Laurie
September 15th, 2015, 06:23 PM
I have just acquired my first 51 aero and you may pick up my road on "what Parker is this" thread. In short the seller of this pen has informed me that this pen was not used for sometime. I gave it a 24 hour soak and flush with Goulet Pen Flush and removed quiet a bit of old ink. It now flushes clear and has been re inked and seems to be performing normally although there is a little skipping which seems to disappear when I tilt the nib very slightly to the left. It may just be a nib characteristic.
Mike Hosea has suggested I pull off the hood and check the nib alignment. I had previously posted that I would also like to pull the pen apart for a thorough cleaning, checking the breather tube, the sac nipple and while apart do a sac replacement.
I have watched a very interesting youtube demonstration by Glenn Atkins of Triumph Vintage Pens. It is very informative and sets out the steps including the problems with removal of the hood and breather tube etc. He used hot water (sometimes repeated many times) to remove stubborn parts. It appears to me that if you are very careful and dont go applying excessive force that you can do this without much trouble. It doesnt appear to be complicated. But I have read other threads warning people not do do it.
One interesting thread was in the FPN site under Parker Pens section where there was a post asking about the method and also resulted in a discussion about the use of shellac as oppose to a resin. In fact a few members of this forum including Mike Hosea participated in that discussion. One issue raised was that Parker itself and restorers used shellac to stop/deter inexperienced pen owners from trying to pull the pen apart. Not sure if they are just worried about their own interests or worried about owners damaging their own pens. I can understand their argument if they are talking about a pen just coming back from a service or restoration and the owner pulling it apart again. But I think it is a different scenario, where in my case, I have a pen that I dont know much about and has a history of not being used for sometime (albeit that it seems to be working well) But in any event the thread was clear that many thought it was beyond the capabilities of a novice.
To my mind the two main areas where one can go wrong is with the application of excess force and the use of too much heat. Glenn Atkins advocates the use of water that is just under boiling point. He had to do this a few times on some parts but eventually he was successful.
I may be one of the fools that was referred to his that thread but something is gnawing away at me that it would be an interesting and useful experience and as I probably will acquire more 51s down the track. Also I come from Australia and shipping costs to USA or UK would be prohibitive. Hugh C has indicated a Melbourne company that does this but again it would cost close to $75 AUD to have the work done. So that is another motive for me trying to learn this skill.
So my question is this. Even though I havent done this before, if I use moderate force and go easy and use the water soaking technique (even repeated 3-5 times) can I really get into too much trouble. I appreciate that sometimes it is not just the shellac that is binding these parts and that there is issues with dry ink that heat wont remove. In those cases I imagine further soaking and even the use of a ultrasonic cleaner would loosen any stubborn parts. My other question is assuming it is a wise move what tools will I require. My present research indicates the following tools that would be helpful:
1. Non slip rubber cloth for gripping the two parts of the pen
2. Dental pick for removing any broken bits or maybe scraping ink off threads
3. Shellac for re assembly
4. Piano wire for clearing breather tube etc
5. Sim polish for cleaning various parts
6. Ultrasonic cleaner.
I would appreciate your ideas.
Mike Hosea has suggested I pull off the hood and check the nib alignment. I had previously posted that I would also like to pull the pen apart for a thorough cleaning, checking the breather tube, the sac nipple and while apart do a sac replacement.
I have watched a very interesting youtube demonstration by Glenn Atkins of Triumph Vintage Pens. It is very informative and sets out the steps including the problems with removal of the hood and breather tube etc. He used hot water (sometimes repeated many times) to remove stubborn parts. It appears to me that if you are very careful and dont go applying excessive force that you can do this without much trouble. It doesnt appear to be complicated. But I have read other threads warning people not do do it.
One interesting thread was in the FPN site under Parker Pens section where there was a post asking about the method and also resulted in a discussion about the use of shellac as oppose to a resin. In fact a few members of this forum including Mike Hosea participated in that discussion. One issue raised was that Parker itself and restorers used shellac to stop/deter inexperienced pen owners from trying to pull the pen apart. Not sure if they are just worried about their own interests or worried about owners damaging their own pens. I can understand their argument if they are talking about a pen just coming back from a service or restoration and the owner pulling it apart again. But I think it is a different scenario, where in my case, I have a pen that I dont know much about and has a history of not being used for sometime (albeit that it seems to be working well) But in any event the thread was clear that many thought it was beyond the capabilities of a novice.
To my mind the two main areas where one can go wrong is with the application of excess force and the use of too much heat. Glenn Atkins advocates the use of water that is just under boiling point. He had to do this a few times on some parts but eventually he was successful.
I may be one of the fools that was referred to his that thread but something is gnawing away at me that it would be an interesting and useful experience and as I probably will acquire more 51s down the track. Also I come from Australia and shipping costs to USA or UK would be prohibitive. Hugh C has indicated a Melbourne company that does this but again it would cost close to $75 AUD to have the work done. So that is another motive for me trying to learn this skill.
So my question is this. Even though I havent done this before, if I use moderate force and go easy and use the water soaking technique (even repeated 3-5 times) can I really get into too much trouble. I appreciate that sometimes it is not just the shellac that is binding these parts and that there is issues with dry ink that heat wont remove. In those cases I imagine further soaking and even the use of a ultrasonic cleaner would loosen any stubborn parts. My other question is assuming it is a wise move what tools will I require. My present research indicates the following tools that would be helpful:
1. Non slip rubber cloth for gripping the two parts of the pen
2. Dental pick for removing any broken bits or maybe scraping ink off threads
3. Shellac for re assembly
4. Piano wire for clearing breather tube etc
5. Sim polish for cleaning various parts
6. Ultrasonic cleaner.
I would appreciate your ideas.