Charles Ingersoll Bakalite repair question

[Johnny Appleseed]

Charles Ingersoll made twist-fillers in the 1920s. For the most part the twist-filler mechanism consisted of a hard rubber plug attached to a "Stem-winder" or "knurled nob" which bares a striking resemblance to an upholstry tack. Repair of the mechanism is simple - use a sac of the correct size that has been cut on both ends to make a tube, shellac it to section and rubber plug, insert in barrel and attach upholstry-tack "Stem-winder".

 

In the late 20s they made pens out of Bakelite (yes, indeed, not ebay every-old-pen is bakelite, but the real thing!), with an improved twist mechanism. The twist-nob was actually a threaded unit like an AA Waterman. The section attached to a slotted metal nut on the back of the twist-nob.

 

There are two ways of attaching the sac to the nut, and I wanted to see if there were opinions on the better approach.

 

The first method is to do it like the earlier Ingersolls - adhere an open-ended sac tube to the nut. This works, but it has the disadvantage of putting the metal nut in direct contact with ink inside the sac, which can corrode the nut.

 

The second method is to use a conventional closed-ended sac and use glue to adhere the back end of the sac to the rear of the nut. Shellac is not sufficiently strong enough to do it - I would think a cyanacrylate glue would work (and we recommended by Frank Dubiel), but cyanacrylate also has it's downside in pen work, and it runs the risk of getting where it shouldn't and freezing up the whole thing.

 

So what do you think is the best option? Shellac to the nut, and risk corrosion from ink? Or glue to the nut and risk the permanence and other issues of glue?

 

John

Edited November 25, 2008 by Johnny Appleseed

[fountainbel]

Hi Johnny,

 

Neither of the 2 solutions really appeal to me.

This is how I would do, at least when the rear actuating knob can be dis assembled.

Francis

 

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h89/foun...l/Ingersoll.jpg

[Dan44]

I just got a metal (silver/nickel color) Lady size Ingersoll pen with a black upholstery pin. Can not separate the section it looks as one piece with the barrel. Please advise.

 

Dan

[Johnny Appleseed]

Hi Johnny,

 

Neither of the 2 solutions really appeal to me.

This is how I would do, at least when the rear actuating knob can be dis assembled.

Francis

 

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h89/foun...l/Ingersoll.jpg

 

After I posted my query I started thinking about a similar idea. It seems an elegant solution. I wonder if it would work without the wire - just inverting the sac and shellacing it in place?

 

The only problem I see with this is re-attaching the nut to the threaded nob. With the sac over the slotted nut, I would think it hard to get a screwdriver into the slot in the nut without damaging the sac. And I am having trouble envisioning something that would grip the outside of the nut-and-sac and still fit inside the pen barrel (and without putting stress on the barrel, which, being bakelite, cracks when you look at it the wrong way).

 

I think one might have to put the sac in the barrel before attaching it to the section (using the clothes-pin-streatch to pull it out far enough).

 

 

I just got a metal (silver/nickel color) Lady size Ingersoll pen with a black upholstery pin. Can not separate the section it looks as one piece with the barrel. Please advise.

 

Dan

 

Eeek - a personal pet peeve of mine is the way that managers here at work end emails with "Please advise." It seems a particularly abrupt and almost threating way of ending a message. But I will give the benefit of the doubt in this case.

 

The section on a metal Ingersoll (nickel-plate over brass) is press-fit into the barrel. You basically have to grip it firmly with a pair of section pliers and work it till you can get it out. Pull as "straight" as you can, as the barrel or section can crack fairly easily. I usually pull, then turn the section a little, then pull, then turn, etc. so that the stress gets spread out around the barrel - unless the section is already cracked, in which case I use the section pliers to clamp the crack closed while I am pulling. I have also heard of successful techniques involving pin-vice-like setups.

 

I have tried using penatrating oil like WD40, as well as heat, but niether seemed to help much. WD40 might help if there are signs of corrosion at the joint. Mainly though it is a brute-force operation, but with a lot of finesse to avoid damaging the pen.

 

John