e35fb3597_b.jpg

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4782700297_72c3b058f8_b.jpg

 

It's funny that as I was writing the page about the Montblanc black working well in this pen, my pen started to dry out. Don't know. It's the pen though, not the ink, I'm sure.

actually, i'm pretty sure it's just the feed. completely jacked up. ruined. trash. no help for it. the entire tip is chipped off.

need another one. or something else that would work. a 5.5 mm feed that can fit the collar and screw in...

 

 

 

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4782701415_9bb26bdeaf_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

all done and together, and filled with ink! YAYY!!

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4782735011_2daaa23a5f_z.jpg

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4782735181_86a2a109ba_z.jpg

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4782735317_3d6378e32d_z.jpg

Edited July 15, 2010 by watch_art

[christof]

Hi

 

Congrats to your successfull disassembly! You choosed an unusual way to do this. But it was successfull because the turning knob was off. If this isn't the case, your method will not work.

 

Have a look at this section:

 

If the turnig knob isn't off, you have to clamp the barrel like this:

 

[watch_art]

actually, b/c the knob was loose when i put it all back together, i had to take the mechanism out again. how did i do it with the knob on there? not on a knockout block of course. instead of wooden blocks and a vice to grip it, i put the rod in the section touching the piston, heated the barrel up, then, holding it in my hand like an ice pick, i tapped the rod against a block of wood on my table. mechanism came right out, smooth as butta. no vice or clamp needed. i'll make some drawings up to demonstrate when i get home how i did it.

 

i never soaked it though... just applied heat to barrel outside of piston mechanism and slammed it out. it wasn't as rough as it sounds.

 

got it all back together wonderfully. the filler knob tightens down beautifully now.

[watch_art]

i also got the flow to work.

 

i finished tweaking the nib to get it nice and straight. took it off the feed so i could work with it better.

also noticed that the breather hole didn't have any space underneath it, so when i had it off the feed this last time, i took my 1mm u gouge for my block carving and carved the air channel farther forward. now it doesn't dry out after 2 sentences. i've written several pages of text (big red and black book) with no problems. yay!

and i also heat set the feed to keep it from dribbling.

 

works wonderfully!

[drrusso]

Nice educational information taken home from these pages!

 

Thanks.