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Help with stuck piston on a 146


Emver

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30 minutes ago, Emver said:

 

Do you think that I should send a note to MB with the pen asking them to keep the nib and feed if possible?  I don't really care whether the feed is ebonite or plastic -  ebonite is a cheap material so I'm sure MB must have had a good reason to change to plastic.  But my pen is early 1980s (monotone gold nib and made in W Germany rather than Germany) and in excellent original condition including the nib and feed, so it would be nice to keep it original.

If they did replace the feed would they return the original one to me?

 

Often with repairs there's a certain escalation of parts replacement-

 

You need a new barrel, so it gets replaced. Then your old piston mechanism may not fit the barrel, so that gets replaced. The old section/nib collar may not screw into the new barrel(I think the whole arrangement of how that worked was changed say 2014/2015 but I haven't taken apart a recent 146 or 149 to say for sure-I'm pretty sure the "bubblegum" is no longer used) so it gets replaced. The ebonite feed no longer fits the new nib collar, so it gets replaced. Your cap may or may not screw onto the barrel anymore, so you get a new cap. The cap finial probably won't fit exactly, so that gets replaced.

 

At the end of the day, there are two parts virtually guaranteed to be retained-the nib and the clip(provided both are serviceable). The older the pen, the higher the chances are that every other part of the pen will be replaced other than these two items.

 

I'm not aware of MB ever having made it a practice to return old/replaced parts.

 

BTW, this sort of service from MB is polarizing here. A good majority of us wouldn't dream of sending them an old pen since it looses a lot of the stuff that makes the old pen different from a current production one. Others love the fact that they can send in an old beat up 146 or 149 and for $80, have a brand new pen that is fitted with a vintage nib.

 

Your call. Were it mine, I'd find a replacement barrel. It can take some patience to find the exact one, but they do generally turn up. I've been looking for a 60s 149 barrel for a few months now, and I THINK I may just today have closed in on one-I'm waiting on confirmation of a few specifics to make sure of that.

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1 hour ago, Emver said:

 

Do you think that I should send a note to MB with the pen asking them to keep the nib and feed if possible?  I don't really care whether the feed is ebonite or plastic -  ebonite is a cheap material so I'm sure MB must have had a good reason to change to plastic.  But my pen is early 1980s (monotone gold nib and made in W Germany rather than Germany) and in excellent original condition including the nib and feed, so it would be nice to keep it original.

If they did replace the feed would they return the original one to me?

 

Ebonite is relatively costly to work.  That's why most pen makers have switched to plastic feeds, which can be injection molded.

 

MB will keep the nib.  However, replacing the barrel will require replacing other parts, the feed included.  The note won't make a difference.  

 

If you want to keep your pen period correct, you can replace the barrel on your own or  send it to someone who could do it for you.  You'll need a donor pen with a good barrel of the same vintage.   Alternatively, you could just put your nib into another 146 of any post-1950s vintage. 

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... and get them to give you a quote, first.

MB servicing used to be a fixed fee, but posts in this forum recently suggest that the pricing model may have changed?

 

As others have said, you will definitely get your original nib and clip back - but that'll probably be all - and I've never had any original parts returned with a serviced pen..

However, all pens I have had serviced have come back writing superbly, so it's not all doom and gloom!

 

Good luck.

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I'd advise sending the pen to Osman Sumer, he'll replace the minimal parts you require replaced, keeping the pen as original as possible. Very good person to do deal with and reasonable costs.

I would NOT send this pen to Montblanc, it may be more than a level 1 service they would charge.

eckiethump

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge (Charles Darwin)

http://www.wesonline.org.uk/

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've decided to return my pen to MB for repair, mainly because they have all the parts and I'm guaranteed to get it back in perfect working condition.  Hopefully all the parts they decide to replace will be included in the £68 service cost.  I'm not too bothered by the fact that the pen I get back might only retain the nib and clip from my original early 1980's pen.

 

It does make me wonder what they do with the parts they are forced to replace through compatiblity issues.  For example the cap on my 146 is still in pristine condition, but I think they will replace it because they are replacing the faded grip section, and the threads on the new grip section will not match the threads on my 1980s cap.  So will MB just destroy my cap?  I'm sure there are plenty of owners of 1980s 146 pens who would be delighted to have the chance to acquire a cap in such good condition.  Similarly, MB must sometimes have 1980's barrels and grip sections left over from repairing pens which only need a new cap or feed, and those could have been used to repair my pen.  It seems rather sad that MB have chosen not to supply any spare parts either directly to their customers or to specialist pen repairers, thereby creating a monopoly and forcing their customers to return their pens to the MB factory for repair.  

 

Anyway, I'll post a final update when the pen eventually returns from Germany.

 

Thanks again to everybody who has posted on this thread or taken an interest.

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I sent in a 146 from the 1980's (blue window/monotone nib etc). Level 2 service.

They replaced everything except the nib and the cap.

I, too  was surprised to find that the old cap is a perfect fit onto the new barrel.

 

Still got it - and it's still one of my most reliable writers.

Cannot fault the Hamburg service team.

 

Not sure what they do with the old parts. I'd guess that they are disposed of/destroyed?

I took the ebonite feed and piston seal out of mine, before I sent it - I knew from previous experience that they would just put my nib into a new pen.

I've never heard of anyone getting the old parts back, along with their serviced pen?

 

Good luck.

 

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1 hour ago, CS388 said:

I sent in a 146 from the 1980's (blue window/monotone nib etc). Level 2 service.

They replaced everything except the nib and the cap.

I, too  was surprised to find that the old cap is a perfect fit onto the new barrel.

The threads on the body of the pen are on the grip section which is not actually part of the barrel.  Is it possible that MB fitted your old grip section to a new barrel, thus enabling your old cap to fit?  Most people here seem to think that newer caps have different threads to 1980s caps - can anybody confirm that?  My problem is that I overheated the pen in my ultrasonic cleaner while trying to unseize the piston, and the grip section turned a bit milky. I'm assuming that MB will replace the grip section as part of the service/repair, but if the cap threads have changed since the 1980s then changing the grip section will also mean changing the cap.

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I have a w. Germany 146/blue window/split ebonite that is my oldest current one. It does have the separate section. 
 

I’ll try swapping caps with my 147 abd also my 80 days and see if they work. 
 

I’ve heard the same of 149s. I can try that also as my 149s span a broader age range-1960s friction piston to 2019.

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  • 2 years later...

Can anyone help to confirm that with the piston fully retracted, there is supposed to be a gap as indicated by the orange arrow?  Thanks.IMG_5992.thumb.jpg.be98ceace4e4a4f214164a7bb09a8820.jpg

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There is a gap because the pen has been disassembled and not re-assembled correctly. IF you have an appropriate tool and know how to remove the piston assembly (without causing damage), then readjustment is not too difficult.

 

You will either need a 'proper' tool or need to fashion one. There are a few conversations on this forum, usually about replacing the piston spindle (which is a known weak point) or lubricating the piston seal, where you will be able to see how others have done this.

 

Here is one to get you started 

 

 

Good luck and let us know how you get on

 

 

 

You don't know what you need until you realise you haven't got it.

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Tks Rowbo.  I used the wrong term, I should have said 'groove' instead of gap.  There is no gap after I reassembled the pen post-greasing the piston.  It is just that I noticed there is a groove and wondered if it is something I can adjust away. Andrew has kindly confirmed that there is supposed to be a groove present in this pen. 

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