Can Plastic Feeds Be Heat Set?

[dorala1]

I have a Sheaffer Balance II that has always given me problems with skipping and "running dry" after a paragraph or two of writing. When I looked at the nib closely, I saw a bit of light between the nib and the feed.

Not good.

We're it an ebonite feed, I could heat set it and fix the problem (hopefully). But it's not ebonite; it's plastic.

What is the best way to properly set the nib/feed clearance in my pen?

Thanks for any thoughts you might have.

Tom Connell

[mhosea]

I'll be happy to hear from experts on this. An expert on it I am not. Another problem is that I don't know what the Balance II feed looks like.

 

Having said that, I have made minor adjustments to the ends of Bexley (JoWo) plastic feeds by dipping the tip of the feed in hot water for a few seconds (I usually put a half cup of water in the microwave and bring to a boil--it's probably below 200F by the time I dip the feed) and then applying modest pressure to the tip by pressing it on the counter top in the direction I want it to go as it cools. This is with the feed by itself, out of the pen, obviously. Often I need to repeat this, since I tend to be overcautious. It does seem to work on the JoWo feeds, as I have swapped gold and steel nibs from Bexley piston to C/C fillers. The gold nibs are angled down less than the steel nibs at the tines, so if you just swap a steel and gold nib you'll get a small gap like that on the gold one.

[TomR]

Judging from the silence, there is apparently no answer to this question. Either that, or the experts are silent. My guess would be that plastic won't heat set like ebonite will. Most likely it will just deform, given that heat (eventually) melts plastic.

[Chthulhu]

According to Nathan Tardiff (in one of his videos), no. The surfaces of plastic feeds have been etched to give them a texture for ink to cling to, and heating them enough to set them supposedly smooths the texture out somewhat, and reduces their efficacy.

[mhosea]

Well, plastic doesn't behave like hard rubber, that much is certain. With plastic it is critical not to overheat. I've found just-boiled water to be barely hot enough to soften a JoWo feed enough to close a slight gap at the tip. I've done it several times with no ill-effects at all. I'm not sure what plastic they are made from, but ABS, for example, has a transition temperature of 105 degrees C. With a different plastic this might be overkill (leading to catastrophic deformation) or too little to matter at all.

[watch_art]

i've heat set a few plastic feeds too - with hot air though.

[tguk911]

I don't think it's a great idea even if others have done it since I'm sure different pen companies use different plastics to mold their feeds so one might do well in hot water and one might not.

[mhosea]

If Sheaffer is using their standard modern feed, I think a lower temperature to start with would be prudent. The plastic just kind of looks softer than most.

[Paul Raposo]

I can't find it now, but on a collectors blog, the writer stated that the nib should be bent down to meet the plastic feed, rather than the feed heated and pushed up under the nib.

 

He stated that you lay the nib face down on a hard surface, with something soft between the nib and surface to avoid scratches. And then using your thumb, pressed down on the feed and the barrel held in your palm, you angle the barrel upwards, putting pressure on the face of the nib and slightly bend it downward to meet the feed.

 

I have no idea how safe this is, or if it's the correct method.

[mhosea]

If you bend the tines towards the feed and allow/make no other changes, then the gap between the tines at the tip will reduce. That may be a side effect you want or not. I would suggest removing the nib to make adjustments in this direction. I learned this lesson the hard way with a vintage pen and ebonite feed.

[TimGirdler]

Here's the deal:

 

Bending the nib tines to match the feed creates problems with the nib. The nib might develop the "inverted grand canyon" or the "grand canyon" where there is a gap at the bottom of the tip or at the top of the nib, respectively. This has the potential to create other problems. (Ask me how I know this creates many other problems!) Minor, and I stress minor, adjustments can be made by bending the nib. However, anything more than 0.1 or 0.2 mm is inviting great trouble.

 

Hard rubber feeds are easily reset with heat from a heat gun, and that's because hard rubber is a pretty hearty material. Plastic, on the other hand, gets really messed-up with dry heat.

 

So, as I learned from Ron Zorn, a plastic feed can be set with wet heat. Boiling water is your friend.

 

Heat setting a plastic feed allows the backbone of the nib to remain consistent and it helps to maintain a parallel slit in the tip of the nib.

 

So...yes...it can be done. But, it still isn't for the faint-of-heart.

 

Tim

[c4bb0ose]

I would shy away from doing this, I have a dead conway 67 feed because I attempted this.

[TimGirdler]

I would shy away from doing this, I have a dead conway 67 feed because I attempted this.

 

That's why I mentioned it wasn't for the faint-of-heart.

 

I'm indebted to Ron Zorn for his gracious sharing of information. In essence, there must be a happy medium between the nib and feed. That medium is affected poorly when the tines have to be bent too far down, and the medium is affected poorly when the feed is too far away from the nib.

 

Knowing when to do what is important. And, the heat-setting of a feed is something that shouldn't be attempted unless you know what you're doing.

 

Tim

[Ron Z]

Here's the thing.

 

Tim is right, the better thing to do is to set the feed rather than the nib. The idea of forming the nib, which is rigid metal against a "plastic" material. Hard rubber though not plastic in the sense that we usually use the term is a plastic in the broad definition of the word.

 

I usually recommend dry heat for setting a feed. But that applies to hard rubber, and it's safe because hard rubber can handle the higher temperatures of a heat gun. If you use dry heat you expose the feed to higher temperatures, and stand a good chance of melting or distorting the collector fins. Using boiling water limits the temperature to about 212 F which these plastics can handle. Immerse the feed in the water for 30 seconds, 45 at most, then press the tip of the feed against the underside of the nib, and hold for several seconds while the feed cools.

 

BTW, I learned this from Howard Levy who uses the technique to set the feeds of all Bexley pens when they are assembled.

 

Further note - we're talking about using boiling water for setting modern plastic feeds only. I do not recommend, or even suggest, using boiling water for any other pen repair procedure. Dry heat, except in this case only, is still best.

[markh]

Here's the thing.

 

Tim is right, the better thing to do is to set the feed rather than the nib. The idea of forming the nib, which is rigid metal against a "plastic" material. Hard rubber though not plastic in the sense that we usually use the term is a plastic in the broad definition of the word.

 

I usually recommend dry heat for setting a feed. But that applies to hard rubber, and it's safe because hard rubber can handle the higher temperatures of a heat gun. If you use dry heat you expose the feed to higher temperatures, and stand a good chance of melting or distorting the collector fins. Using boiling water limits the temperature to about 212 F which these plastics can handle. Immerse the feed in the water for 30 seconds, 45 at most, then press the tip of the feed against the underside of the nib, and hold for several seconds while the feed cools.

 

BTW, I learned this from Howard Levy who uses the technique to set the feeds of all Bexley pens when they are assembled.

 

Further note - we're talking about using boiling water for setting modern plastic feeds only. I do not recommend, or even suggest, using boiling water for any other pen repair procedure. Dry heat, except in this case only, is still best.

 

 

I realize this is an old thread, but I thought I would mention that I tried the boiling water method on a plastic feed yesterday, and it worked perfectly.

 

I purchased a food thermometer at the local grocery - the kind with the dial and indicator needle. I also had a pile of purchased plastic feeds - $1.00 each, so I decided I could sacrifice one to science.

 

I boiled a cup of water in the microwave, and waited until the temp had dropped to just above 200°. The feed bent, and after running cold water over it, stayed bent.

 

So, after the experiment, tried it with the actual, expensive pen. My new Pelikan 101N Lizard, which had trouble with a feed placed too far away from the nib and maintaining flow.

 

the adjustment worked fine. And, unlike using a heat gun (which I have done in the past but will now never do again) the feed fins weren't damaged. Pen works great!

 

FPN is always a source for invaluable information. Thanks to all and Ron Z.

 

(BTW, since this is best done in the kitchen, where the microwave and running water are, suggest you pick a time when the wife isn't home... saves a lot of explaining.. )

 

 

.

[Ron Z]

You're welcome.

 

BTW, you know how I found out that dry heat will cook the fins of a plastic feed of course.....

[Sasha Royale]

Sounds like a risky chore, akin to William Tell shooting an apple off his son's head. There is little room for error.

Best to start with a kid pen feed that is expendable.

 

Do keep us advised, please.

[E8x8]

Would this method fix a M800 Pelikan nib with a hard start problem? I have already checked that it's not caused by a baby bottom.

[markh]

Sounds like a risky chore, akin to William Tell shooting an apple off his son's head. There is little room for error.

Best to start with a kid pen feed that is expendable.

 

Do keep us advised, please.

 

I guess all pen repair has some risk. If I really botched things, I know I could swap feeds with a currently unused Pelikan steel nib pen.

 

But by trying out the technique on another feed (as I mentioned, a $1 risk) I was confident enough to try.

 

And... it worked.

 

Repairing pens always has some risk. Practice reduces the risk, but can never eliminate it. Occasionally I break something - and I'm just an amateur. I can tell you that the pros occasionally breaks something also, because I've watched them.

 

 

.

[markh]

Would this method fix a M800 Pelikan nib with a hard start problem? I have already checked that it's not caused by a baby bottom.

 

I'm not sure I would want to answer without seeing the pen. Even then you can try one thing, and it doesn't work and then try something else. Unless you can see some evidence of what the problem is, I would send it to someone who is more expert.

 

In my case, when the pens was empty and completely dried out, I could see what appeared to a too-large gap between the nib and feed. You need to look at a lot of pens to get a sense of what the correct gap should be, though you can test it with 20 lb paper - as outlined in Franks book.

 

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