What is on your bench?

[FarmBoy]

threads on the shorter pen look trimmed.

[VacNut]

1 hour ago, FarmBoy said:

threads on the shorter pen look trimmed.

Good eyes. Looks like the end has been slightly tapered and there is residue at the edge. That is an interesting repair. I rarely see a trimmed threaded barrel.

[FarmBoy]

Less interesting and more bad. 
 

the leading threads were worn and slipping so someone cut them off.   
 

not how that problem is fixed. 

[VacNut]

That’s is disappointing to hear that they trimmed off the threads to fix the loose cap. More spare parts for the parts bin. I may have another silver OS barrel that may match.

[VacNut]

I finally sat down to rebuild a few Vacs that were disassembled and stored in the parts bin.

Three Emerald Vac Oversize Pens this week.

 

 

The middle pen has the longest threads, but the barrel is actually 1/8” shorter than the other pen. It is made in the USA.

 

 The pens are far from perfect. They have some brassing on the furniture and ambered barrels with faded imprints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last pen has an odd sideways 45 date code from the USA. I am guessing 4th quarter of 1935?

The middle pen has quite an oblique nib.

 

 

 

[VacNut]

A Vac Golden Web this week with a few clones. The Italian celluloid is very similar to the Web, but the transparent laminates are black, since it is a button filler. There is a red version, which would be incredible if Parker used a similar color in their pens. The 51 shaped hosel, is also interesting.

 

There is also a good Crystal Vacuum Filler. It has a few bite marks and has the typical barrel ambering, but the imprints are legible. I am working on finding a vacuum filler nib

 

 

 

[FarmBoy]

Who said Parker only had brown web material.  There are green, silver and even a red one.

[VacNut]

Yes, they are the diamond medal pens. Is the celluloid clear or black? The silver is particularly striking.

[Addertooth]

I would be tempted to take the correct 3 lead die to those barrels with short thread, and add some thread to them. 

[VacNut]

2 hours ago, Addertooth said:

I would be tempted to take the correct 3 lead die to those barrels with short thread, and add some thread to them. 

I never thought of that. May I ask what type of lathe you use? Is it a full machine shop lathe or hobby sized?

I only thought is that the pen will always be slightly shorter than the typical pen

[Addertooth]

I use very small, but high end shop tools.  Space is an issue in my one car garage. The lathe is an upgraded Little Machine Shop 7350 7 by 16 inch lathe with digital read-out (DRO) plus it supports English/Standard plus metric threads. It is set up with a ball bearing steady-rest, as well with a quick-change tool post. A 4-jaw independent chuck was purchased to supplement the standard 3-jaw chuck.   In my case, because of the lathe, I would most likely prefer to cut threads like that on a lathe, rather than use a die.  But for those without a lathe, the correct die would work as well.  My milling machine is a Precision Matthews PM728vt.  I am mid-process upgrading it with a 3-axis DRO.   Both are much better than the more typically found machine-shop tools which come direct from China. 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Addertooth
spelling

[VacNut]

Thank you

I have never seen these mini lathes. They are very reasonable for a hobbyist. I have been researching making laminate celluloid stock for different colored Vacs. The lathe is just right for my single car garage 

[FarmBoy]

On 11/2/2021 at 7:47 PM, VacNut said:

Yes, they are the diamond medal pens. Is the celluloid clear or black? The silver is particularly striking.

Mine say Parker…

[Addertooth]

6 minutes ago, VacNut said:

Thank you

I have never seen these mini lathes. They are very reasonable for a hobbyist. I have been researching making laminate celluloid stock for different colored Vacs. The lathe is just right for my single car garage 

I would strongly suggest the Little Machine Shop LMS7350 lathe. It has ground ways (as versus less precise milled), a Quick change tool post, Brushless and powerful 0.67 HP motor (one of the best in size class), Digital read out for tailstock, crossfeed, and compound.  The tailstock has cam-locking on position, as versus having to tighten a locking bolt.   It has a huge host of available add-ons, like a spider for supporting rod which is fed through the spindle hole in the chuck (very handy for longer Hard Rubber rods).  Directly from Little Machine Shop (LMS), the taper error was only 0.14 of 1/1000 of an inch over a length of a foot. I have bored 3/4 inch holes with a drill in steel with it.  It has plenty of torque.  Most importantly for pen makers is, it can run at very high RPMS, which is needed for small diameter parts.  Larger lathes don't spin as fast and tend to struggle with finish on smaller diameter parts.  It runs in forward and reverse, and can do right and left handed threads. The bed is 16 inches long, as versus the typical 10 to 14 inches.  This comes into play when you mount a drill chuck, plus a 6 inch drill in the tailstock.  Shorter lathes have trouble with that extra space taken up by the drill chuck and drill bit.  It comes stock with a 4 inch chuck, instead of the usual 3 inch chucks which are found on other models.  The larger working diameter is useful in making custom jigs to support some kinds of pen repairs.  It has nice touches, like metal hand-wheels, as versus brittle plastic ones.   LMS also puts these lathes through additional quality control which is not found on many lathes of this size.   It is more pricey than most (easily double the cost), but it is nice to have a frustration-free tool out of the box. The other key reason for choosing this size, it runs on 110 volts, so no need to run 220 volt power to run it. 

[VacNut]

1 hour ago, FarmBoy said:

Mine say Parker…

🙇🙇‍♂️🙇🙇‍♂️🙇🙇‍♂️

[eckiethump]

As far as I am aware there are 3 types of Parker Vacumatic filler, there may be other variants ?

I'll quite happily stand corrected on my guesstimate dating. Sizes:- Deb, Medium and O/size

1. Original Lockdown filler 1932-39

2.Original Lockdown filler with thicker end barrel 1937-39

3.Speedline Filler 1939-41

4. Plastic filler rod 1941-48

I've left out the all plastic coned ones seen.

These are a customers 4 pens, it was quite nice to see the 4 different ones together.

 

 

[VacNut]

8 hours ago, eckiethump said:

As far as I am aware there are 3 types of Parker Vacumatic filler, there may be other variants ?

I'll quite happily stand corrected on my guesstimate dating. Sizes:- Deb, Medium and O/size

1. Original Lockdown filler 1932-39

2.Original Lockdown filler with thicker end barrel 1937-39

3.Speedline Filler 1939-41

4. Plastic filler rod 1941-48

I've left out the all plastic coned ones seen.

These are a customers 4 pens, it was quite nice to see the 4 different ones together.

 

 

Thank you. I have never sat down and thought about all the variations. It is almost like assembling a jig saw puzzle. I came across this odd striped grey blind cap for a Vac Max with threads for a OS diameter collar. The sides of the cap are considerably thinner than the typical Vac Max blind cap. I wonder if there is a shorter Vac OS out there intended to use this longer blind cap.

 

[eckiethump]

A bit of an easier day, all lever fillers apart from top right hand corner, Waterman glass cartridge, which just to get working I'll sac with a silicon sac to be used as a bulb filler until a glass cartridge might appear for

the customer 

et

[VacNut]

4 hours ago, eckiethump said:

A bit of an easier day, all lever fillers apart from top right hand corner, Waterman glass cartridge, which just to get working I'll sac with a silicon sac to be used as a bulb filler until a glass cartridge might appear for

the customer 

et

May I ask, is this a daily routine? How many pens do you work on a day?

I am interested in safety pens. Do your clients ask for the re-blackening of the BHR?

Do you have a secret method to not have blue or black thumbs and fingertips at the end of the day?

[eckiethump]

41 minutes ago, VacNut said:

May I ask, is this a daily routine? How many pens do you work on a day?

I am interested in safety pens. Do your clients ask for the re-blackening of the BHR?

Do you have a secret method to not have blue or black thumbs and fingertips at the end of the day?

It varies wildly how many pens are worked on in a day, I pictured 12 here, but after the photograph I added another 6. Seems easy, then there is one Conway Stewart, the lever is detached, so had to remove and fit it back again, one of my least favourite tasks. The hanging pressure bar, did not want to attach to the lugs for love nor money, I even have a bespoke tool for this task. Eventually got it, so what all seems straight forward, can mess up a timetable that I never make, when it's not working , "take a breather". I have quite a few lathe jobs to do, so my day can and does vary quite a bit. Other than Conway Stewart's , who I am the recommended vintage repair person for, I don't get too many lever or button fill pens to service.

There is only one client I will do re-blackening for, I know he would never sell a pen without declaring the work. I don't advise the work to be done. Another customer I do servicing for, does re-blackening, but only on pens to sell if they are in absolute mint condition, with no wear at all, his work is so good you would never know, I've shown examples to well known long term dealers, who had never seen it so good and I have seen many peoples attempts.

I use Deb Stoko Kresto for cleaning hands after work, developed for the printing trade to clean up their hands, very effective.

Eric