Asc Armando Simoni Club Bologna Extra Disassembly

[como]

I have had this ASC Bologna Extra for about a year, and was always curious about how to disassemble it because one day I will have to re-sac it. Today, with a thought derived from another thread on FPN, I was feeling brave and did it.

 

First of all, I would like to thank FPN member sannidh and Youtuber sbrebrown for their answer and video to help me with this disassembly. sannidh's original post is here (a different topic but indirectly related to this because of the same filling mechanism): https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/351582-a-review-of-the-wahl-eversharp-decoband-in-rosewood/page-1

 

sbrebrown's video relevant to disassembly of this model is:

Please see minute 4:44.

 

Please see below photos: You can unscrew the nib/feed unit out of the section. You can unscrew the section out of the barrel.

 

Observations:

 

1. There was no shellac or other heat sensitive adhesive on plastic nib collar threads so unscrewing was rather easy, both the nib unit and the section.

 

2. The nipple size seems to be for size 22 sac (or one size bigger or smaller), but the sac seems thinner in diameter. I could be wrong but it looks at least in my case, the sac size might be chosen to accommodate the narrow diameter of the brass casing. Otherwise the pen had to be made even girthier, which may not be possible depending on the diameter of their celluloid rods available. Or it's just fitted off centre in this case that it appears to be a smaller sac for the nipple. But my guess is the former. I didn't re-sac the pen, as it's still relatively new. When I do, I will first have to see if the sac with the right nipple size fits the brass casing. If not, a smaller size sac will have to do, even though it might be a tighter than ideal fit on the nipple.

 

3. The section is rather thin (partially inner-lined with brass). Be careful not to over-turn the nib unit when you screw it back on, to avoid any chance of cracking the section.

 

Hope this satisfies your curiosity as it did for mine, and might be helpful to you one day.

 

Regards,

 

como

[gerigo]

Thanks for this! Very helpful as I'd love to know how to disassemble the pen for re-sacing in the future.

[sannidh]

Thank you so much como, for your efforts in making this knowledge accessible to everyone for the stunner of a pen.

Surely, someday someone searching frantically for the topic will find your post and will be thankful

[hari317]

very helpful. Thanks!

Edited February 12, 2020 by hari317

[como]

Thank you, gerigo, sannidh and hari317. It looks very easy, but initially I didn't want to take a chance on dissembling such a pen, until I got enough info to take a "calculated risk". So, thank you to sannidh and sbrebrown again.

[mulrich]

Has anyone tried replacing the sac with a converter or other type of filling system? The pneumatic filler is a bit of a pain.

[como]

Please correct me if I am wrong: the feed for cc/cartridge would be different than the piston/vac/pneumatic etc filling system. So first you need to find a feed for cc/cartridge AND it has to be compatible with this gigantic nib. Is this essentially a customized Bock size 8 nib? If this is, at least this would be possible without too much trouble.

 

I think to convert this to a cc type is too much of a waste of space for a barrel lined with double layers of brass. For me the vac and pneumatic fillers are not too different in terms of convenience.

 

Has anyone tried replacing the sac with a converter or other type of filling system? The pneumatic filler is a bit of a pain.

[Coinopcollector]

Please explain in a little more detail how you remove the sack. When I twist my nib it Simply turns and can easily be pulled out. The threaded section with the sack does not move at all. How do you unscrew the threaded area with the sack? Is there a special tool?

[como]

FPN members, please pitch in and let us know your thoughts, opinions and suggestions.

 

I cradle the nib between the first and second joint of my index finger and place my thumb firmly on the feed. So my thumb presses firmly against the cradle, with the nib unit in between. I can then rotate the section with my other hand or rotate the nib unit. Usually I prefer to rotate the section as it feels more stable to me.

 

What you described doesnt sound like the way its supposed to work. Unless they built some of the pens with different way as I discovered, it should work the same: like the normal screw-out unit of any Jowo or Bock.

 

Question: 1. When you have the nib and feed out, do you see inside the nib collar a half moon groove, a slight difference that suggests the position of nib side vs feed side? Modern screw-out units often have that, to better position the feed/nib. 2. The sac end of the ebonite feed, is it flat? It should as its not a cc pen so should have the normal feed that is compatible with sac/piston type of filling system. Question #2 is just for curiosity. It lets me know if nib knock-out can be an option if I ever need to. Question #1:,if yes, maybe you can try and re-align when inserting the nib/feed back. Hopefully it gives some friction to make unscrewing nib unit a bit easier. Probably not, but its an idea to try.

 

If you dont feel comfortable trying to take out the nib collar, I think its best to contact where you bought from. If you bought from an individual seller, you could try to contact Manu of ASC, or Salvatore of Leonardo Officina Italiana directly. I believe that Leonardo made these pens for ASC. If you are not used to tinkering pens as a hobby, its best not to try to take this apart yourself, when you have encountered a problem. This is not the kind of pens that you should learn by doing. Its quite expensive and not worth the risk of making it kaputt. I can think of something to try, but only if I am desperate and exhausted repair options under warranty. The celluloid layer on section is rather thin. You need to be careful not to crack it.

[Coinopcollector]

I have three ASC Bolognas. The one I have described above is my Yard o Led material Bologna Vesuvio. The section that holds the nib and sack is simply round and the nib can simply be pushed in or with a bit of a twist pulled out. I don’t see any crescent or half moon as you describe or ability to lock the nib to the section so that that piece (black threaded into which the sac attaches) can be screwed in or out.

 

I also have a brown Arco and a wild Darkside but have not tried removing the nib or sack section on either of them. In fact on my wild Darkside the front section With brass tube attached cannot be screwed off at all. I sent it back to ASC to be fixed because I thought that was a problem but Manu called me to tell me it was intentional and that some of the pens when tested did not show sufficient sac compression so the front section would be sealed with shellac so that no air could get through.

Does anyone else have an ASC Bologna that you can’t screw off the front section in order to pull out the brass sac holder as pictured in the OP above?

Edited February 18, 2020 by Coinopcollector

[como]

Hi Coinopcollector, it's good to know that shellac might or might not be found on the brass thread. This means that if I am stuck unscrewing the section from barrel, I can apply some heat (heat gun or hair dryer) to soften the heat-sensitive shellac. If you feel comfortable, you can also try to heat the section (careful not excessive heat on celluloid). Maybe with a wooden stick of appropriate size padded with rubber pad to create some friction, it can unscrew out. Personally I think first inquiring to ASC is the safer option. Why should you ruin a pen at your own risk, when they can sort it out for you.

[cunim]

My nib/brass screws right out. However, I am disturbed by what Coinopcollector reports. ASC messes up turning some sections and uses goop to seal up the flaws? Sigh. My opinion of this company keeps dropping.

[como]

Hi Coinopcollector,

 

I think I know why your Bologna Extra has this problem... Today I accidentally ran into the same problem as you did, but with a different pen, a Visconti Van Gogh, with a steel screw-in unit, nib/feed friction fit into the collar.

 

Let me explain. When I tried to screw out the nib unit of the Visconti Van Gogh, I only took out the nib and feed, like you. As I knew that this is a screw-in unit because I had done this before, I knew that the collar got stuck in the metal section. Why? Probably I screwed it in a little too tight the last time! I ended up screwing out the nib collar without the nib/feed inside, as you see in this photo, with a chopstick with thin rubber band wrapped around its head (to create some friction). Using my fingers to make sure that pressure is evenly applied, I was able to screw out the collar without much trouble.

 

I guess maybe when ASC (or a previous owner, or whoever) assembled the unit, this person screwed in the nib/feed/collar a little too tight, like I did with my Visconti Van Gogh.

 

Here my advantage is that Visconti Van Gogh has a metal section, so the only thing I could possibly destroy is the nib collar. But your pen has a nice thin layer of celluloid, so again, I would contact ASC to solve this problem. Of course if no one is willing to help you, you can try what I did (there are probably better tools out there, but I just used what I had). But for me this risk is not worth taking. They can and should fix it for you.

 

Kind regards,

 

como

[Coinopcollector]

Como

 

Thank you for the follow up and advice. My Bologna Dark Side is still at ASC. I am awaiting the return. As noted above, Manu suggested in a phone call that it was intentionally sealed in place to aid with the deflating/inflating of the sac, and so I assume I will get it back the way I sent it to ASC.

 

[como]

I understand what he said. But I think it would make more sense if the section/barrel connection is sealed with shellac, and nib collar is leak-proof-ed with silicon grease. I don't see why the threads of a screw-in nib unit needs to be sealed with shellac instead of silicon grease.

Como

 

Thank you for the follow up and advice. My Bologna Dark Side is still at ASC. I am awaiting the return. As noted above, Manu suggested in a phone call that it was intentionally sealed in place to aid with the deflating/inflating of the sac, and so I assume I will get it back the way I sent it to ASC.

 

[Coinopcollector]

So we are talking about two different Bolognas. To clarify, it is the section/barrel connection that is sealed with shellac on my Darkside, and not the nib collar. I don't know if the threads of the screw-in nib unit on that pen are sealed as I have not tried to remove it.

 

As to my Bologna Vesuvio, I did try to access the sac and all that I could do is remove the nib. There is no "half moon" you describe or other friction to cause the nib collar to un-srew.

[como]

Coinopcollector:

 

1. With your Dark Side, if you apply some heat to the area where shellac was applied, it will loosen up and you can screw it out.

2. With your Vesuvio, I think someone screwed in the unit too tight. Now the friction between nib/feed and collar is not enough to screw out the unit. Send back or try at your own risk.

So we are talking about two different Bolognas. To clarify, it is the section/barrel connection that is sealed with shellac on my Darkside, and not the nib collar. I don't know if the threads of the screw-in nib unit on that pen are sealed as I have not tried to remove it.

 

As to my Bologna Vesuvio, I did try to access the sac and all that I could do is remove the nib. There is no "half moon" you describe or other friction to cause the nib collar to un-srew.

[georges zaslavsky]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Is it the same type of mechanism which is encountered on the reedition of the Wahl Eversharp?

Edited April 27, 2020 by georges zaslavsky

[como]

Same mechanism as the modern Wahl Eversharp Decoband, a pneumatic filler.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Is it the same type of mechanism which is encountered on the reedition of the Wahl Eversharp?

[CoolBreeze]

Great thread! I am learning a lot about the pneumatic mechanism and construction. I do love the look of the modern Wahl and ASC pens but the filling system (and the ability to properly maintain it or lack of ability) was one of my hesitations. I wish it was universal that all of the pens could be maintained without sending them back but I am not sure. @Coinopcollector - when you get your pen back, can you let us know if you were able to unscrew your nib unit that was attached to the sack out of your pen (as in the last picture in the first post)?

 

Also, if any of you all eventually do decide to to take the nib and feed out of the collar can you please post pic of the top of the feed channel?!?!?!! I have been dying to see what the top of the feed looks like and how big the slit is to satisfy my curiosity about how they both keep up with the ink flow during flexing!