Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 46

Thread: Gold Bond restoration

  1. #1
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Gold Bond restoration



    You guys have no idea how much I've been waiting for this Gold Bond brand pen to "rise from the ashes". Last year the barrel and cap of this pen came to me, and I immediately like it because of its size and I can tell that this pen used to occupy the top tier model. But the section was missing and being a big pen (usually vintage pens are smaller) it's hard to find a section that would fit it, not to mention the one with a nib size that won't look ridiculously small.

    Issue #2 is the clip. No clip came with the cap, just a stub that used to be a clip. Now what? Well, nothing else to do until an appropriately sized Z-clip come by. And one finally did, thankfully not costing me a lot like a seller on ebay wants for one. And it came with a nice "C" engraving. "C" for Cold Bond?

    Okay, so now I had to borrow the inner cap puller from my FP restoration "master" and after soaking the cap for a few days, I finally were able to get the old inner cap out. Old clip stub out, new Z-clip in, and reinstall the inner cap with a lot of fitting and careful tapping. Careful is the key here, because one tap too many, I can crack the cap from the inside. Game over.

    Back to Issue #1, what section will fit this beast? I tried about 10 different sections and modify 3 of them only to end up with non-satisfying creaky fit.

    Fast forward to last week, enter the Morrison's 14K nib in a heavily stained Mandarin yellow barrel with no cap <--- it's amazing that the nib survived without a cap in the middle of basically a heap of junk, it was snuck up inside a batch of battered and broken bunch of pens I got from ebay. I didn't even remember seeing this pen in the photo. But the moment I hold the section, I knew I can use it for the Gold Beast. Some quality moments with the lathe later:



    It fits like the glass shoe on Cinderella now.

    So now the 64K question is: Why draw gold bars in the writing sample?
    I don't know, Gold Bond, Gold Bar... not enough coffee?
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  2. The Following 9 Users Say Thank You to penwash For This Useful Post:

    awa54 (September 15th, 2019), AzJon (May 4th, 2017), Chrissy (January 17th, 2020), Cyril (August 12th, 2020), Deb (July 14th, 2020), farmdogfan (May 5th, 2017), Jon Szanto (September 13th, 2019), juanseba (September 24th, 2019), Sailor Kenshin (May 4th, 2017)

  3. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    173
    Thanks
    44
    Thanked 67 Times in 46 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    full marks for your patience and perseverance - well done. At least your 'new' section is a push fit, and you didn't have to cut a thread, but assume from seeing the section in your chuck there must have been some fine tuning to get the fit just right?

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to PaulS For This Useful Post:

    penwash (May 4th, 2017)

  5. #3
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by PaulS View Post
    full marks for your patience and perseverance - well done. At least your 'new' section is a push fit, and you didn't have to cut a thread, but assume from seeing the section in your chuck there must have been some fine tuning to get the fit just right?
    Thank you for the encouragement, Paul.

    You are correct. In all, I took about .5 mm from the part of the section that fits on the barrel. That is about 3 passes through the lathe because we're talking about tiny cuts, I err on the side of taking too little because I can always use sanding paper, but I can't add back the hard-rubber if I took too much out.

    Interestingly, even though my lathe is already small (A Taig), for this kind of operation I do wish I have a jeweler's (watchmaker) lathe which is easier to operate in tiny increments
    Last edited by penwash; May 4th, 2017 at 09:32 AM.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to penwash For This Useful Post:

    PaulS (May 4th, 2017)

  7. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    173
    Thanks
    44
    Thanked 67 Times in 46 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    I can imagine the care needed for that sort of glove type fit - couple of thou. too much and it's going to be loose.

    I now have one of those small Austrian Emco Unimat SL lathes - I think you guys call them DB 200 - really quite small - and I'm hoping to turn the odd section. So have been putting together a few extras to help and have ordered a 36 tpi thread master plus follower, as not all sections are a push fit. Also have some BHR blanks coming soon, and then if and when I get good enough, will try and make one of those clear barrel ends for my Wat. 100 year pen.

    Assume your pen is celluloid - it looks to have that depth of shine. Does you tool post carriage not advance on fairly fine threaded increments?
    Last edited by PaulS; May 4th, 2017 at 11:58 AM.

  8. #5
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    The Unimat DB 200 is exactly what I was talking about. So we're on the same page
    My tool post carriage can do sub-millimeter movements, but I imagine on a lathe that is designed primarily for that, the placement of controls would be a bit more precise.

    Most American vintage pens I encounter have push-fit sections (except for some Parker Duofold), the few screw-in sections I've seen are from European and British pens.

    Yes, the Gold Bond is celluloid.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  9. #6
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Two years later, here I am with another tale of restoration featuring... another Gold Bond

    I guess my obsession with Gold Bond has become quite ridiculous, I just love those knurled ends. And this one is a very pretty woodgrain ebonite (or at least I think it's ebonite since I smell a faint sulphur if I rub the barrel/cap). The yellow finials are celluloid though.

    I got this pen knowing that there is at least one problem, but little that I know when I got it, that the section was "cemented" to the barrel (no amount of heat or immersion would loosen the section). How? I suspect the type of ink that was used last in the pen. The ink may leaked out of the old ink sac and formed a bond between the section and the barrel. I've seen this happening to a Wahl before.

    Examine this photo:



    That was the barrel, in my lathe, I drilled out the section which was already marred because the previous owner probably lost their patience and try to take the section out using a (non rubberized) plier, resulting in gashes. Amazingly I was able to rescue both the nib and the feed by working slowly on the lathe to thin out the messed up section, until I can take the feed out to safety.

    Then I use two sizes of drill from smaller to bigger to take out the section. This photo literally was taken seconds after the section finally "squirmed" itself out of the barrel without a single crack on the barrel lip (yes, I sighed a breath of relief...).

    Notice the white residue on the section, it was inside the barrel also (a long scraping session ensued) that was the stuff that bonded the section to the barrel. And yes, the feed was full of this gunk also, that's why I suspect the type of ink used.

    After taking the section out without harming the barrel, I was able to find a suitable replacement from my collection of sections.



    Voila!
    Last edited by penwash; September 12th, 2019 at 10:44 PM.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  10. The Following 9 Users Say Thank You to penwash For This Useful Post:

    awa54 (September 15th, 2019), azkid (September 13th, 2019), Chrissy (September 12th, 2019), Cyril (August 12th, 2020), juanseba (September 24th, 2019), Lady Onogaro (September 13th, 2019), Pterodactylus (September 13th, 2019), SchaumburgSwan (November 20th, 2019), Voiren (September 13th, 2019)

  11. #7
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,404
    Thanks
    6,876
    Thanked 10,363 Times in 3,978 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Thank you. I loved reading all about it. Great job.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  12. #8
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    2,016
    Thanks
    3,725
    Thanked 1,703 Times in 822 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Nicely done! Looks like the pen was in the hands of a very skilled surgeon.

  13. #9
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,747
    Thanks
    2,349
    Thanked 1,927 Times in 842 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Great restoration!
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  14. #10
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,909
    Thanks
    1,396
    Thanked 6,390 Times in 2,505 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    ...the section finally "squirmed" itself out of the barrel without a single crack on the barrel lip....
    Wow! Congrats on applying lots of skill, care and patience on these old beauties.

  15. #11
    Senior Member Lady Onogaro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Lafayette, LA
    Posts
    2,197
    Thanks
    5,214
    Thanked 1,578 Times in 943 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    So beautiful! Great job!
    Lady Onogaro

    "Be yourself--everybody else is already taken." --Oscar Wilde

  16. #12
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Thank you all for the kind comments.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  17. #13
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,404
    Thanks
    6,876
    Thanked 10,363 Times in 3,978 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    Thank you all for the kind comments.
    Please could we see the section on the Stonite Woodgrain pattern pen?
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  18. #14
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    Thank you all for the kind comments.
    Please could we see the section on the Stonite Woodgrain pattern pen?
    Of course. Here's the original nib with a new section and feed (the original feed is now in my collection as a spare).

    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  19. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to penwash For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (September 15th, 2019), juanseba (September 24th, 2019)

  20. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    240
    Thanks
    137
    Thanked 190 Times in 106 Posts
    Rep Power
    7

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Nice pen and nice job done on the delicate work! Those yellow knurled end pieces really make a pen stand out in a crowd.

    Not sure where the sulfur smell was coming from, but "Stonite" was National Pen Product's (maker of your pen) name for celluloid.

    Good stuff.

    Bob

  21. #16
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by Seattleite View Post
    Nice pen and nice job done on the delicate work! Those yellow knurled end pieces really make a pen stand out in a crowd.

    Not sure where the sulfur smell was coming from, but "Stonite" was National Pen Product's (maker of your pen) name for celluloid.

    Good stuff.

    Bob
    Hi Bob, thanks for the info on the Stonite branding of celluloid. It's possible that the sulfur smell comes from something else that day. I guess one way we can make sure is to run rough sandpaper on that barrel and see if it smells "minty" instead of sulphur.

    But there's no way that I'll do that to one of my favorite pens
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  22. #17
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Aaaand, another woodgrain ebonite Gold Bond.

    This one is similar to the one I posted above, but with a different cool Art Deco style clip.



    On this one I do have to swap the nib with an Eversharp because the one that came with the pen was not an original Gold Bond, and it was poorly fitted.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  23. #18
    Senior Member Fermata's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Posts
    488
    Thanks
    187
    Thanked 598 Times in 298 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Swapping nibs into inappropriate pens takes me back to when I first started collecting. I was on some evangelical mission to preserve every pen that I touched for the benefit of future humanity. I would buy Wearevers, Gold Bonds, Black and Whites and far too many examples of some peculiar pen with a curved barrel, they all had damaged nibs which I would try and heal or replace with a nib from some other pen, usually Chinese, that I had previousky wrecked and mistakenly thought that I should keep the parts, just in case they might come in handy.

    I fooled myself into believing that this was the pen repair equivalent of fitting an LS7 into a Ford Fleetline.

  24. The Following User Says Thank You to Fermata For This Useful Post:

    azkid (January 18th, 2020)

  25. #19
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    Quote Originally Posted by Fermata View Post
    Swapping nibs into inappropriate pens takes me back to when I first started collecting. I was on some evangelical mission to preserve every pen that I touched for the benefit of future humanity. I would buy Wearevers, Gold Bonds, Black and Whites and far too many examples of some peculiar pen with a curved barrel, they all had damaged nibs which I would try and heal or replace with a nib from some other pen, usually Chinese, that I had previousky wrecked and mistakenly thought that I should keep the parts, just in case they might come in handy.

    I fooled myself into believing that this was the pen repair equivalent of fitting an LS7 into a Ford Fleetline.
    In my case, I always try to upgrade the pen that I'm rescuing with a better nib than the one on the pen when it reached me.
    Almost in all cases, I replace steel nibs with 14K gold ones, and because I am a flex nib nut, I also ended up gravitating towards them
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  26. #20
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Gold Bond restoration

    And my obsession with Gold Bond pens deepen.

    My latest Gold Bond, the one in the middle:



    I haven't put a new sac in it yet, but I already know that the nib is flexy and crispy. Joy!
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  27. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to penwash For This Useful Post:

    azkid (June 20th, 2020), carlos.q (June 19th, 2020), Cyril (August 12th, 2020), NibsForScript (June 20th, 2020), Sailor Kenshin (June 19th, 2020), Zoe (March 17th, 2021)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •