Modern Aurora 88 Piston: Exploded View

[sanpei]

 

Magic reservoir:

 

This is achieved by the nozzle that you see from the ink view window. In the writing position, as the ink level falls, ink will enter the nozzle only when its level is greater than that of the nozzle height, as the ink level falls below this height, the ink flow will be interupted. Now to write further, you fully extend the piston. There is an annular projection on the piston seal , this surrounds the nozzle and thus the reserve ink level now rises above the nozzle height, allowing you to write a few more pages and acts as a reminder to refill. The only problem now is that flushing the pen fully becomes a pain.

 

Cheers!

Hari

 

Sorry to dig out such an old topic, but did the vintage Aurora 88 (ca. 1940s) have similar "magic reserve"?

 

No, just the 98 "magic reserve" got it.

[GavH]

Apologies for the thread resurrection, but the piston knob (blind cap) on my modern 88 has come off and doesn't want to go back on. I can't even rotate the spindle which now protrudes from out the end, hence at this stage, the pen is pretty much dead and in need of stripping down. Can anyone provide me with any guidance as to how this is done? This was bought about 3 yrs ago used on ebay, so warranty repair isn't an option. If repair is too complex or costly, it's going back on ebay for spares or repair. Nib alone is worth almost what I paid for way back.

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm315/GavH/DSCF8977.jpg

Edited September 3, 2012 by GavH

[Dillo]

Apologies for the thread resurrection, but the piston knob (blind cap) on my modern 88 has come off and doesn't want to go back on. I can't even rotate the spindle which now protrudes from out the end, hence at this stage, the pen is pretty much dead and in need of stripping down. Can anyone provide me with any guidance as to how this is done? This was bought about 3 yrs ago used on ebay, so warranty repair isn't an option. If repair is too complex or costly, it's going back on ebay for spares or repair. Nib alone is worth almost what I paid for way back.

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm315/GavH/DSCF8977.jpg

 

Aurora is usually good at taking care of you. I had to send something to them, and they fixed it up completely. Besides, they might be interested to know about this potential problem.

 

Dillon

[hari317]

Apologies for the thread resurrection, but the piston knob (blind cap) on my modern 88 has come off and doesn't want to go back on. I can't even rotate the spindle which now protrudes from out the end, hence at this stage, the pen is pretty much dead and in need of stripping down. Can anyone provide me with any guidance as to how this is done? This was bought about 3 yrs ago used on ebay, so warranty repair isn't an option. If repair is too complex or costly, it's going back on ebay for spares or repair. Nib alone is worth almost what I paid for way back.

 

 

 

Ok. from the picture, it appears that the knob has separated from the long nut. If you see my picture, you will observe that the knob has a long snout attached. The knob and the snout have now detached in your pen.

 

Pls see if you can operate the piston by grabbing the portion that has only two threads visible at the end. as you rotate it counterclockwise, the spindle should enter the barrel of the pen/diminish from view.

 

Check and revert.

[GavH]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

Hari, the piston seems pretty stiff. I'm reluctant to try to force it in case I snap the threaded part as there is a bit of 'flex' in it.

[hari317]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

Hari, the piston seems pretty stiff. I'm reluctant to try to force it in case I snap the threaded part as there is a bit of 'flex' in it.

 

Hi, you should attempt to gently rotate the wider diameter plastic part. Do not touch the thin long threaded spindle which is projecting out.

 

It(the wider diameter outer part) will be stiff and that is the reason the piston knob has separated.

 

Otherwise Aurora service will take good care of you, my experience: My link

 

Hari

[GavH]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

Hari, the piston seems pretty stiff. I'm reluctant to try to force it in case I snap the threaded part as there is a bit of 'flex' in it.

 

Hi, you should attempt to gently rotate the wider diameter plastic part. Do not touch the thin long threaded spindle which is projecting out.

 

It(the wider diameter outer part) will be stiff and that is the reason the piston knob has separated.

 

Otherwise Aurora service will take good care of you, my experience: My link

 

Hari

 

Hari.

 

Thanks again, yes, the wider part was stiff but I've managed to ease it out with the initial use of a pair of pliers (!). The piston now rotates freely, however, the blind cap still won't screw back on. On closer inspection, there is what appears to be glue on the surface where the piston meets the blind cap (just above the threads that can be seen in the pic). I am now beginning to wonder if I got this on ebay relatively cheaply for a reason! I'm minded to try a touch of glue on it myself ?

[hari317]

Stop! Don't use any glue yet.

 

Now that you have managed to rotate the wider part, you will see two notches on the flange underneath. Are you able to see them now?

 

You will need to make a tool to engage these slots. the filler unit can be unscrewed once the tool engages with the slots.

 

With the filler outside the barrel, use a strong epoxy to glue the "snout" to the piston knob. Before gluing, check the fit and assembly.

 

any problems do ask.

 

Hari

 

ETA: so you see any remains inside the knob cavity?

Edited September 4, 2012 by hari317

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

If you want an authorized repair, I'd advise sending it to Aurora. If that isn't that important to you, you might be able to get by just gluing it together.

 

Dillon

[eric47]

Hi,

 

If you want an authorized repair, I'd advise sending it to Aurora. If that isn't that important to you, you might be able to get by just gluing it together.

 

I'd agree with the authorized repair bit. If GavH's flag is correct, then Scotland to Italy isn't that far. With both in EU there won't be a lot of hassles with customs, etc.

 

Shouldn't be all that much to repair; Aurora replaced a cracked barrel on an Optima for less than 50 EUR -- 40 Eur seems to more ring a bell but I really don't recall. If you send it to them, they'll check the entire pen and make adjustments/repairs as necessary. Depending on how much was paid for this broken pen, you may still end up with fixed and inspected pen a good to fair price. Aurora doesn't send parts to repairers, so you pretty much have to deal with them if you want original parts.

 

You can always send them an email and ask: aurora@aurorapen.it

They probably won't tell you how much, you'll get the usual, our technician would need to see the pen first.

Edited September 5, 2012 by eric47

[hari317]

As I indicated in post 26, sometimes there is no choice but to send the pen to Aurora since as eric47 says, only they have the parts. I had to send one of my pens in due to a broken barrel, there was no way to do a proper DIY fix. However faced with a problem similar to GavH's case, no doubt, I would have taken the DIY repair approach. YMMV.

[GavH]

Guys, Sorry for the late reply, DIY fix undertaken and thus far deemed perfectly succesful.

 

On close inspection, the top of the piston was uneven and appeared to have dried glue on it. Using a dab of nail polish remover on a q-tip to remove the glue, it seems that perhaps this has broken off before and was glued by a previous owner? Not totally sure as I don't know what it's supposed to look like or indeed how the blind cap is normally secured. Anyhow, a touch of glue and the blind cap back in place and flush with the lip at the top of the piston and we're back in and working.

 

It'll be interesting to see how it lasts and as I've already alluded, it's possibly the case that a similar DIY approach has been taken by the previous owner (which consequently failed!).

 

Thanks for the advice nonetheless.

[hari317]

... DIY fix undertaken and thus far deemed perfectly succesful.

...

Excellent, which glue did you use?

[GavH]

... DIY fix undertaken and thus far deemed perfectly succesful.

...

Excellent, which glue did you use?

 

I'll no doubt be struck down by the FP repair gods but I used a simple, clear, 'all purpose' Bostik glue.

[Amsler]

I have the full-resin 800 (both the gold trim and the chrome trim versions).

 

It is a lightweight pen, seems smaller than it is. I use it unposted, but I think it is very useable posted as well.

 

 

 

I feel obliged to add a modest contribution:

 

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo288/enricofacchin/nibs-104.jpg

 

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo288/enricofacchin/nibs-105.jpg

 

Thanks for such an amazing photo.

I have seen some Aurora nibs as yours, without the imprint of Aurora in the nib, and the number "585" refering to the gold purity.

Do you know why some Aurora nibs do not have those imprints?

 

Thanks

[hari317]

Do you know why some Aurora nibs do not have those imprints?

perhaps because sometimes the imprints are hidden behind drops of ink.

[karmakoda]

Thank You to GavH, for the thread resurrection, and to Hari for another excellent contribution.

I will be looking for that long-tined nib, beautiful! Is that a premium nib offered on more expensive versions of the 88?

I have an Optima LE Demo, perfect, simple, large capacity piston filler. Wonder what the purpose is for the Magic Reserve?

[raging.dragon]

Thank You to GavH, for the thread resurrection, and to Hari for another excellent contribution.

I will be looking for that long-tined nib, beautiful! Is that a premium nib offered on more expensive versions of the 88?

I have an Optima LE Demo, perfect, simple, large capacity piston filler. Wonder what the purpose is for the Magic Reserve?

 

I recall reading in other posts that the long tine nibs are a discontinued variant, mostly found on some older limited editions?

[enricof]

AFAIK the long tines version is just the older one.

 

I'll find out my other, more recent 88 and take some comparative pics.

[enricof]

 

 

Thank You to GavH, for the thread resurrection, and to Hari for another excellent contribution.
I will be looking for that long-tined nib, beautiful! Is that a premium nib offered on more expensive versions of the 88?
I have an Optima LE Demo, perfect, simple, large capacity piston filler. Wonder what the purpose is for the Magic Reserve?

I find the Riserva Magica useful, even if these pens have a nice big ink window so finding yourself ink-less is quite difficult.

You are writing, suddenly notice the reduction of ink flow. A twist of the piston and you have enough ink to complete the page/letter/notebook entry.

It would be extremely useful on those piston filler with no ink window (Omas 360, for instance), but I think nobody else have it (patent reasons?).

Here are a few pics of my 88s. I got the g/t one as NOS back in 1993. I think it is a very early production.
The chrome version is recent, the only differences I can see is the nib design (I prefer the old one) and the section lip (I prefer the new one).
On the chrome version the "Aurora" engraving on the cap band is opposite to the clip, while on the gold onne it seems to be in a random position. Funny enough, this cap has been repaired in Aurora (shattered cap's dome, had to ship them to have a new one installed.

Nibs are F for the old one and M for he new one, the first one has a bit more "personality" (the so called Aurora-feedback), the second is quite neutral. I prefer the old one (both for look and handling).

Note: the second pic is the result of a small accident (the pen moved during the long exposure), but I liked the result...





Edited July 3, 2013 by enricof