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View Full Version : Can a Parker 51 Aerometric Write without a Breather Tube



Lavie
November 30th, 2014, 05:02 AM
Hi all,

I recently bought a Parker 51 aerometric. The nib/feeder wasn't properly aligned, so I took the whole collector out. The breather tube crumbled, with the part in the feeder staying in the feeder.

The person who sold me the pen said I could write finer without a breather tube until he could send me a new feeder/breather tube.

However, I find that the area around the nib is spurting out ink when the pen is at rest. I even left it totally vertical in a pen holder without touching it at all - but after 24 hrs. I opened the cap to find the outer hood with lots of spots of ink on it, and the inside of the cap was substantially spotted as well. Is this being caused by the lack of breather tube, or could it be something else?

TIA,
Lavie

tandaina
November 30th, 2014, 07:51 AM
Yes the one I had (since sold) didn't have one and worked just fine. I would suspect that isn't the problem. But I might have just been lucky so will wait for others to chime in.

jar
November 30th, 2014, 08:04 AM
The major breather tube function is to allow you to fill the pen without pushing ink out when pressing the bar or shaft.

Sounds like you have other problems.

Farmboy
November 30th, 2014, 10:05 AM
Did you reseal the hood?

Was the pen restored or a project?

Lavie
December 1st, 2014, 09:41 AM
Thanks all for the responses.


Did you reseal the hood?

Was the pen restored or a project?

I bought the pen restored by someone on the fountainpennetwork.com site. It has been nothing but trouble (full size aerometric):

1. When it arrived, the pen wrote well, except that the nib was not aligned to the hood to a noticeable degree that made writing awkward.
2. At the seller's recommendation, I removed the hood and adjusted the nib. The nib was then properly aligned.
3. The pen started spitting ink on the paper whenever I dotted an "i" or wrote a period with even moderate force.
4. The seller told me to make sure the nib/feeder was aligned within the channels of the collector. While pulling out the feeder to do this, the breather tube broke off. This caused spontaneous leakage even when the pen was standing up and kept in a vertical pen holder and not touched at all. However, then pen no longer spit ink for dotted "i"s, etc.
5. After further research, it appeared that I put in the nib/feeder upside down, i.e., with the thin collector channel above the nib. So I aligned it with the top of the nib under the wide channel in the collector. This stopped the spontaneous leakage for the most part, but the pen started spitting again for "i"s and periods.

I am exasperated. I tighten the hood very firmly after each adjustment, but do not shellac it (I have no shellac). Is the shellac a requirement? Is its lack the likely cause of all my problems. I am really discouraged at this point.

TIA for any further help.

Lavie

Laura N
December 1st, 2014, 12:32 PM
I think you should just return it. It doesn't sound adequately restored and I fear anything else you do may worsen things. It's interesting to find a seller who suggest you go through these gyrations yourself, but I suppose nothing should surprise anymore.

For future reference, you can use rubber cement instead of shellac on the hood of a 51. But I don't think that's what's causing the issues with this pen. Also, don't overtighten that hood. :)

I am sending you a PM.

kirchh
December 1st, 2014, 01:07 PM
I think you should just return it. It doesn't sound adequately restored and I fear anything else you do may worsen things. It's interesting to find a seller who suggest you go through these gyrations yourself, but I suppose nothing should surprise anymore.

For future reference, you can use rubber cement instead of shellac on the hood of a 51. But I don't think that's what's causing the issues with this pen. Also, don't overtighten that hood. :)

I am sending you a PM.
Not sure the pen can be returned, as the current owner broke the breather tube.

I suggest shellac or rosin-based section sealant for the hood. I don't suggest rubber cement.

--Daniel

Laura N
December 1st, 2014, 01:12 PM
I think you should just return it. It doesn't sound adequately restored and I fear anything else you do may worsen things. It's interesting to find a seller who suggest you go through these gyrations yourself, but I suppose nothing should surprise anymore.

For future reference, you can use rubber cement instead of shellac on the hood of a 51. But I don't think that's what's causing the issues with this pen. Also, don't overtighten that hood. :)

I am sending you a PM.
Not sure the pen can be returned, as the current owner broke the breather tube.

I suggest shellac or rosin-based section sealant for the hood. I don't suggest rubber cement.

--Daniel

The current owner broke the breather tube, yes, but under the direction of the seller, who apparently has already assumed responsibility for that (to his credit) by promising to send a new part. Had the seller said, "send it back I'll fix it," perhaps the outcome would have been different, but instead the seller told the buyer to open up the pen and adjust the hood and nib.

kirchh
December 1st, 2014, 04:36 PM
I think you should just return it. It doesn't sound adequately restored and I fear anything else you do may worsen things. It's interesting to find a seller who suggest you go through these gyrations yourself, but I suppose nothing should surprise anymore.

For future reference, you can use rubber cement instead of shellac on the hood of a 51. But I don't think that's what's causing the issues with this pen. Also, don't overtighten that hood. :)

I am sending you a PM.
Not sure the pen can be returned, as the current owner broke the breather tube.

I suggest shellac or rosin-based section sealant for the hood. I don't suggest rubber cement.

--Daniel

The current owner broke the breather tube, yes, but under the direction of the seller, who apparently has already assumed responsibility for that (to his credit) by promising to send a new part. Had the seller said, "send it back I'll fix it," perhaps the outcome would have been different, but instead the seller told the buyer to open up the pen and adjust the hood and nib.

True, and it's worth a try to ask, rather than fall deeper into this spiral, unless the OP is game for all the fiddling.

--Daniel

pajaro
December 6th, 2014, 01:49 AM
I think you should just return it. It doesn't sound adequately restored and I fear anything else you do may worsen things. It's interesting to find a seller who suggest you go through these gyrations yourself, but I suppose nothing should surprise anymore.

For future reference, you can use rubber cement instead of shellac on the hood of a 51. But I don't think that's what's causing the issues with this pen. Also, don't overtighten that hood. :)

I am sending you a PM.
Not sure the pen can be returned, as the current owner broke the breather tube.

I suggest shellac or rosin-based section sealant for the hood. I don't suggest rubber cement.

--Daniel

The current owner broke the breather tube, yes, but under the direction of the seller, who apparently has already assumed responsibility for that (to his credit) by promising to send a new part. Had the seller said, "send it back I'll fix it," perhaps the outcome would have been different, but instead the seller told the buyer to open up the pen and adjust the hood and nib.

True, and it's worth a try to ask, rather than fall deeper into this spiral, unless the OP is game for all the fiddling.

--Daniel

A very sensible reply.