Re: Inkograph repair help
Re: Inkograph repair help
Use Rapidi-Eze to clean the nib unit, and a bulb to flush the tube. An ultrasonic cleaner really helps with these. Everything else on the pen is basic lever filler.
When you reassemble the nib unit, drop the weighted wire down into the tube, don't push it. That will allow the wire to line up with the tube without risk of it being damaged. Then screw the front end into the section.
Re: Inkograph repair help
Thanks Ron. I have the threaded nozzle off and the wire doesn't come out. So delicate, I don't want to tug on it. Do I need to push from the back end of the nib unit? That's where it seems to be "all gunked up." That's my technical description - "all gunked up". I'm new to this kind of pen, and while I think I'm starting to "get it," I'm not 100% sure. Still hoping someone can point me in the direction of a video on this. All the lever-fill parts make sense to me, and I can restore all that. It's this nib unit/wire/weight that I'm unfamiliar with.
Re: Inkograph repair help
Look for a video on cleaning a Rapidograph. Don't push. Cleaning in the Rapido-eze will soften the ink. This is where an ultrasonic really helps, even a cheap one. What you don't want to do is bend the wire. They can be straightened, but then you get into a different level of repair. Don't break it - its essential to the operation of the pen.
Re: Inkograph repair help
OK. I ordered some Rapido-Eze. That's next. I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner though, so if the Rapido-Eze doesn't do the trick, I may be sending you a pen!
Re: Inkograph repair help
Well...after much, much soaking, the needle came out. It is straight as an arrow, but it is not connected to the weight. The weight was dead stuck. I did some digging into the history of this actual pen, and it spent decades in a hot attic. The weight was in some kind of plastic/resin/mystery-material sheath, and that had basically melted and hardened, probably over and over again, for years. I was able to fashion a knock out block and clear it out. The section is now clean and clear, but the guts inside of it are done for. Is is possible to find a new section with parts, or a new weighted needle that would fit in this section, or even just a weight that I might be able to attach the salvaged needle to? Where are the Inkograph collectors who might have these parts? I know you're out there, guys and gals!
Re: Inkograph repair help
Ebay is your friend. There's one listed now for $20.