What is on your bench?

[es9]

So they are actually two of the same pen, one year apart.  Neither is OS.  (I mistook one for an OS at first, but it turns out the large bushing is actually just a blind cap that was not fully screwed in.)  Both measure about 5 inches.  Lovely pens; one has a very small personalization and the lockdown fillers are surprisingly pristine on both.  One was in a box of pens my dad had; it has a broad replacement nib from the UK with a little bit of flex: 

 

 

The other arrived as part of an estate-sale lot.  The lot included another lock-down which I can't quite figure out.  Here's a pic: 

 

 

It has a Vacumatic imprint and the date code is "44," so late 1934?  Someone appears to have carved their initials into the cap, which is also missing one of the three rings and has a very large clip-ball.  The color is what is throwing me though.  The barrel and section look more gold than the cap and blind cap, but it doesn't look quite brown enough to be golden pearl.  

 

 

The nib has a star and a date-code of "0" with three dots.   It has a very little bit of flex to it.  

 

 

 

 

Separately...

 

(1) Does anyone know the correct drill bit size for the breather tube hole in the feed?  Part of it cracked off inside.  

 

(2) Is there anything I can do about this little missing ring of celluloid that cracked off one of the barrels? My gut was just to sand it down, but figured I'd check here first.  I managed to save about half of what cracked off...

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by es9
Added question at the end.

[da vinci]

On 2/18/2021 at 6:12 PM, VacNut said:

That is a sad, sad, heartbreak. It is an Italian celluloid Columbus Extra 104 in the final stages of its life. It looks unused with beautiful cap clarity, but the barrel is suffering from celluloid rot.

I leave it out to keep it ventilated and to remind me to ventilate all my pens 😭😢😥

Sadly I have a Tibaldi with the same problem. I keep mine on display too 😂 I don’t think I have seen a Parker Vac of any sort with this problem though. Are the Parker vac’s reasonably resistant to the rot?

[VacNut]

I have been collecting vacumatics for over twenty years. I have had Eversharps and italian pens corrode, but never the typical vac parkers. The earliest Vac pens are from the mid 1930’s and there has never been any problems, although I had one restorer warp a barrel from heat, and seen another barrel crack  into pieces from being inside a ultrasonic cleaner. The rear end of the barrel sometimes crack, if people are not careful when removing the filler.

The only Vacs I know which corrode are the Ripleys and the candy stripe pens. The clear tip on the cap of this pen shrunk underneath the clip. I am waiting for this vac to eventually corrode....

[VacNut]

11 hours ago, es9 said:

So they are actually two of the same pen, one year apart.  Neither is OS.  (I mistook one for an OS at first, but it turns out the large bushing is actually just a blind cap that was not fully screwed in.)  Both measure about 5 inches.  Lovely pens; one has a very small personalization and the lockdown fillers are surprisingly pristine on both.  One was in a box of pens my dad had; it has a broad replacement nib from the UK with a little bit of flex: 

 

 

The other arrived as part of an estate-sale lot.  The lot included another lock-down which I can't quite figure out.  Here's a pic: 

 

 

It has a Vacumatic imprint and the date code is "44," so late 1934?  Someone appears to have carved their initials into the cap, which is also missing one of the three rings and has a very large clip-ball.  The color is what is throwing me though.  The barrel and section look more gold than the cap and blind cap, but it doesn't look quite brown enough to be golden pearl.  

 

 

The nib has a star and a date-code of "0" with three dots.   It has a very little bit of flex to it.  

 

 

 

 

Separately...

 

(1) Does anyone know the correct drill bit size for the breather tube hole in the feed?  Part of it cracked off inside.  

 

(2) Is there anything I can do about this little missing ring of celluloid that cracked off one of the barrels? My gut was just to sand it down, but figured I'd check here first.  I managed to save about half of what cracked off...

 

In my limited experience, a brown vac is a completely different color than an ambered silver vac. The silver/grey color takes on the color of the ink that was inside the pen, so the barrel color is unpredictable. Brown Vac pens tend to remain more consistent in color. They tend to just darken.

[FarmBoy]

Canadian vac?

[VacNut]

This is where my OCD gets me in trouble.

 

I have a solid burgundy Vacumatic that has never been cleaned. It pre-dates the transparent models. The section and barrel are one piece, so special care is needed to knock out the feed and nib. I am not even sure if the filler can be easily removed. The laminations are slanted so it predates the precision of the later Vacs. The color is deeper than the typical burgundy Vacs. . I see it and cringe knowing it has not been cleaned......the pen is on the left.....
 

the nib should be re-tipped and re-plated.
 

it is precious.....my precious....

 

.

 

 

[VacNut]

24 minutes ago, FarmBoy said:

Canadian vac?

I don’t think so. It is from E.U., so likely U.K. as part of Valentine company. It has Parker nib, but barrel only says “Vacumatic” no Parker. 

[Kenlowe]

5 hours ago, VacNut said:

This is where my OCD gets me in trouble.

 

I have a solid burgundy Vacumatic that has never been cleaned. It pre-dates the transparent models. The section and barrel are one piece, so special care is needed to knock out the feed and nib. I am not even sure if the filler can be easily removed. The laminations are slanted so it predates the precision of the later Vacs. The color is deeper than the typical burgundy Vacs. . I see it and cringe knowing it has not been cleaned......the pen is on the left.....
 

the nib should be re-tipped and re-plated.
 

it is precious.....my precious....

 

.

 

 

 

 

I am certainly learning something. I have never seen such strong slants in the laminations of a Vacumatic before, I have seen distortions and put them down to possibly Indian made copies, Wilson or Seagull.

 

I had seen some issues with the Golden Arrow and the 32 Vacuum Filler but nothing with a Vacumatic tag.

[es9]

9 hours ago, VacNut said:

The rear end of the barrel sometimes crack, if people are not careful when removing the filler.

 

I soaked first, then used Naphtha in the threads, then ultrasonic, then gently heated. Only then did I apply a vac wrench, and I was gentle. I also left a gap between the wrench and the end of the barrel. Not sure what else I should’ve done. 
 

Is sanding a bad idea? Not sure if that will leave a gap just above the blind cap. 

[VacNut]

1 hour ago, es9 said:

 

I soaked first, then used Naphtha in the threads, then ultrasonic, then gently heated. Only then did I apply a vac wrench, and I was gentle. I also left a gap between the wrench and the end of the barrel. Not sure what else I should’ve done. 
 

Is sanding a bad idea? Not sure if that will leave a gap just above the blind cap. 

I was just having a discussion about ultrasonic cleaners. IMHO they work best with disassembled parts, rather than entire pens. I am not saying the cleaner caused the split of the lamination, but it probably didn’t help. 
Some people use the cleaner to remove ink from the section, without removing the nib. I prefer using a knockout block to remove the feed and cleaner all the parts separately, but you run the risk of cracking the section, bending the nib, or the frustration of reassembling the feed and nib into the section.

In general, other than soaking the barrel or the cap for a few moments; or rinsing the parts in clean water, the pen stays relatively dry. I started cleaning the ink with a cotton swab soaked in Kohninoor pen cleaner. It works great, even after the diluted ammonia water.

I know there are diehard pen soakers, and I am guilt of it myself when I absolutely cannot disassemble parts of a Vac . But I generally only limit the long term soaking of pen parts subject to ink. (I have a seized clip screw inside a cap that has been soaking in Naptha. I started stripping the brass screw, so I decided to soak the cap. The cap has lost its bands, so it is also an experiment on long term exposure of Parker celluloid to Naptha). Of course you never soar BHR.

A very skilled pen technician may be able to solvent weld the lamination, but it would be difficult since it is at the end of the barrel near the threads, so it may not be durable. 
If the gap really bothers you, you may consider replacing the barrel. A silver vac barrel is fairly common, unlike a tassie! I personally think it is now part of the history of the pen and should be kept as-is. 
 

For the future, I would suggest applying a small amount of silicon grease only on the threads of Filler. It makes removing the filler much easier, when the diaphragm is replaced. You can search the forum on how to do it and where to buy the grease. 
 

With all that I have written and your experience with the silver vac, I may just store my “precious” again and leave her as-is.

[da vinci]

On 2/24/2021 at 4:52 AM, VacNut said:

I have been collecting vacumatics for over twenty years. I have had Eversharps and italian pens corrode, but never the typical vac parkers. The earliest Vac pens are from the mid 1930’s and there has never been any problems, although I had one restorer warp a barrel from heat, and seen another barrel crack  into pieces from being inside a ultrasonic cleaner. The rear end of the barrel sometimes crack, if people are not careful when removing the filler.

The only Vacs I know which corrode are the Ripleys and the candy stripe pens. The clear tip on the cap of this pen shrunk underneath the clip. I am waiting for this vac to eventually corrode....

Thanks for your helpful comments 👍

[es9]

Upon closer examination, it looks like the barrel on the one that cracked is much thinner.  Where it cracked is actually the thinnest part.  The red lines are above and below the part that cracked, and another barrel is included for comparison: 

 

 

 

 

 

Separately, can this lock-down filler be saved?  The aluminum is corroded, but not all the way through.  

 

 

[Switala]

On 24/02/2021 at 13:06, VacNut said:

Eu estava discutindo sobre limpadores ultrassônicos. IMHO eles funcionam melhor com peças desmontadas, em vez de canetas inteiras. Não estou dizendo que o limpador causou a divisão da laminação, mas provavelmente não ajudou. 
Algumas pessoas usam o limpador para remover a tinta da seção, sem remover a ponta. Eu prefiro usar um bloco knockout para remover o feed e limpar todas as peças separadamente, mas você corre o risco de rachar a seção, entortar a ponta ou a frustração de remontar o feed e a ponta na seção.

Em geral, exceto embeber o barril ou a tampa por alguns momentos; ou enxágue as peças em água limpa, a caneta permanece relativamente seca. Comecei a limpar a tinta com um cotonete embebido em limpador de caneta Kohninoor. Funciona muito bem, mesmo depois da água com amônia diluída.

Eu sei que existem canetas absorventes obstinados, e eu mesmo me sinto culpado por não conseguir desmontar partes de um aspirador de pó. Mas geralmente eu apenas limito a imersão em longo prazo das partes da caneta sujeitas à tinta. (Tenho um grampo de parafuso preso dentro de uma tampa que está encharcada de Nafta. Comecei a remover o parafuso de latão, então decidi ensopar a tampa. A tampa perdeu suas bandas, então também é um experimento de exposição de longo prazo de Celulóide de Parker para Naptha). Claro que você nunca voa BHR.

Um técnico em caneta muito habilidoso pode ser capaz de soldar a laminação com solvente, mas seria difícil, uma vez que ela fica no final do cilindro próximo aos fios, então pode não ser durável. 
Se a lacuna realmente o incomoda, você pode considerar a substituição do cano. Um barril vac prateado é bastante comum, ao contrário de um tassie! Pessoalmente, acho que agora faz parte da história da caneta e deve ser mantido como está. 
 

Para o futuro, eu sugiro aplicar uma pequena quantidade de graxa de silicone apenas nas roscas do Filler. Isso torna a remoção do enchimento muito mais fácil quando o diafragma é substituído. Você pode pesquisar no fórum como fazer e onde comprar a graxa. 
 

Com tudo o que escrevi e sua experiência com o aspirador prateado, posso simplesmente armazenar meu “precioso” novamente e deixá-lo como está.

Great class we just received!

Thank you for sharing years of experience and such detailed considerations to guide everyone who wants to know fountain pens.

The result of a lot of observation, knowledge / research, common sense and some mistakes are reflected in your post.

Whenever I read something like this, I fill myself with courage to take another safe step in the restoration of our beloved pens.

Thank you very much.

[VacNut]

15 hours ago, es9 said:

Upon closer examination, it looks like the barrel on the one that cracked is much thinner.  Where it cracked is actually the thinnest part.  The red lines are above and below the part that cracked, and another barrel is included for comparison: 

 

 

 

 

 

Separately, can this lock-down filler be saved?  The aluminum is corroded, but not all the way through.  

 

 

 

[VacNut]

I think most collectors have far more pens than they can use, and quite frankly we all write less often with the rise of the computer. I keep a few daily writers but most of my pens are cleaned and “archived”, so I rarely install a diaphragm into a vac’ as it likely will need replacement in a few years (A Parker 51 has an opaque barrel, so I use them more often; as I cringe at the idea of contributing to the ambering of a Vac barrel). It is also time consuming to clean a Vac for storage. If the pellet fits inside the filler and holds the diaphragm in place, I don’t think the corrosion will do any harm. For your sake of mind, you may consider polishing off some of the corrosion with simichrome or light sanding with a fine micro-mesh to remove irregularities on the tip, as the end of the filler pushes against the diaphragm. 
I wouldn’t fret about it. Re-assemble the pen and enjoy it.

[VacNut]

15 hours ago, Switala said:

Great class we just received!

Thank you for sharing years of experience and such detailed considerations to guide everyone who wants to know fountain pens.

The result of a lot of observation, knowledge / research, common sense and some mistakes are reflected in your post.

Whenever I read something like this, I fill myself with courage to take another safe step in the restoration of our beloved pens.

Thank you very much.

I am by far only a guppy in a sea of serious pen collectors. As they say, “I stand on the shoulders of giants.” My “trivia” about pens comes from reading this forum and the websites of those pen technicians, who have the real “wisdom”. 

I have never taken apart a Parker 21, so I applaud you for taking the initiative.

 

[VacNut]

My frustration, impatience, and lack of clear thinking finally got the best of me. I was working on removing a stuck section from a Black OS after all the other parts of the pen had been removed. It refused to budge even after repeated heating and turning with a rubber grip. After several weeks, I grabbed the section pliers and tried to force it. Common sense would have said be careful or at least put back the feed to provide some reinforcement inside the section.

the section easily cracked and split in two between the pliers. To add insult to injury, the threads were still stuck inside the barrel. At this point, rather than risking damaging the threads, I calmed down and sent the pen out to be drilled out.
 

The barrel came back in the mail today. The only section I have that fits is for a Canadian Vacumatic Flex Nib, which matches the Canadian pen. I have to also rebuild the alum lockdown filler.

Word to the wise, when Ron Z tells us to be gentle with the section pliers, follow his advice.

Found a end cap for the Silver Max Gen 2, so I will rebuild that pen also.

I’ll dip test the flex nib to see how it writes. I think it also has a stub tip.

[es9]

Bought what I thought was an opaque black vac which I planned to use for parts.  Took it apart and started cleaning it, and -- lo and behold -- it is something else entirely!  Looks like one of the striated transparent black pens.  It's about 4.6 inches long and definitely slender, so I assume it is a slender junior.  Also, the section seems to be hard rubber. 

 

The pen was missing a clip and cap jewel -- and the filler has some corrosion on it -- but otherwise seems to be in good shape.   One odd thing, however, is that the little metal piece that holds the filler together will not seem to stay in.

 

 

[FarmBoy]

The pen you have is the black version of a Golden web called reticulated by collectors. 

[es9]

10 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

The pen you have is the black version of a Golden web called reticulated by collectors. 

Ah, neat! Sadly it’s a little too small for me to really use comfortably. But it sure looks cool.