How To Knock Out A Very Small Ebonite Pin?

[EMQG]

https://i.imgur.com/Q9DG7kc.jpg (Diagram, also attached at the bottom)



So I bought a safety pen off ebay recently. I need to replace the cork with an o-ring (which I have), and I'm having trouble disassembling the rear packing unit/knob/spiral.

From what I understand, most safeties come apart fairly easily, and there's no pins to knock out. The knob and packing unit separate fairly easily in most cases, right? I know Waterman safeties are the common exception, and they've got a single hard rubber pin going through the packing unit and knob that needs to be knocked out.

The one I bought isn't a Waterman, it's a Vaitermass. The good people at Vaitermass seem to have used *two* pins to build their packing assemblies. I believe the main pin goes all the way through the knob and packing unit, and attaches to the spiral. I believe it also has a hole in the top of it, which a second pin is put through. This pin goes through one side of the knob, through the main pin, and out the other side.

I hope my diagrams are clear enough to see what I mean.

My question is: How in the world do I knock out that secondary pin? I've got a knockout block, but I'm not sure how to properly support it the whole assembly to avoid cracking/shattering anything. I'm especially worried about shattering the knob itself, as it's 100 year old hard rubber and is *very* thin around the pin.

The main pin shouldn't be a problem. That seems straight forward.

Thanks!

[D Armstrong]

The safest tool to use is a watchmaker's staking set, which is designed specifically for knocking very small things from their sockets.

http://www.geocities.ws/dushang2000/Bench%20Tools%20and%20Accessories.html#Watchmaker' s Staking Tool

You can sometimes find them at antique malls, and of course from watchmaker supply people (I like Larry Foord (http://www.execulink.com/~lfoord/tools.html#staking)). If you ask nicely, and are willing to do some work doing rust removal, you could probably find just the staking frame and a few basic stakes for pin removal for less than a whole set.

And as an aside, they can be handy for nib repair, too (which is a tip from one of the old repair columns in The Pennant (https://www.pencollectorsofamerica.com/library) magazine).

[EMQG]

The safest tool to use is a watchmaker's staking set, which is designed specifically for knocking very small things from their sockets.

http://www.geocities.ws/dushang2000/Bench%20Tools%20and%20Accessories.html#Watchmaker' s Staking Tool

You can sometimes find them at antique malls, and of course from watchmaker supply people (I like Larry Foord (http://www.execulink.com/~lfoord/tools.html#staking)). If you ask nicely, and are willing to do some work doing rust removal, you could probably find just the staking frame and a few basic stakes for pin removal for less than a whole set.

And as an aside, they can be handy for nib repair, too (which is a tip from one of the old repair columns in The Pennant (https://www.pencollectorsofamerica.com/library) magazine).

Thanks for the reply! That looks a lot like a regular nib knockout block, is there any difference? I've got an aluminum knockout block and a variety of things to use as punches.

I've so far decided against using something like that because it won't support the knob very well, and would focus all the pressure on two small points.

Farmboy on FPN suggested using a vee block (http://subtool.com/st/imgs/VB-336-MCI%20Cast%20Iron%20V-Blocks.jpg) to do it. That seems slightly more supportive, but not much. On Reddit, JonSzanto suggested that I could either drill the pin out and make a new one (don't have a lathe, so not much of an option) or make my own knockout assembly specifically for this single use.

I liked that idea, since it'd allow me to support the whole assembly at once. So far, my plan is to order the right size bits for my rotary tool (I've measured all the diameters with calipers) and use them to carve out a small block of wood to tightly fit the whole packing assembly, then drill a small hole, big enough for the pin to fall through. Then I can pretty easily knock out the pin without putting too much pressure on any one part.

What do you think of that idea?

[EMQG]

The safest tool to use is a watchmaker's staking set, which is designed specifically for knocking very small things from their sockets.

http://www.geocities.ws/dushang2000/Bench%20Tools%20and%20Accessories.html#Watchmaker' s Staking Tool

You can sometimes find them at antique malls, and of course from watchmaker supply people (I like Larry Foord (http://www.execulink.com/~lfoord/tools.html#staking)). If you ask nicely, and are willing to do some work doing rust removal, you could probably find just the staking frame and a few basic stakes for pin removal for less than a whole set.

And as an aside, they can be handy for nib repair, too (which is a tip from one of the old repair columns in The Pennant (https://www.pencollectorsofamerica.com/library) magazine).

Was able to knock it out using my own custom-made jig. Heated up ebonite is sturdier stuff than I realized!

I got the whole thing taken apart, took the cork out, put in a couple new o-rings that I thought were a good fit, and put it back together. Now the nib doesn't stay extended, and based on some research I've done, I believe it's because my o-rings weren't a tight enough seal, right? I've read that the seal in a safety isn't only a seal, but also meant to provide friction on the pin to prevent pressure on the nib from pushing it back up inside the barrel. I'm not putting insane levels of pressure on the nib, by the way. Just writing normally with next to no pressure, and it slides back up.



So I'm thinking I need to order some slightly thicker o-rings. I've got a source and a few sizes I'll try out to see what seems like a tight fit without being overly tight.



Do you agree with this assessment, or do I have a different problem?