What is on your bench?

[es9]

Very interesting.  Does it slide off the barrel?  Or is it permanently attached?

[VacNut]

16 hours ago, es9 said:

Very interesting.  Does it slide off the barrel?  Or is it permanently attached?

The overlay on the cap is swaged around the base, so it does not move.

the barrel has slight play, is it can be removed.

[VacNut]

Italian celluloid this week and a Swan 46. Basic button fillers and push bar on the Italian pens. It is all about the color of the celluloid.

 

 

The clear barrel pen is odd, as it is a button filler, so the sack is fully exposed by the clear celluloid.

 

 

 

The Swan 46 is a nice example of the pen with slight ambering. The 46 nib has perfect flex.

 

[VacNut]

Vac Max this week. The Burgundy Pen cleaned up nicely, but the clarity could be better. The Black Max is always just classy.

 

 

[es9]

On 4/15/2021 at 1:06 PM, eckiethump said:

The section will have been "painted" with cellulose, a la Sheaffer Snorkel demonstrator caps and other pens.

Very early Parker Vacumatics were all one piece section and barrel.

eckiethump

 

It turns out mine appears to have a small leak where the section is fused onto the barrel.  I know because ink kept getting on my fingers from that area, even after repeated cleaning   

 

Can this be re-fused by a professional?

 

[VacNut]

On 4/23/2021 at 6:21 PM, es9 said:

 

It turns out mine appears to have a small leak where the section is fused onto the barrel.  I know because ink kept getting on my fingers from that area, even after repeated cleaning   

 

Can this be re-fused by a professional?

 

 

I know laminated Vacs can be fused. I an not clear on the crystal pens. The celluloid may be a different composition. Can you see a crack at the threads? I have other pens where the ink has collected inside the cap and it appears the ink is on the threads when the cap is removed. 

[eckiethump]

On 4/24/2021 at 2:21 AM, es9 said:

 

It turns out mine appears to have a small leak where the section is fused onto the barrel.  I know because ink kept getting on my fingers from that area, even after repeated cleaning   

 

Can this be re-fused by a professional?

 

Yes, see my next post.

et

[eckiethump]

I often do not get around to photographing pens after I have worked on them, but his one was so nice. It's a Swan Green Lizardskin 410/88 from 1940. Very good condition, clear barrel imprint BUT a crack in the barrel, as is fairly common with this pen material. Just under 1mm wide at the mouth and stretching 4mm beyond the threads. This was cleaned in the u/s and "Liquid Weld" was used to adhere it, the barrel crack closed by using a jubilee clip.

The crack was in line with the bottom of the nib and the last line of the imprint. I like to line up nibs with the imprint.

[eckiethump]

Upload failed the first time 😞 hence two photos 😞

et

[ralfstc]

On 4/11/2021 at 5:36 PM, tmenyc said:

The piston works when the black bushing is threaded all the way down, but in withdrawing the piston, the black bushing unscrews. So it seems to me that something has to hold that sucker in place.

 Hi,

 

How easily does the piston knob turn on the bushing? Basically, if I follow, the issue is that there is more friction between the knob threads and the black bushing than the black bushing and the barrel (both are regular direction threads if I recall correctly?). So certainly applying something to increase the friction between the bushing and the barrel will help (I'd use rosin thread sealant, most likely) but make sure the knob turns easily too. These FC piston systems are usually easy to use and if there's any excess friction it will damage them.

 

Good luck! 🙂

 

Ralf

[VacNut]

9 hours ago, eckiethump said:

I often do not get around to photographing pens after I have worked on them, but his one was so nice. It's a Swan Green Lizardskin 410/88 from 1940. Very good condition, clear barrel imprint BUT a crack in the barrel, as is fairly common with this pen material. Just under 1mm wide at the mouth and stretching 4mm beyond the threads. This was cleaned in the u/s and "Liquid Weld" was used to adhere it, the barrel crack closed by using a jubilee clip.

The crack was in line with the bottom of the nib and the last line of the imprint. I like to line up nibs with the imprint.

That is a sharp looking pen. It is a simple button filler? It is a shame about the crack. It is stabilized, but is it visible or is the repair considered permanent, as good as new?

[tmenyc]

10 hours ago, ralfstc said:

 How easily does the piston knob turn on the bushing?

 

Ralf

Ralf, 

I got past that issue; eventually I got it out and lubricated. Now the issue is that it's not taking in ink, and I am having a devil of a time getting the nib unit nut to open up. Soaked for days, supervised warm ultrasonic up to 30deg C didn't do it, dry heat doesn't do it. This FC 5564 is one nasty pen!

Tim

[eckiethump]

10 hours ago, VacNut said:

That is a sharp looking pen. It is a simple button filler? It is a shame about the crack. It is stabilized, but is it visible or is the repair considered permanent, as good as new?

The stabilised crack is visible, just beyond the threads under good magnification. I always insist on crack repairs I do, that the customer reveals the pen has had a crack repair stabilised, if selling on. I have have seen pens I stabilised cracks on at dealers tables at shows, where I couldn't find  the repair.

et

[eckiethump]

Pen is a Leverless, a paddle type arrangement that twists the sac in the barrel, and when returns to rest, the sac reforms and fills the pen. To be fully operational and working to maximum fill, the sac needs to fill the barrel as much as possible, sometimes section nipple can be quite small for this. I use necked sacs, if not one at the right size, I will fit a sac, then wrap cotton thread around it dipped in shellac, then coat with shellac when tight. The section with sac is fitted without the nib and feed and a dowel in the section/sac, sac liberally talc'd to ensure it does not twist on insertion. Feed and nib the fitted last.

et

[VacNut]

A great Williamson Pen this week. Very similar to a Black OS, but it is a button filler. Replacement Vac nib. 
Re-built a Brown OS with nice transparency. Same with the Black OS. Great imprints on both pens.

 

[eckiethump]

Had these here last week for a service :-

 

[ralfstc]

VERY nice Eric! That Mammoth is enormous, eh?

 

Ralf

[VacNut]

11 hours ago, eckiethump said:

Had these here last week for a service :-

 

how does the Onoto fill? Was I a simple tune up or a rebuild?

[eckiethump]

It's a piston filler and uses the same size of piston seal as the Magna, there are 4 sizes available, TBH it's soemtimes trial and error on Magnas which is the best diameter. This one in particular I never removed the "holding" pin that releases the turning button. The external condition was just too good, to risk the pin replacement being seen. It can be a real trial finding this pin at times. My standard service method for the service to these pens is to remove this, and install Viton "O" rings for the barrel end seal. In this case I used a "spanning spanner" to release the barrel end holding collar and installed split cork seals. This is the method the late Arthur Twydle details on the web site, "Pen Wizard". Against some traditionalists (they sell the cork seals ?) I prefer the better seal of the "O" rings, I normally install 3 in the barrel end.

This pen had no sign of ink in the barrel at all, amazing condition, a damp pipe cleaner was used to check. The nibs is platinum plated gold and does not have a 14ct  mark on it !

Eric

[eckiethump]

20 hours ago, ralfstc said:

VERY nice Eric! That Mammoth is enormous, eh?

 

Ralf

It is rather large, my customer also has a Waterman 20, that dwarfs it !

Eric